Less than six months after announcing a new location for the facility, Ive Group has its new 80-page heatset pressline and other equipment in production in Sydney's Huntingwood.
Ive Group's Franklin Web business ordered the first of what has become two manroland Lithoman presses for the site after the two announced a merger last December.
Gämmerler postpress equipment and a Müller Martini Corona perfect binding line - which is already in production - are part of the line-up which is to be supplemented by a second 80-page Lithoman next August after a flow of orders for the new business.
Part of the workload is Coles Supermarkets' monthly catalogue, a multimillion dollar contract Franklin won from rival IPMG and has been producing since July.
The round-the-clock catalogue printing facility is reported to be working "very smoothly" with Franklin's expansion into NSW adding flexibility and speed to market for national retail customers. The site is in production ahead of schedule, thanks to good planning and "exemplary" collaboration between Ive and its contractors and equipment suppliers.
Pictured: Checking a giant 80-page proof