Pressroom

Frye Williamson Experiences Best Sales in 40-Year History with Heidelberg Press

Tuesday 02. December 2008 - When Rick Serena and his brother Lynn, co-owners of Frye Williamson Press in Springfield, Ill., decided to enter the 40-inch market by purchasing their first 40-inch press, they expected to upgrade the capacity and speed of their pressroom. What they did not expect, however, was to immediately experience the best two months of sales in the company’s 40-year history after installing a 5-color Speedmaster SM 102 press with coater and perfector from Heidelberg.

“The stars just completely aligned for us,” Rick Serena said. “Because the SM 102 installation went so smoothly, we were able to take on additional work when our competitor closed down, causing our sales to increase by 250 percent year-over-year. We absolutely could not have accomplished this without Heidelberg’s expert advice and technology.” Serena was most impressed with the planning and execution of the installation itself, citing the support and expertise of Heidelberg’s installation team. “I’ve never seen anything so well planned out,” he said. The new press, which replaced several 20-year-old models, is primarily used for high-end creative work for advertising campaigns, publication development and quality general commercial work for clients in the central Illinois region. To help keep the new press at its peak, the company’s operators use Heidelberg Saphira Consumables – including blankets and foils. Prinect Prepress Interface seamlessly links the new Heidelberg press with all of Frye Williamson’s prepress workflow systems, helping to drastically reduce make-ready time. The company’s foray into the 40-inch market comes at a perfect time, as they are celebrating their 40th year as Frye Williamson, which now has 30 employees. However, the company’s history with Heidelberg goes back many more years. The two companies that merged in 1968 to form Frye Williamson were both more than 100 years old at the time, and both already used Heidelberg equipment. Today, a Heidelberg Windmill and a reconditioned Heidelberg letterpress machine are still in use at Frye Williamson for finishing work. The company also runs an older model Heidelberg MOVP press and two Heidelberg QM DI presses. “We are so happy with Heidelberg all around,” Serena said.