中文IVE Group’s 105-year journey from a suburban community newspaper to one of Australia’s largest diversified marketing and communications businesses is not just a corporate history — it is a mirror of the Australian print industry’s entire evolution, from newspapers through commercial print, the catalogue boom, digital disruption, and today’s automated multi-channel production environments.
The Origins: The Link and Balmain
In 1921, Oscar Selig founded The Link, a community newspaper serving the Sydney suburb of Balmain. The publication was a local product in every sense — produced for a specific community, serving its information needs, and operating within the constraints of early twentieth-century print technology. What Selig established, however, was not just a newspaper but a business template that would prove remarkably adaptable over the following century.
By the 1960s, the business had expanded into commercial printing, responding to growing demand from Australian businesses for professional print services. This transition from community publishing to commercial production was the first of several reinventions that would define IVE’s trajectory — and it reflected a broader shift in the Australian print market as the economy expanded and businesses increasingly recognised the value of professional print communications.
Building Scale Across Western Sydney
Through the following decades, the business built operational scale across western Sydney, investing in production capability and developing the foundations that would support future growth. This period of gradual expansion established the manufacturing infrastructure and operational culture that would later enable IVE to absorb and integrate larger acquisitions without losing its production discipline.
The Consolidation Era: Blue Star and Beyond
The acquisition of Blue Star in 2012 under Geoff and Paul Selig marked the beginning of a transformative growth phase. Blue Star was one of Australia’s most prominent print businesses, and its integration into what would become IVE Group created a platform with sufficient scale to pursue further consolidation.
Subsequent acquisitions — Geon, STI Lilyfield, Active Display Group, The POS Collective, AFI Branding, SEMA, and Salmat — united several of the most prominent businesses in Australian manufacturing. Rather than viewing industry disruption as a threat, IVE’s strategy was to invest through periods of uncertainty, continuing to build scale and capability at a time when many global print markets were contracting.
This counter-cyclical investment approach is significant. Most consolidation in declining industries happens defensively — companies merge to cut costs and survive contraction. IVE’s acquisitions were offensive: they added capability, expanded market reach, and positioned the company to serve a broader range of customer requirements when the market eventually recovered. The approach culminated in IVE’s ASX listing in 2015, providing a platform for further investment and expansion.
The Current Operating Model
Today, IVE operates across a range of touchpoints that extend well beyond traditional print: catalogues, brand activations, packaging, data-led communications, third-party logistics, merchandise, uniforms, and distribution. This diversified model reflects a strategic decision to evolve from a print manufacturer into a marketing communications platform — a business that provides the physical infrastructure for brand communication across multiple channels rather than competing solely on print production capability.
Managing director Matt Aitken articulates the philosophy plainly: “Every generation of the business has faced change. The technologies have changed, the channels have changed and customer expectations have changed, but the need to deliver quality, reliability and results has remained constant.”
Recent Investments and Future Direction
IVE’s recent investments demonstrate continued confidence in Australian manufacturing. The acquisition of fibre-based packaging business JacPak in 2023 expanded operations into a growing adjacent category, while investments in renewable electricity and operational efficiency reflect the increasing importance of sustainable production credentials in client decision-making.
The development of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing site at Kemps Creek in Western Sydney represents IVE’s most significant current infrastructure investment. The facility is designed to consolidate and modernise production operations, providing the automation, efficiency, and flexibility required by a multi-channel marketing communications platform.
Lessons for the Global Print Industry
IVE’s 105-year story offers several lessons that extend beyond the Australian market. First, longevity in print requires reinvention — the businesses that endure are those that adapt their operating model to changing market conditions while maintaining the production fundamentals that earned their original reputation. Second, counter-cyclical investment can create competitive advantages that are difficult to replicate: IVE built its scale when competitors were contracting, acquiring capabilities at valuations that reflected market pessimism rather than strategic potential. Third, diversification into adjacent categories — packaging, logistics, brand activations — creates revenue resilience that pure print operations cannot achieve.
For an industry that often discusses its future in terms of decline, IVE’s trajectory offers a counter-narrative. The company has not survived by resisting change but by embracing it — repeatedly, deliberately, and with the operational discipline that turns strategic ambition into manufacturing reality. At 105 years old, IVE’s focus remains not on how far it has come, but on where it goes next.
Source: Print21 — “IVE at 105: A century of reinvention” (8 July 2026)
