Mother Nature has forced QLD company Zipprint to install a new finishing machine from KingTech Australia, after a storm damaged its factory. Speaking with Australian Printer, Andrew Butkus, owner of Zipprint for 20 years, says the new kit will ensure work gets done faster and more efficiently, boosting the company’s revenue and bottom line.
Butkus says, “We were forced to upgrade the Polar 66 to the KTM 66 Switchblade High speed Guillotine because we had a storm, which made the factory quite moist damaging the kit. “But we are happy we upgraded, as with the new machine we are able to get much more done with its latest technology. “It is a heavy-duty machine weighing 1500kg with better functionality than the Polar 66, which weighs half of that.” Butkus says his business, which employs four full-time staff, is also experiencing healthy growth. “Since the end of the global financial crisis we have seen a lot of small printers close shop, but now it is all working out just fine, and we are seeing healthy, steady growth,” he says. “The industry however has been divided into two segments. There are the printers who do small jobs and then there are the big trade printers, such as LEP and CMYK, who service the bigger guys.” Clyde King, owner of Kingtech Australia, says while his company traditionally supplies used machinery, the market dynamics have changed, so Kingtech changed as well to stay competitive. “It’s getting really tough out there so we decided to start supplying new equipment, which we have been doing for a couple of years now,” he says. “You are in business to make a profit and adding new machines to our range has made a lot of difference.” He says the KTM SwitchBlade 66 and 78 are a whole new breed of guillotine when compared to the usual smaller format guillotines on the market today. King says, “They are based on the original Polar design of a fully adjustable pressure hydraulic clamp and a fast gearbox/flywheel driven blade, so unlike many others they are fast at up to 42 cuts a minute and a backgauge speed of 10 meters a minute under closed loop Micro Processor servo motor control. “Its seven inch colour LCD display screen and Touch keypad – we spec this especially because they are faster and more reliable long-term than a touch screen – allows easy use of its 6000 cut and job memory boasting 0.1 mm accuracy. “The body is cast iron and the bed is slotless heavy stainless steel plate with linear rails and bearings to guide the backgauge and keep it rigid, meaning it cuts square and stays that way, we actually sell them cheaper than lesser machines!”
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter
