World's Biggest Press In Australia For First Time

The KBA Rapida 205, which is claimed to be the world's biggest sheetfed press, is bound for Australia for the first time, with Glama Pak ordering a five unit plus coater version of the machine.

The Rapida 205 it to be installed at Glama Pak's Sydney production centre.

The new 205-centimetre (80.75-inch) wide press is part of a AUS$12m (US$11.3m) project that takes offset printing to the Sydney factory for the first time.

Installation of the Rapid 205 is scheduled for December with a commissioning date of next February.

According to KBA, Africa, is now the only continent where there is not a Rapida press.

Glama Pak director and shareholder, John Wheeler said: "It is a major project but a comfortable one.

We have worked with KBA several times before as we have three of its large-format presses in Melbourne." When it came to the choice of press Wheeler explained that it was straight forward: "Essentially there is only one manufacturer that produces a two-metre-plus press.

In addition the KBA large-format presses are highly specified with automated plate loading, colour control and interdeck drying in particular." Glama Pak works in the litho laminated corrugated packaging market and produces displays, POS, posters and maps.

It also prints on semi-rigid plastics.

Wheeler said: "There is a need for a highly specified large-format press in Sydney.

This includes a significant amount of screen-printed work that would benefit from a move to large-format offset." The US$12m investment includes an increase in the size of its joint Glama Pak and Ace Displays Milperra factory by 50 per cent to 120,000 square feet (11,000 squar metres).

It also includes a new large-format CTP, with four suppliers currently vying for the sale, a new Epson 11880 colour proofing system, a new Bobst SPO 2.1 die-cutter and four new folder gluers, a pair each from Lamina and Bickers.

Since Drupa 2004 KBA said it has sold 50 of its Rapida 185 and Rapida 205 sheetfed presses.

Initially confined to European and North American printers of posters, POS displays, books and packaging, more recently they have also been discovered by printers in China, with the first Rapida 185 five-colour press due to arrive in Shanghai.

Glama Pak and Ace Displays are part of the Visy group.

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