PAARL MEDIA INVESTS IN KWAZULU-NATAL

In addition to employment creation and skills upliftment, this substantial investment is expected to deliver a new standard of print service to businesses in the region.

‘Geographic positioning is becoming increasingly important for differentiation and lower transportation costs,’ explains Stephen van der Walt, CEO of the Paarl Media Group. ‘The KZN operation will extend our national footprint so that customers will be able to have work printed in different locations on identical platforms, enabling the delivery of cost-effective products in the fastest time.’

The plant’s optimal layout has been designed for the efficient production of magazine and commercial print work. This includes the implementation of fully-automated processes and advanced technology throughout, comments Aaron Ganesh, newly-appointed general manager of Paarl Media KZN. Aaron has joined Paarl Media with a wealth of relevant experience, having held various management roles at Nampak, including regional general manager and divisional director of Nampak Cartons & Labels, and as supply chain manager for Nampak Sacks.

He’s very excited about the new plant and its world-class equipment.

‘In the prepress area, the latest Prinergy Connect PDF Workflow and Kodak InSite soft proofing approval systems allow customers to send material electronically and sign off final proofs via a secure website, giving them control and ownership of their material,’ Aaron explains. He’s also proud to point out that Paarl Media is the first organisation worldwide to have over 500 users of this efficient technology.

‘Furthermore, our new Lüscher Xpose! CtP equipment – with plate handling system and thermal laser technology – ensures speedy plate production to get material to press as quickly as possible,’ Aaron adds.

Supplied by Ferrostaal, the Lüscher Xpose! 160 thermal CtP system plus plate processing and baking line was initially installed at Paarl Media Gauteng. However, with the purchase of a new very large format system for the Gauteng plant, it was decided to transfer the existing equipment to the new KZN facility, where it has been reinstalled by the Ferrostaal team.

Apart from ongoing service support, Ferrostaal is also supplying Paarl Media KZN with Fujifilm thermal positive plates, which can achieve 200 000 impressions unbaked and up to one million impressions baked.

manroland delivers

Printing is carried out on two 16-page Rotoman presses, recently installed by manroland Southern Africa. These presses offer quick make-ready and speeds up to 65 000 full colour copies/hour.

‘We’re proud of our strong association with the Paarl Media group and this installation further highlights our turnkey capabilities, as well as our commitment to the local market,’ comments Frank van Dijk, CEO of manroland Southern Africa.

He goes on to explain that manroland Southern Africa will also manage the maintenance and service contracts for these presses.

As a joint effort between the service teams of manroland Southern Africa and Paarl Media, the installation of the Rotoman presses commenced in June. Plant commissioning was scheduled for mid-August, which set a strong challenge to the installation team.

‘Through constant evaluation and alignment with customers’ needs, we provide turnkey solutions through regional service teams,’ Frank adds.

As these teams include local engineers working alongside manroland’s international engineers based in South Africa, customers are assured of access to deep experience and a broad skills base.

This installation follows two other successful projects for Paarl Media. Towards the end of 2009 a team comprising staff from Paarl Media, manroland Southern Africa and manroland in Germany completed the fastest installation of a Lithoman 80 globally; and earlier this year Paarl Print asked manroland Southern Africa to source, recondition and install an Octoman press at its facilities in Paarl. This was procured from Europe, with reconditioning and upgrades carried out at manroland Southern Africa’s headquarters in Airport Industria, Cape Town.

Consistent, accurate colour

The presses are equipped with innovative QuadTech register and ink control systems to guarantee consistent, accurate ISO-certified colour throughout the run. In addition, one press includes aqueous coating and sheeting capability, allowing magazine covers to be run in-line to improve delivery times. The Gammerler in-line trimming system delivers most formats on the folding line. To complete the job, both saddle-stitching and square back binding facilities are available on-site.

As part of the group’s commitment to limiting its impact on the environment, Megtec’s Dual Dry TNV (an integrated dryer/oxidiser) and Epsilon Regenerative Thermal Oxidiser (RTO) technology has been installed on the web presses to eliminate emissions, in line with stringent international standards. Energy is recovered from the oxidisation process to be reused in the drying section, vastly reducing gas consumption.

According to Megtec’s MD, Colin Morris, the primary benefit of the Epsilon is energy efficiency through a 94% heat exchange efficiency.

This results in low gas consumption and, depending on the actual solvent load in the exhaust air from the dryer, can operate without any gas. This mode is called auto thermal. Another key benefit is the guarantee of very low carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen – at half the legislated levels in Europe (ie 50mg/Nm3 versus 100mg/Nm3); and carbon emission at the very strict level of 20mg/Nm3 in line with European regulations. In addition, with the exhaust fan on the inlet side of the Epsilon some 35% less electrical energy is consumed than if the fan were on the outlet side. Overall, the more energy efficient such a device is, the better the end user’s carbon footprint per printed copy.

Furthermore, a Höcker paper waste and dust extraction system offers reliable, energy-efficient operation for the collection of all paper waste for recycling.
‘Paarl Media’s business has been built around making printing personal,’ concludes Aaron Ganesh. ‘We look forward to delivering the same highly professional standard of service to our customers in KZN.’

Caption: Aaron Ganesh has joined Paarl Media as general manager of the newly-established Paarl Media KZN. He brings a wealth of relevant experience, having held various management roles within the Nampak group.