Management and staff at Geon New Zealand aren’t the only ones keeping quiet about the company’s receivership woes; suppliers and other printers have also remained coy about the issue.
New Zealand Printer has received a polite but firm, “No comment” from management at the beleaguered print company since it was placed into the receivers hands last week. And while some Australian suppliers have made comment, their Kiwi counterparts have shown an unwillingness to go on record. Some printers we spoke to felt the suppliers might be keeping their powder dry for battle further down the line but it may be that discretion is the better part of valour right now.
In Australia, BJ Ball and KW Doggett have cut supply to Geon with Spicers yet to follow suit. It isn’t known how much New Zealand paper companies are owed at this stage but other New Zealand print companies share some real concerns that if suppliers come out of this severely short changed, they may have no choice but to pass those losses on.
Joe Gallagher, national industry organiser for the EPMU, has been working with the receiver and indicates that the matter needs delicate handling. He says, “The EPMU is working with the receiver in a constructive manner to see a positive result. We simply are not yet in any position to make any statements until there is more certainty in the situation.”
Another printer we spoke to said, “The compressed nature of the market in New Zealand means that a situation like this feels even worse than it is. A lot of companies will be jostling for position if Geon does fall over.”
And while several companies say they have seen this situation coming for some time, most that we have spoken to say they don’t see it as good for the industry.
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