Less than three years after a dramatic strategic switch into large format trade printing, Centrum has just bought its second KBA Rapida this time a six-colour press and coat 145 which will run at 18,000sph.

The new press will join Centrum’s existing Rapida 162A, which now runs almost at capacity at the company’s Sydney print factory.

Sandra Mascaro, general manager at Centrum is at drupa to sign the deal, and says the new press will help local printers place work in Australia instead of overseas. She says, “Part of the mission of Centrum is to help build the local print manufacturing industry by providing a manufacturing capability within these shores. The first large format KBA press has proved a major success with the local market, so much so that we now have to install another.

“We are saying to printers that we have taken the risk by putting in the kit, it is available for you to make use of to meet the demands of your customers for high quality quick turnaround large format work.”

Centrum has managed to win a swag of new clients since installing the first Rapida, with major commercial printers and packaging printers using the press, as well as a host of smaller outfits. Mascaro says, “Centrum has clearly hit a nerve with the local market, and with this new investment we are ensuring that we are fully capable of meeting all their needs for the foreseeable future.”

The company produces POS, packaging and magazine covers for its growing number of clients.

The new Rapida means that Centrum is now an all-KBA house. Mascaro says, “The first press, the 162A has performed really well for us, so we had no hesitation about placing the order for the second large format press with KBA.”

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