THE ECHO - Ferrostaal
THE ECHO - Ferrostaal
THE ECHO - Ferrostaal
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After three decades, this Colombian printing<br />
house – currently owned by Bertelsmann<br />
and El Tiempo, the country’s largest<br />
newspaper – has updated its technology and<br />
processes. With exports to other countries<br />
in the region accounting for almost<br />
70 percent of production, the plan is to become<br />
market leader.<br />
AN ENDURING ALLIANCE<br />
Through IPP Colombia, a subsidiary of<br />
MAN <strong>Ferrostaal</strong>, MAN Roland has collaborated<br />
with Printer Colombiana since the<br />
company’s beginnings, providing technological<br />
consulting and support as well<br />
as financing support to allow for the<br />
modernisation of the company’s production<br />
operations. In 1981, the company<br />
acquired a MAN Roland Rekord 4-color<br />
press to produce books and “later, in the<br />
90s, we made the leap to LITHOMAN and<br />
ROTOMAN rotary presses for our magazine<br />
production. Now we are daring to move on<br />
to large-format, sheet-fed machines with<br />
our purchase of a new Roland 904-7B XXL<br />
press, the first of its kind in Latin America<br />
and also the first within the Arvato Group,<br />
Bertelsmann’s printing division,” says<br />
Printer Colombiana’s CEO, summing up his<br />
company’s technological evolution.<br />
Printer Colombiana will use the new press<br />
primarily to produce high-quality books.<br />
However, with its colour and large-format<br />
capacity, it will also support printing of a<br />
variety of commercial products. “This<br />
machine is state-of-the-art. It will allow us<br />
to work with large formats, handle large<br />
volumes and ensure excellent performance<br />
and quality levels,” insists Juan Guillermo<br />
Giraldo.<br />
TECHNOLOGY FOR GROWTH<br />
Colombia and other countries in the<br />
region, such as Peru, Ecuador and almost<br />
all Central American nations, are currently<br />
experiencing a restructuring of their<br />
economies and the implementation of free<br />
trade agreements with the United States.<br />
Leading businesses in the region, like<br />
Printer Colombiana, are aware of the need<br />
to take advantage of these agreements to<br />
break into the North American market and<br />
increase business opportunities. One such<br />
strategy is to undergo modernisation<br />
processes allowing for “renovation of<br />
equipment and machinery in order to keep<br />
up with the technologies best suited to<br />
international markets,” in the words of<br />
Juan Guillermo Giraldo.<br />
02<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>ECHO</strong> 1/2006 45<br />
The purchase of the large-format press<br />
marks Printer Colombiana’s entry into the<br />
world of MAN Roland technology for sheetfed<br />
large-format printing (120 x 162 cm)<br />
and will allow the company to strengthen<br />
their position as one of Latin America’s<br />
leading printers of books.<br />
Investment in this technology reflects an<br />
obvious awareness of market tendencies<br />
and the service options and quality offered<br />
by MAN Roland and MAN <strong>Ferrostaal</strong>. “Our<br />
decision was based on our enduring<br />
relationship of trust with the manufacturer<br />
and with IPP Colombia. We train our<br />
personnel in Germany and depend on<br />
direct, permanent and real-time support<br />
from the factory to solve any problems<br />
that arise with our press,” says Giraldo.<br />
Today, after 30 years with Printer<br />
Colombiana, the empty space he once contemplated<br />
with Mr. Schropp has become<br />
for Giraldo the place where his career<br />
began and from which he was able to move<br />
the company on to the position it enjoys in<br />
the market today: a position of leadership<br />
achieved together with their clients,<br />
employees and suppliers.<br />
Germán Gonzáles<br />
01. Roland 904 XXL at Printer<br />
Colombiana<br />
02. Juan Guillermo Giraldo, CEO<br />
of Printer Colombiana, relies<br />
on the Roland 904-7B XXL for<br />
the production of high-quality,<br />
full-colour books.