From the press release:
Ingram Content Group Inc. today announced Melbourne as the location for its forthcoming Lightning Source print-on-demand book manufacturing operation in Australia.
The Lightning Source operation in Australia will be Ingram Content Group’s fifth networked book manufacturing facility. The location was selected for its proximity to a large concentration of major publishers and book distributors and to key metropolitan regions in the country. Ingram’s Lightning Source will occupy a building at the Scoresby industrial park in the southeastern suburb of Melbourne.
“The addition of a new manufacturing facility will have a significant impact on publishers, the retail book trade and ultimately consumers,” said David “Skip” Prichard, President and CEO, Ingram Content Group. “At Ingram, we are pleased to expand our leading print and distribution network to the Asia Pacific market, helping more content reach more destinations around the world. We will continue to make investments that fit the future of book distribution, whether traditional, print on demand, or digital.”
The response from publishers since the Australian Lightning Source print-on-demand operation was announced last September has been overwhelmingly positive. Leading content providers welcome the benefits and flexibility that virtual inventory through print-on-demand affords: driving additional sales while at the same time reducing or removing the need to warehouse local inventory, lowering transportation costs, and dramatically increasing the number of titles on hand in the region.
Publishers are submitting new content and growing their digital libraries with Lightning Source in preparation for the launch of Ingram’s Australian in-market book manufacturing facility.
Lightning Source North American facilities include its headquarters in La Vergne, Tennessee, and operations in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Lightning Source international locations include a large-scale operation in Milton Keynes, UK, (central to London) that serves the European region and a facility in Maurepas, France, a joint-venture with Hachette Book Group.
Ingram Content Group’s Lightning Source facility in Australia is expected to begin operation in June 2011.
