Soar Printing has acquired Fusion Print.
Fred Soar, director of Auckland’s oldest family printing business, says a number of factors influenced the decision to buy Hamilton-based Fusion. He says, “I’ve known Graeme Foote for many years and Fusion has stood out for its environmental credentials and strong digital printing. It is EnviroMark accredited.”
The deal gives Soar Printing an opportunity to service its Waikato customers and to expand its base there. He says, “Combined with Fusion Print, we have a much bigger product base in the Waikato region. This enables us to increase the level of service to customers there.”
Graeme Foote will continue as general manager at Fusion, which will retain its brand. Foote says, “For us, Soar Printing is a really nice fit in terms of its environmental drive; its family ownership; and the culture of the business. Really, for our customers not much will change apart from having access to more print capabilities.”
He adds that, like many Kiwi print companies, Fusion faced the challenge of having to look at either new offset or inkjet print investment. He says, “It is becoming harder to keep reinvesting in plant. I had been to Europe twice in the last few months looking at inkjet but that would have been a big jump. Now, we have the offset at Soar but in Hamilton, it will be business as usual.”
Fred Soar point out the benefits to both companies’ customers. He says, “Fusion runs a busy digital print shop and it has a heavy design area. It is still local as well. We both have good teams and we share several commonalities. For example, we had no trouble merging the MIS systems, which are both Printcost. We can operate one MIS across both plants. With Printcost we have completed a lot of bespoke integration.”
Soar and Foote say they have enjoyed a smooth transition in both plants. Soar adds, “Things have fitted well together. We agree that it really comes down to giving the customer a good experience.”
