Heidelberg

Any in-plant manager lucky enough to be in Chicago last month for Graph Expo got to witness some significant developments in the world of graphic arts. Dubbed “The Inkjet Graph Expo” by some, the show featured more inkjet technology than most in-plant managers had ever seen in one place.

The positive trend in business at Heidelberg continued in the second quarter of financial year 2010/2011 (July 1 to September 30, 2010). Based on preliminary calculations, incoming orders increased to EUR 651 million, compared to EUR 534 million for the previous year. Some EUR 39 million is accounted for by exchange rate movements.

A year after the disappointing attendance levels of PRINT 09, Graph Expo 2010 seemed like a real trade show again. The aisles were full of people, who massed around new products and kept vendors busy with demos. 

Numerous in-plants were spotted walking the aisles of Graph Expo. Dozens of them packed a conference room for a lunchtime session on Tuesday, to hear vendors and fellow in-plant managers talk about how to incorporate integrated marketing into their operations.

For Steve Amitrano, getting a four-color press was always in his long-range plans. For many years, his six-employee in-plant at New Jersey's Burlington County College (BCC) had been running tons of four-color work on its two-color presses, fitting it in between two-color jobs.

The in-plant serving The Cincinnati Insurance Companies demonstrates a talent for saving, finding and making all the time necessary to reduce costs and satisfy ultra-tight turnaround requirements.

It's hard to believe, but Graph Expo will begin in just nine days. Though the absence of such regulars as Heidelberg and Komori has been duly noted, the graphic arts trade show will still be bursting with new technologies for in-plants to peruse.

A sudden workload increase came when cosmetics company Mary Kay Inc. shifted the printing and folding of product inserts from outside printing suppliers to the company's in-plant facility in Carrollton, Texas. "It hit us like a ton of bricks" recalls Keith Hopson. "We didn't know it was coming until we were flooded with work."

IPG Editor Bob Neubauer takes a road trip through Oregon, visiting three in-plants along the way.

Heidelberg's corporate management has negotiated a new set of terms with its works council in Germany that will enable the press manufacturer to, among other things, reap a cost savings of 80 million euro by fiscal year 2011-2012. The deal includes an agreement for German employees to forgo collectively agreed payments and company contributions, an option for Heidelberg to draw on additional working hours, and a progressive work time arrangement.

Ohio State University's in-plant is a heavyweight among its peers. In-Plant Graphics' December 2009 survey of the largest in-plants in North America lists Ohio State's UniPrint operation as the number-one revenue-producing ($18 million) university shop and as having the fourth-most employees (81).