Soar subscribes with Heidelberg

Auckland-based Soar Print has signed a contract for a Heidelberg B1 Speedmaster CX 102 six colour plus coater and, in the process, has become the first printer in New Zealand and Australia to take on Heidelberg’s subscription service with the new press.
 
Fred Soar, managing director at Soar Print, says, “This new press replaces the XL 105 six colour and coater which we purchased 11 plus years ago. Heidelberg will decommission the old press on December 23 and the new press will arrive in the new year.
 
“We have taken up the subscription model. It means Heidelberg supplies and services the press, plus it supplies all the consumables, except paper, for the duration of the five-year term. All we need is to supply the press with power, people, and paper.
 
“Another point is, with the subscription programme, Heidelberg demonstrators work regularly with our operators. The demonstrators are committed to making the press perform at its optimum to maximise output and ensure the operators run the machine as efficiently as possible.
 
Soar says the company has bought Heidelberg presses since, “Forever. We have bought five new presses from Heidelberg since 2002 and we have run them with maintenance contracts. What is so good about them? They deliver reliability; we get uptime and productivity; and we really have no worries.
 
“This is the latest offset technology so we are taking a 12-year step forward. We are drastically reducing makeready times and more than halving waste for the set up. We really have got the right technology got for the right job.”
 
He adds that that Soar Print has the business to keep the press running. He says, “If you get it right, you can make money in print, that is with a capital I and capital F. Be prepared to get it wrong sometimes.”
 
Heidelberg Managing Director Australia & New Zealand, Richard Timson comments that Heidelberg is, “very excited to have worked with Soar Print on this project and being the first Subscription project in Australia New Zealand is a milestone for the company.
 
“We do expect to close quite a number of Subscription deals moving forward but having worked closely with Fred on this project was invaluable as we both could see the benefits of the model and through our close relationship were able to agree on all of the key numbers to make it work.
 
“It is a win-win situation for both companies with all the known ingredients being supplied to Soar Print to ensure they can produce seamlessly whilst at the same time take advantage of the new equipment and all that brings to Soar Print.
 
“Heidelberg has built a portfolio of consumable products that work in harmony with the press maximising the operational efficiency, combine that with known servicing intervals and full instructor support the result is a very powerful production tool. We very much look forward to starting this exciting journey with Fred and his team early in the new year.”