Fairfax and manroland web systems have partnered to update Fairfax’s Wellington plant, part of a restructuring project that began in Australia in 2013.
Over the past year, they have adapted the newspaper production of Fairfax’s printing houses in Australia and New Zealand to what they call a changed market situation. Fairfax fired up a newly configured Geoman in Wellington at the end of April, printing the Dominion Post daily.
The updated Geoman in Wellington printing the latest Dom Post
Graham Wallace, project manager at Fairfax Media, says, “manroland web systems constantly works on the service offerings and the product upgrades. We decided to invest in these basic modifications to reach the latest requirements for newspaper production – this definitely has been achieved. Due to the restructuring and the upgrading of our presses, we could strengthen the leading market position of our newspapers and furthermore add the latest trends of the industry.
After receiving the order for the restructure, manroland web systems says its main target was to equip the company for the future so it has adapted the Fairfax newspaper presses to the changed market conditions. It has moved components from Melbourne to Wellington, re-configuring and mechanically checking up the Geoman press, removing outworn electronics, implementing an additional format variability.
The companies say the restructure continues a long-term partnership between Fairfax Media and manroland web systems that began in the early 1990s.
The job involved retrofits of the presses and integration of technical solutions. They also integrated the press could into earthquake-resistant architecture of the building.
Manroland says the each press update follows a deep analysis to find the ideal solution that reaches all requirements, adding that this process requires technical knowledge and capabilities in order to provide and successfully implement the best possible solution. Timothy Ruth, vice president sales at manroland web systems, says, “It was a great challenge to support one of our most important customers at reducing the costs for newspaper production while at the same time increasing the quality and performance of the equipment. We are happy about the fact that we could not only deliver high-class printing technology but also proof our abilities in project management by mastering the logistically and organizational challenges of this extremely complex project.”
Wallace adds, “manroland web systems has been a reliable partner during the entire the project phase. We are very pleased about the accurate and fast handling and the new possibilities that are given due to the new production.”
