Australasian Hall of Fame Recognition for Convex Printing Trainer

For most people surviving a catamaran crash on the way to an award’s ceremony would be enough excitement for one night, but for Convex Plastics’ Danny McNamara it was only the beginning.

Barely recovered from his unsettling sea ordeal, Danny continued his journey to the annual Australasian Flexographic Technical Association (AFTA) awards night on August 20th and received his second shock of the evening. He was officially recognised as one of Australasia’s best printing trainers and was inducted into the AFTA Hall of Fame.

Danny was presented the AFTA Hall of Fame Award in recognition of his outstanding service to the New Zealand printing industry, specifically in the area of training. Danny is the eighth recipient of the prestigious AFTA Hall of Fame Award since its inception in 1985.

Danny had no idea he was nominated for the award. He was attending the awards night as a guest judge for the 2007 AFTA Apprentice of the Year Award, and almost didn’t even get there.

On route to the AFTA awards evening at Tipplers Resort on South Stradbroke Island the catamaran Danny and about 180 other event delegates were travelling on crashed into a sand bar at speed. Four people were seriously injured, and everyone had to be assisted off the stricken vessel by Surfers Paradise Marine Rescue. Fortunately Danny and his two Convex colleagues, Printing Manager Gary Dillistone and company owner David Fredericksen, were uninjured – and Danny was able to go on to receive what is arguably one of the highest honours in the Australiasian printing industry.

“It was a fantastic honour,” says Danny. “I couldn’t believe it when they called my name. It’s such a huge thing to be recognised like this by my peers and the apprentices I have trained.”

Over his 35 years in the printing industry, Danny has personally trained 31 apprentices at Convex Plastics, and around 6 at Trigon Plastics (now Cryovac Sealed Air). Four of those apprentices went on to win the Dupont Award, for being the top New Zealand printing apprentice of the year, and seven others were industry award finalists. Almost all of the winners and finalists credit their success to the high calibre of training and support they received from their trainer and mentor, Danny McNamara.

Danny has also served as an assessor for Print New Zealand since 1997 and guided numerous apprentices in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty through their assessments for all types of printing, from Offset through to Metal Can Decorating and Screen Print.

Danny is passionate about training and believes that apprenticeships are a fantastic way to train for a career. He says, “I believe apprenticeships are really undervalued these days. There’s a huge shortage of skilled trades people in this country and lots of opportunities to move on into management once you have finished your training. Apprentices get paid for doing their training and they don’t have to worry about student debt.”

After starting his own printing career at the Waikato Times in the early seventies, Danny moved on to Trigon at age 21 to pursue a career in flexographic printing. He completed his apprenticeship at Trigon and moved to Convex Plastics in 1986, where he has been working ever since.

AFTA spokesperson, Aaron Collett, says Danny has played an instrumental role in the development of printing apprentices in New Zealand – and he should know. Aaron himself was trained by Danny at Convex Plastics, went on to win the Dupont Award in 1997, and is now the Australian-based pre-press manager for Amcor Flexibles. And Aaron is not the only Waikato boy who has gone on to have a successful international career after being developed by Danny. One of Danny’s former Hamilton apprentices is now training apprentices himself at a large printing company in New York, and another is a Technical Manager for a printing firm in Sweden.

Aaron says, “Danny was nominated and chosen for the award due to his contribution to the New Zealand printing industry in regards to apprenticeship training, both inside Convex and for other printing companies.”

Hamilton-based Convex Plastics is widely recognised as one of the leading trainers of flexographic printing apprentices in New Zealand and Managing Director, Owen Embling, says it’s largely due to the combined efforts of Danny and Printing Manager Gary Dillistone, who create a great team spirit within the printing department.

Owen says, “Danny has touched the lives of dozens of local Waikato apprentices and his induction into the AFTA Hall of Fame is a fitting recognition for someone who has helped so many others excel.”