Bernhard Imbach

CEO of Note Printing Australia (NPA) Bernhard Imbach got his introduction to the printing industry in the 1970s when he undertook his apprenticeship as a letterpress and offset printer. He then worked in a number of commercial print works, followed by Orell Füssli, a Swiss commercial, privately owned printer, working mainly in security and banknote printing. Prior to leaving Orell Füssli, Bernhard had worked for 10 years as a consultant to NPA with regard to quality management, technical, and pre-press solutions. In November 2007, he commenced work with NPA as operations manager before taking up the CEO role in February 2008.

NPA has gained international recognition for its invention of polymer banknote printing, which set the benchmark globally. "“This was such a new thing that people really didn'’t think about what the quality was like. However, over the past 20 years, I think NPA lost a bit of focus on the core business, which is banknote printing, as a result of concentrating resources on marketing to gain successful penetration into the paper banknote market. They didn’t do a lot of development in the quality of printing, which we'’ve done significantly over the past six years, not only in educating people but also in getting in the latest equipment from a development point. We’ve made sure we train our people with the skills they need so we can produce a quality product that meets our customers’ expectations. Having a good partnership with your key suppliers is an important factor, in my view. These suppliers are able to train our people very well in using their equipment and products to the best of their ability.”"