Amongst all this speculation, rhetoric and even venom, I thought it would be fitting to thank Harman for getting this far since their buyout ten years ago. At that time, everyone was convinced that Ilford film, papers and chemicals would soon be gone. The five Harman directors have put a lot of work in to the business over the last ten years and would have made a lot of sacrifices to form the new company and raise the funds for the buyout. They have rescued the brand of Ilford, kept it in production, and by all accounts have left the company in a profitable state.
Why they have chosen to sell at this point is up to them, and what will happen next will be seen. As a professional printer I will have spent tens of thousands of pounds on Ilford materials in the last thirty years, (probably hundreds of thousands), so have a very strong interest in what happens next. What I can say, is that having worked directly with Harman on education programmes, paper testing and in the pre-digital days, exhibitions of printer's work, (they were fun!), they were always committed to analogue photography, and in selling the business, I would think that in doing so, would want to ensure there was a commitment from the new owners to carry on their work. This of course is my speculation, but as everyone else is doing so, I might as well join in. In an e mail I received from Harman yesterday, it states, 'What will this mean for you? Operationally, you can expect absolute continuity.' I do hope this is the case.
Personally I would like thank all of the five original directors for all their work, commitment and wish them and the new Harman well. Also remember, there are a lot of people in Moberley employed by Harman, so they probably are more concerned than anyone for 'absolute continuity' in the business. I'm certainly going to carry on using Ilford materials, (as well as Foma and Adox), in the hope that there is a long life assured for the company and the brand.
