Live production is underway ahead of schedule at IVE Group's new web offset plant at Huntingwood in Sydney’s west.
"Everything is running very smoothly and most importantly our customers are thrilled with the jobs we are producing for them," says IVE MD Warwick Hay. "It is a 24/7 facility, specifically designed to produce retail catalogues so this is the core production."
The machinery line-up includes a new manroland 80-page Lithoman press and Muller Corona perfect binder, which are up and running.
Huntingwood rebalances Franklin WEB's catalogue production capacity between NSW and VIC.
"Having an additional facility allows for greater flexibility with the allocation of jobs across the sites," says Hay. "We can also choose where a job is produced based on what’s best for our customer."
The expansion into NSW provides greater flexibility and speed to market for national retail customers utilising like for like equipment and suppliers for consistent production across its broader footprint, said a company statement. Franklin WEB is focused on high levels of automation producing both innovative and efficient retail catalogue production for leading retailers across the country.
Good planning between IVE, contractors and equipment suppliers helped to launch the new facility ahead of schedule.
“The collaboration between IVE, building contractors, and major equipment suppliers to deliver this project in a highly compressed timeframe has been exemplary,” says Hay. “This has been a highly anticipated project that we have been pleased to share the journey with our customers.”
IVE recently announced a second 80-page Lithoman had been ordered for the western Sydney site to further rebalance capacity between NSW and VIC.
In September, IVE completed a $55.6 million capital raising to fund its acquisition of data and communications business SEMA and purchase the second 80-page press. The second Lithoman "is on track for the end of August next year," Hay says.
Franklin WEB is a division of Blue Star Group, an IVE business.