According to Manroland Australasia managing director Steve Dunwell, the changes reflect an uptick in international press orders this year, and the continued strength of the packaging sector.

He said: “It is a good thing to happen. Business has picked up in sheetfed – and web as well – in the past six months.

“Certainly China Print was a very good show for Manroland. Around the world, most markets are doing better – not all but most.

“We certainly have lots of good prospects for sheetfed presses. We are delivering one to Tahiti as we speak,” said Dunwell.

“The packaging segment, which is our strength, is still a good market in Australia and around the world so there is activity there as people look to get new presses that are productive and have value added options,” he added.

Employees at the facility in Offenbach were working on reduced hours as part of a restructuring process to bring the company in line with an industry suffering several years of tepid demand. The company has also made a number of redundancies over the past few years across the globe.

Normal hours returned on 1 July with the company claiming its economic situation had “significantly improved” in the first two quarters of 2011.

Markus Rall, member of the executive board, sheetfed printing systems business sector and production, said: “Putting an end to short-time work sets a clear signal that we are moving ahead.

“Our internal measures have proven to be effective; coupled with a strong market performance; this allows us to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead with much greater optimism.”

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