My best guess is, lukewarm. I’m sure  there was an element of relief that a Chinese manufacturer didn’t step in at the eleventh hour, but this must have been tempered by the disappointment that a debt-laden MBO didn’t succeed.

In some respects, Manroland was lucky to be spared a death by a thousand cuts that others probably still face, because the administrator was able to instigate a lightning fast restructuring programme. Something that would typically be unheard of in a German company constrained by labour laws that, by comparison, make the UK look a haven for ruthless employers.

However, the question is will it prove to be a case of rationalise in haste, repent at leisure? While getting the numbers right was critical to secure a buyer, will it leave the business, well businesses now, fit for the future?

The jury is still out on that one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the R&D departments were decimated by the ‘right-sizing’. But at least both divisions are now in the hands of owners that are not only interested, but also, on the face of it, adorned with deepish pockets and, presumably, arms of corresponding lengths.

And let’s be honest, what its customers need from the Manrolands after the past few months is stability, not new bells and whistles.

– PrintWeek editor Darryl Danielli