Report 36 d,e,f,s,i.qxd:Report - KBA

The webs of the two presses can be guided over a transverse link to a single folder Benjamin de Armas (in shirt and tie) with his press crew at the new Compacta
prehensive and detailed picture out
in the field. We weren’t interested
in the chef’s recommendations, we
wanted to see what the customers
were eating.” The project team
inspected KBA installations at
Panamericana in Colombia, Sogapal
in Portugal and major customers in
Mexico. The basis of trust created
in the process was reinforced by the
punctual delivery and commission-
KBA Compacta 215 for Litografica Gonzales in Gran Canaria
One of the most prominent printers
on the holiday island of Gran
Canaria is Litografica Gonzales, a
family enterprise based in Las Palmas,
the capital.
Litografica Gonzales has been
printing commercials since the late
1970s, and in recent years these
have mainly been promos for supermarkets
and the tourist industry.
In 1995 the company bought a second-hand
Albert A101 eight-page
web press, followed by a 16-page
KBA Compacta 214 in 1998 and
again in 2001. Now the 1998-vintage
Compacta is to be replaced by
a new 16-page version of the Compacta
215.
ing of the press by KBA personnel.
“We received every possible assistance
with training our operators.
We are delighted with our decision,
and so are our customers.”
Catalogues, magazines
and Playboy
One of Editorial Primavera’s biggest
customers is Avon Cosmetics, a
household name whose bulky catalogues
it has printed for the past
eighteen years. “Catalogues account
for sixty per cent of our entire
production, and most of them
are for Avon,” explains Mr de
Armas. “Every three weeks we receive
an order for around 1.5 mil-
lion copies. Our other two major
lines of business are fashion magazines
and newspaper supplements.
At present we print twenty to thirty
magazine titles, each with a circulation
of 30,000 to 60,000 copies, in
fortnightly or monthly cycles. Our
insert business, too, is growing
fast.”
Three years ago Primavera also
started printing the Venezuelan edition
of Playboy. Says de Armas: “We
have a long-term licence to print
around 35,000 copies per month.
This is a premium quality contract
which we now run entirely on KBA
presses. While we serve a huge customer
base in Venezuela, govern-
Pictured after signing the contract for a new Compacta 215 (l-r): Juan Diaz of KBA’s Spanish
web press agency, KBA-Lauvic, Litografica Gonzales’ proprietor and manager Antonio Gonzales
and KBA commercial press sales manager Fernando Ramos
Gerhard Renn
klaus.schmidt@kba.com
Web Offset | Compacta 215
ment currency restrictions sadly
prevent us from exporting on the
scale that we would like.”
The company operates a roundthe-clock
shift system six to seven
days a week. “After three months of
working with the presses we are
confident that we made the right
decision. The quality, output, makeready
times, waste levels and ease
of operation are on a whole new
plane and have allowed us to slash
turnaround times. In 2010 the
Compactas will handle fifty per cent
of our entire output,” says a beaming
Mr de Armas.
The new press will have four
printing units, a 620mm (24.5in)
cut-off on a maximum web width of
1000mm (39.37in), and shaftless
drives throughout. It will be configured
with an F3 gripper folder,
gluing and softening devices and a
Pastomat C reelstand for a maximum
reel weight of 1.8 tonnes (2
US tons). Reel feed will be manual
with Patras M. The KBA ErgoTronic
console will feature LogoTronic production
management and a CIPLink
interface to pre-press.
Marc Decker
marc.decker@kba.com
Report 36 | 2010 31