When the Pride In Print Awards return to The Cordis Hotel in Auckland on Friday July 4, PrintNZ will name the Apprentice of the Year, who will come from the Top 10 apprentices named recently.
The Top 10 are:
Eligh Arthur – Gravure Packaging, Lower Hutt
Simon Berghan – Spectrum Print, Christchurch
Flynn Clinch – Opal Packaging NZ – Cartons, Christchurch
Joshua Faccioni – Graphic Packaging International New Zealand, Auckland
Toese Fauatea – Opal Packaging NZ – Cartons, Auckland
Tayla Jones – Logan Print, Gisborne
Lisa Maich – Print House, Hamilton
Jessia Moore – Imagine If Creative Studios, Morrinsville
Faamao (Paul) Muller – Wedderburn Scales, Auckland
Bradley Smith – Transcontinental NZ, Christchurch
Eligh Arthur – Gravure Packaging, Lower Hutt
Andrew Young, managing director of Gravure Packaging, says, “Eligh has demonstrated excellent growth and potential. His dedication, positive attitude and willingness to learn make him a valuable member of our team. With continued development, Eligh is firmly in the spotlight for future leadership roles within the company.
“On a personal level I am absolutely thrilled for Eligh; not only has he grown professionally, but he has also grown personally. Eligh is setting the standard for fellow staff looking to upskill and grow within the company.”
Simon Berghan – Spectrum Print, Christchurch
Sonia Dench, general manager at Spectrum Print, says, “Simon’s attention to detail and concern for outputting the best quality possible, backed by years of experience adds great value to our team.
“I am really pleased for Simon that he decided to go down the apprenticeship path as it would be easy for him not to.
“He now has some official form of acknowledgment for his years of hard work and successes in the industry. He put immense amounts of work in to ensure he communicated effectively, and this is the proof that it paid off.”
Flynn Clinch – Opal Packaging NZ – Cartons, Christchurch
Carl Hartmann, manufacturing manager at Opal Packaging NZ, says, “Flynn is a real go-getter. He is not afraid to ask why and challenge the norm, loves a challenge and is ambitious. Also, he is not afraid of hard work and rolls well with changes. Flynn has a very curious mind and asks great questions.
“He finished his apprenticeship in record time, which was thoroughly merit based. Flynn is certainly one of the best young people I have met in some time.”
Joshua Faccioni – Graphic Packaging International NZ, Auckland
Milton Froggat, plant manager at Graphic Packaging International NZ, says, “Joshua is highly accomplished at his job. The Bobst die cutter he operates processes some of our most complex and difficult work such as the Bell Tea packs with tear-off tabs and concora cutting, essentially cutting both sides of the sheet in one process.
“Josh is very calm in his approach to difficult jobs and interacts with his peers in the same manner. He is highly respected by the entire team, has accepted additional duties and challenges with ease and displays a maturity beyond his years.”
Toese Fauatea – Opal Packaging NZ – Cartons, Auckland
Dave Wilson, operations manager at Opal Packaging NZ and Andre Adams, die cutting supervisor, says that Toese has shown great initiative and commitment since he came “knocking on the door for a job”.
Dave says, “Toese always focuses on getting the efficiencies up, just getting stuck in and running the machine as fast as possible which is obviously a money-maker for us. But he also has a strong focus on quality.
“We all make mistakes. When Toese made one, he actually put that carton in his locker just to remind himself.”
Tayla Jones – Logan Print, Gisborne
Colin Lean, technical manager at Logan Print, says, “Tayla is highly self-motivated. She manages the press and her print assistant and covers for her supervisor when he is away.
“Tayla communicates well with all the areas of Logans from account managers, prepress and our ink lab through to finishing and logistics. Tayla also represents the print department on our health and safety committee.
“Tayla’s training was also completed during the Covid-19 pandemic. She, like many of our team, rose to the occasion during a concerning time for our country.”
Lisa Maich – Print House, Hamilton
Jim Grainger, operations manager/director at Print House, says team knows that if they give Lisa a job, “it will get done”.
He says, “Lisa is always keen to do her best at whatever you ask her to do, always finishes the job and is very quality conscious. She has a brilliant sense of humour and fits in well with the other members of the team.
“I know that all the directors of Print House, me included, are immensely proud of Lisa and of all the hard work she has put in to get her qualification.”
Jessia Moore – Imagine If Creative Studios, Morrinsville
Aly Cosson, owner and senior graphic designer at Imagine If Creative Studios, says, Jessia is one of the hardest-working staff members we have ever had.”
“She goes above and beyond in everything she does, nothing is ever an issue. Jessia is more than happy to problem solve unusual jobs or figure out ways to achieve things we have never tried to do before.
“She is dedicated to what she does, and she has an eye for detail and quality; an amazing asset to have in our business.”
Faamao (Paul) Muller – Wedderburn Scales, Auckland
Tony Reid, labels production manager at Wedderburn Scales, praises Faamao for having a “strong work ethic and good eye for detail”.
Tony says, “He is also very good at trouble shooting technical printing issues, approaching every task with attention to detail, ensuring high-quality results and contributing to the overall success of our work. His positive attitude, combined with his growing technical expertise, enhances the efficiency of our operation.
“The value he adds to our business is clear.”
Bradley Smith – Transcontinental Packaging, Christchurch
Nick Ball, printing manager at Transcontinental Packaging, says, “Brad has a can-do attitude. No matter what the day brings for him he will tackle it head on.
“He shows his leadership with the way he handles himself with the team and he always leads by example, No job is too small for Brad to take on.
“Brad has been an integral part of TC in all departments he has worked in, not only with his work ethic, but also attitude and dedication to the role.”
