A hArd-hitting - Plantin

Heidelberg News • Profiles
performance has been such that Heidelberg, with its wide variety of
products and solutions, is our first port of call every time we are
looking for a new press,” he says.
per month.
As a result, there is now a second
Speedmaster XL 105 in the pressroom.
230jobs
This one has six inking units, a coating
unit for water-based inks, Axis Control and an extended delivery.
Kirkwood also operates a four-color Speedmaster SM 102 with perfecting
device and CP2000 press control station. You can tell that
Eddie is very proud of these presses, but he is a hard taskmaster
with high quality standards. “The absolute minimum I expect is
15,000 sheets an hour,” he states, stressing every single word. “Why
else would I buy these superb presses? If one of our press operators
feels it would be safer to operate at 12,000 sheets an hour, I tell him
no. It makes no difference at all to the press whether it prints at
12,000 or 15,000 sheets an hour. That’s just the mindset of the press
operator. I say ‘It’s all in your head.’”
12 • Issue 268 • 2009
With the existing machinery – which also includes an old platen
press and a cylinder press from Heidelberg for special work such as
creasing, embossing, and numbering – Kirkwood produces the entire
portfolio you would expect from a typical commercial print
shop. This includes everything from simple flyers to brochures, annual
reports, catalogs and books with flexible binding. On average,
Kirkwood completes a total of around 230 jobs each month for both
local and national businesses in the United States and companies in
the United Kingdom. Customers include universities, insurance
firms, a large auction house, companies in the food industry, museums,
paper companies, international companies such as the energy
and petroleum giant Exxon Mobil and world-famous brands like
Tiffany and Google.
Jobs are processed by 64 prepress, press, and postpress staff who
work round the clock six days a week in two shifts. The remaining
47 members of the 111-strong workforce are responsible for sales,
marketing and administrative tasks. Bob estimates that the majority
of jobs – around 200 – generate between 5,000 and 7,000 U.S. dollars
(between 3,500 and 5,000 euros). The big money is earned with the
Right on target – on the green
and in Kirkwood’s marketing
department. Sales Manager
Robert Brown is a keen golfer.
He currently plays off a handicap
of 12.