GWS Combines Presses in Mexico, Spain

By: Jim Rosenberg While it expects to ship by year's end an upgraded Wifag press from its shop in Schijndel, the Netherlands, to The Times in Shreveport, La., Graphic Web Systems also is completing an upgrade and extension in Mexico and performing a similar second project for a customer in Spain.

After extending a manroland Uniset in Avila with equipment from a pressroom in Salamanca, GWS just signed with the same Spanish newspaper printer to extend a press in Madrid using equipment from the Netherlands.

At the IFRA Expo here this week, GWS owner Willem Kok, a former IFRA president and Telegraaf Media Groep technical executive in Amsterdam, also outlined a major project in Mexico. Excelsior wanted to extend an old manroland Colorman 35, but was not prepared to purchase a new or even a used press.

In a separate building it owned an even older, Harris press. GWS relocated four units and a folder from Harris at one end of the Colorman, providing a horizontal four-color web. It stacked other Harris units for another four-color web. The Harris equipment was upgraded with Siemens controls and automatic color register.

On the Colorman side, part was taken out of service to get new drives, the same Siemens controls retrofitted to the Harris side, and new plate locks. It provides a third four-color web. Now being upgraded in the same manner, the remaining Colorman units will provide a fourth full-color web or, with limited color, two webs, thanks to the addition of two reelstands.

In addition to added page and color capacity and functional improvements, the upgraded and extended press will offer more versatility in number of webs run to either or both folders.

GWS also has been developing such products as compact infeed and outfeed modules, web-up systems and a variable web-width kit for doublewides.

In addition to providing press service, maintenance and dismantling, GWS has long performed appraisal for banks, insurors and lease companies. It is manroland?s exclusive partner for business in used web presses.

The extraordinary inventory of used equipment -- much of it not too old -- and its consequent low price allow GWS and others to present more possibilities at lower costs to prospective customers at a time when so few are willing or able to invest in new equipment.

?We see the amount of inquiries picking up,? says Kok, ?and there we are ahead of the [new-equipment] manufacturers.? Still, for many, he adds, if the money isn?t there, they won?t be installing printing equipment, new or used.