Newspaper & Mailroom
POLITIKA LIFTS CAPACITY BY 70% AND SETS SIGHTS ON INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS
Monday 10. March 2008 - Serbia's Politika a.d. may have historic roots but it is looking firmly at the future boosted by its third Komori web press investment in six years.
The company started in 1904 when Vladislav Ribnikar founded the Politika daily newspaper. Today it is the oldest daily newspaper in the Balkans and the company is among the biggest printing and publishing companies in the former Yugoslavia.
In 2002 the company, together with the German firm Westdeutsche Allegmeine Zeitung (WAZ), started Politika Newspapers and Magazines as the publishing arm, while Politika a.d. began introducing new printing technologies. The first 16-page Komori System 38 web press arrived in 2003, followed a year later by a second. When production levels at the firm reached 80% of capacity it triggered the decision to invest in a third web press. The latest Komori web – a 32-page Komori System 38D – goes live shortly and is expected to lift production capacity by 70%. General Manager, Zoran Vacic: “The increased capacity increases flexibility and opens up new markets for us and we expect to increase our export business as a direct result.”
Only a short drive from Belgrade, Politika occupies a 22,000 sqm facility and employs almost 400 staff, including editorial. Last year turnover was just over Euro 20m. Expansion is occurring on all fronts. More space has been added and new staff will be recruited to support its growth.
Politika uses its Komori webs to print books, catalogues, magazines, brochures and a variety of advertising material as well as Politika’s own publications: Ilustrovana Politika, Bazar, Politikin Zabavnik, Huper, Ana, Enigmatika, Razbibriga, Viva, and Svet kompjutera. Seventy percent of production is for contract clients. The company currently print 60 magazines for contract clients and expects this to grow significantly with the arrival of the new press.
Srdjan Markotic, Deputy General Manager, comments “We decided on Komori because we have had good experience with the presses, particularly with regard to maintenance and training. We have always been happy with Komori machines because of their clean impression and the low level of waste at start up.”
The addition of a 32 page Komori System 38 has tremendous benefits for Politika. It will open up new markets and signifies a new era in growth for the company. The shift to 32 page rotation is beneficial because it brings an increase in efficiency and rate of production. Doubling sheet size halves binding time for hard cover production, resulting in considerable savings. It also requires less binding stations in the finishing stage, thus reducing labour costs. The new equipment also allows Politika to offer new products such as 24 and 32 sheet rotoglued.
“The interchangeability of 16 and 32 page reels has two immediate cost benefits,” explains Markotic. “First, it allows us to negotiate better bulk discounts on paper production and reduce handling costs. The second is that it allows greater flexibility, for instance printing 48 page products with one 16 and one 32 page run.”
Politika is evolving its operations on all fronts. Alongside the new web, almost Euro 700,000 has also been invested in a completely new pre-press workflow and a number of finishing machines, and Euro 1.2 million in a new hard-cover production line.
The market in Serbia is developing rapidly. In 2007 Serbia consumed around 35 kilos per capita of printing paper, about one tenth that in Western Europe. Economic projections suggest that this figure will rise rapidly in coming years and Politika’s strategy is to be ready for this increase by staying ahead of the market and increasing production capabilities to benefit from this new business.
Markotic says: “We are able to offer the best printing service in Serbia. This belief is based on our three established strengths: tradition, quality and experience, and these are the qualities we seek to build on in all company development in order to satisfy our existing clientele and attract new business.”