Inland Takes Over Americolor Sales

By: Jim Rosenberg A deal executed shortly after the Newspaper Association of America's annual Nexpo technology trade show and conference opened here on Saturday, transferred sales of the Americolor press tower from George R. Hall Contracting to Inland Newspaper Machinery Corp.

Developed by press rigger and rebuilder Hall Contracting of Avon Lakes, Ohio, as a four-color add-on to older doublewide offset presses, the Americolor will continue to be built by Dauphin Graphic Machines, Millersburg, Pa., whose two-around singlewide model 860 press served as a basis for the Americolor design.

Hall Contracting's business often includes installation of new presses from other manufacturers. The deal was struck "to help us concentrate on our historical core press installation and rebuilding business," said the company's CEO, Graham Hall.

Formerly with Goss, DGM and Ferag, Bill Gordon heads Americolor sales for Inland. Based in Lenexa, Kan., the rebuilder and seller of used and new presses (Inland is an agency for Solna) is a unit of Inland Industries, which also operates three daily newspapers, as well as ink-manufacturing and hospitality businesses.

Gordon takes over from former Hall Contracting vice president Ron Ehrhardt, who is consulting for Inland and assisting in the Americolor marketing transition. Ehrhardt defined his role as helping "get [Hall] into the customer base that we've been developing for the past two-and-a-half years." Inland's Rich Kerns, named vice president and general manager of its Americolor Division, said Ehrhardt's services are "an open-ended arrangement. We're not sure how long he'll be in place."

Ehrhardt said Americolor currently has six to eight likely sales opportunities, which Kerns estimated as "$85 million worth of active quotations, just in the United States."

Ehrhardt called the first customer site, Charleston (W.Va.) Newspapers, a proven installation in terms of operation and quality following Ifra press tests. The Charleston project included upgrading and reconfiguring the existing press. Addition of the Americolor tower enabled Charleston to expand it commercial printing business, according to Production Director Richard Meek.

Designed for 50-inch-wide webs, Americolor features commercial ink trains and spray dampening and offers either digital or open-fountain inking and a range of automation. The transaction has no effect on DGM's role in building, warrantying and helping commission presses. "The product is virtually unchanged," explained Inland's Kerns. The only difference in new production models, he said, is that the C level has been stretched so that the cylinders sit higher above the platform to make plating easier.

"With Inland's international experience," said DGM CEO Chris Lunt, "we're looking forward to opening up a substantial export market."