中文Currie Group, one of Australia and New Zealand’s most prominent printing equipment distributors, has confirmed the departure of Anthony Jackson, a senior figure who has been instrumental in shaping the company’s commercial print business over nearly two decades. The announcement signals a broader restructuring of the company’s commercial print division as it adapts to a rapidly evolving market landscape.
Jackson’s departure marks the end of an era at Currie Group. Over his tenure, he oversaw the placement of hundreds of printing presses and finishing systems across the ANZ region, building relationships with everyone from family-owned commercial printers to large packaging converters. Under his commercial leadership, Currie Group navigated the industry’s transition from film-based workflows to digital production, from standalone offset presses to hybrid configurations, and from print-as-product to print-as-service business models.
The restructuring of the commercial print division comes as Currie Group, like many equipment distributors, grapples with a market that looks fundamentally different from the one Jackson entered two decades ago. Commercial print volumes in ANZ continue to decline as communications migrate to digital channels, offset by growth in packaging, labels, and wide-format. Equipment distributors must now serve a customer base that is simultaneously consolidating and diversifying — fewer total printers, but each operating across more print segments and requiring more sophisticated technology integration.
Currie Group has not named a direct successor to Jackson’s role, instead indicating that the commercial print division will be reorganized along functional lines — sales, technical support, and applications — with existing senior staff assuming expanded responsibilities. The company emphasized that the restructuring is designed to bring decision-making closer to customers and to accelerate response times in a competitive distribution market that includes players like Fujifilm, Heidelberg ANZ, and Konica Minolta.
The ANZ printing equipment market is entering a period of generational turnover that extends beyond Currie Group. Many of the region’s printing business owners — the customers who built relationships with distributors like Jackson — are approaching retirement age. The next generation of print business owners is more likely to evaluate equipment purchases through the lens of total cost of ownership, automation capability, and data integration rather than personal relationships with sales representatives. Distributors that fail to adapt their go-to-market approach risk losing relevance.
For Currie Group, the restructuring is also an opportunity. The company’s portfolio spans HP Indigo digital presses, Horizon finishing equipment, and a range of consumables and service offerings. A more functionally organized commercial division could cross-sell more effectively, serve customers with deeper technical expertise, and allocate resources based on data rather than territory assignments. The challenge will be executing the reorganization without disrupting the customer relationships that have been the company’s foundation.
Jackson’s departure and the restructuring he leaves behind reflect broader currents in the global printing industry: the decline of traditional commercial print, the rise of digital and specialty segments, and the generational transition reshaping both the supply and demand sides of the equipment market. As one chapter closes for Currie Group, another — one defined by specialization, technology integration, and new customer expectations — is just beginning.
The competitive dynamics of the ANZ equipment distribution market add another layer of complexity to Currie Group’s restructuring. The market is characterized by a small number of well-established distributors serving a relatively concentrated customer base — Australia’s top 50 printing companies account for a disproportionate share of equipment investment. Losing ground with even two or three key accounts can materially impact a distributor’s revenue. In this environment, relationship continuity during organizational change is not a soft consideration; it is a hard business requirement.
Looking forward, Currie Group’s evolution mirrors a pattern visible across mature printing markets globally. Equipment distribution is transitioning from a product-push model — manufacturers build machines, distributors sell them — to a solutions-pull model — customers identify business problems, distributors configure solutions. This transition demands different skills: consultative selling, application engineering, data analysis, and post-sale service delivery. The distributors that navigate this transition successfully will emerge stronger; those that cling to the traditional model will find themselves marginalized by direct sales channels and digitally native competitors. Currie Group’s willingness to restructure suggests it understands the stakes.
Jackson’s own legacy at Currie Group is substantial. Colleagues describe him as a relationship-builder whose technical knowledge of printing equipment was matched by his understanding of printers’ business challenges. In an industry where equipment sales cycles can span 18 months from initial inquiry to signed contract, trust built over decades is a genuine asset. His departure, combined with the broader restructuring, represents both a loss and an opportunity: a loss of institutional memory and customer relationships, but an opportunity to build a commercial organization designed for the market as it will be in 2030 rather than as it was in 2010. The printing industry in Australia and New Zealand, like the industry globally, is betting that the future belongs to organizations that can combine deep technical expertise with agile commercial structures. Currie Group’s restructuring is a bet in the same direction.
Source: Print21
