appointments  Printing Industries 
On his journey from Herald boy to factory manager for Croxley’s Publishing and Printing Plant, Allan McLeod has developed a passion for his industry to rival that of some of his greatest mentors by Adele Thackray

After more than 23 years as factory manager, Mcleod is handing over the reigns to former bindery supervisor Mark Gilchrist.
Mark has worked with Allan, or "Mac" as he is commonly referred to, for the past 13 years and says he has learned a lot about the business of bindery and leadership from Allan, who will be "a hard act to follow".

A good-humoured boss who leads by example, Allan is always conscientious, consistent and fair and "never loses his cool", says Mark. However, it is his vast industry knowledge about every aspect of printing, from origination through to finished product, that will be the most difficult to replace.

A job as a Herald delivery boy in his west Auckland suburb, set Allan on the path towards a printing career, giving him priority treatment for jobs at the paper. Although he had no idea what a compositor was at the time, he accepted an apprenticeship in the role.

Later working at Scott Print he gained inspiration and encouragement from the company’s general manager and passionate printing industry advocate, the late Pat Sheehan, to further his career with studies through the institutes of printing and management.

Allan has since provided the same mentoring for others and believes firmly in learning as an ongoing process.

He joined Collins Brothers in 1979 and has remained factory manager ever since, in spite of the company’s continuing metamorphosis through mergers and acquisitions. However, he still recalls the steep learning curve involved in making the transition from printing to stationery production.

"In a printing company once you printed a job all you did was cut it, maybe fold it and that was it. In the stationery industry after its printed if it’s a hard case book the job may involve folding, gathering and sewing, then there may be a tip to add. In the meantime you have to cut your boards, cut your cover material, make your cases, maybe hot foil the cases and then it all comes together on the casing in machine."

Ongoing survival in the face of tough international competition has also demanded the ability to adapt, he says.

In 1992 a merger with Williamson Jeffrey (Wiljef) saw the New Zealand based business under threat, as all of Wiljef’s diaries were produced overseas. The plant’s team revamped its costs and production methods and won the business back, keeping around 80 jobs in New Zealand in the process. Continuous improvement remains one of the company’s core management strategies and values.

Diaries are the mainstay of the Croxley plant and the much touted "paperless office" concept has made few inroads into demand for them, although Allan acknowledges that technology has taken a toll on some commercial products, such as accounts books and says it has also had impact on the factory floor.

"We’ve gone from sheets being ruled and overprinted on a letterpress printer with rubber stereos to everything being offset. But the most notable change is in pre-press where methods have progressed from paste up to desktop publishing," he says.

Technological developments continue and one of Allan’s final tasks was to see through the commissioning of a Compact 2000 binding line early this year. In spite of his official retirement, Allan will continue to be involved in establishing the new line which he says will provide greater capacity through quicker make ready and faster running times, making Croxley even more competitive.

However, he will also make time for his other passions. A past president and life member of the Suburbs Rugby Club, it may be too late for his All Black potential to be recognised, but plans to spend more time playing golf, visiting family in Australia and fishing, will ensure that Allan has a full diary for some time to come.