$12m printer buoyant with heavyweight spend on digital and MIS

The first major step occurred in April when the Perth printer installed a Kodak Nexpress SX2700 and a Nexpress SX3900 with long-sheet feeder. The investment cost about $1 million, said general manager Graham Jamieson.

Picton also invested about $200,000 to implement its new MIS, EFI Pace, which went live on 1 July. There are also plans to install a new offset press in early 2014, he said.

The company’s turnover is about $12 million, he said.

“Our strategic investment programme has ensured we have kept up with technology to remain as an industry leader,” Jamieson told ProPrint.

The new Nexpresses replaced two older models that arrived in 2007 when Picton moved in to digital.

Jamieson said the new models offered a big boost in productivity and efficiency, and also provided more substrate options and a larger sheet size.

[Review: Kodak Nexpress SX]

The fifth unit has given us an ability to have clear coating and dimensional printing. It’s also very environmentally friendly,” he added.

Jamieson also said the Nexpresses had excellent variable-data capabilities. One of the major jobs they handle is a monthly order of about 200,000 leaflets for a nationwide entertainment chain, with each franchise requiring different products, prices and addresses on its brochures, he said.

The 42-staff firm changed MIS suppliers after more than a decade with Quote & Print. Jamieson said the move to EFI was “a big learning curve for the staff”, but one that would make Picton more efficient.

“This is more of a real-time, real-cost platform that we’re on now and it gives us a better idea of where our business is at. It’s giving us a lot better reporting system so we can make very educated decisions on our business.”

Jamieson said Picton also planned to modernise its offset line-up, which currently includes a Komori LS 640, Komori L528 and Komori SP44 A1 perfector.

The company will visit Japan in July to inspect Komori technology and will then visit Germany in August to look at KBA and Heidelberg, he said.

“The way things are going in the industry, automation is a vital part of the future, and we’ve got to make sure we’re as automated and up-to-date as possible,” he said.

Jamieson told ProPrint that the second half of the 2012-13 financial year had been “a bit disappointing”, but that the technology investments would help the business become more profitable.

Picton also expects to generate improvement from an ongoing rebrand, which involves a stronger focus on web-to-print, a new logo and new staff uniforms, he said.

Jamieson added that Picton was also close to attaining ISO 14001 certification.

[LinkedIn: What have you done to become leaner?]

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