SWUG comes of age in South Australia

The 2006 SWUG conference will be held from October 13-16 at the Shores Conference Centre in West Beach, South Australia. It will represent the conference's first visit to the state since 1987 with the theme of this year's event to be 'Keys to Success' to coincide with the 21st anniversary.

“SWUG is very pleased to be heading back to South Australia to celebrate this important milestone in the organisation's history,” says Bob Lockley, SWUG president.

“We've certainly grown up as a group over the past 21 years and, in the process, we've learned a lot about how to improve what we do as newspaper printers on a day-to-day basis.

“Still, you're never too old to learn and the fact that SWUG continues to attract new delegates each year is testimony to the continued relevance of what the conference has to offer.”

The conference is expecting a strong turn out from local and interstate delegates and, as in previous years, the advice is to book early to avoid disappointment. A variety of accommodation packages at competitive rates have been made available for delegates in the beachside suburb of Glenelg, located just minutes by car from Adelaide airport.
The Host site this year is Rural Press Printing at Murray Bridge, which will be opening up its new print centre featuring Kodak thermal CTP, a six tower Goss Community press with spray bar dampening, auto registration, right angle reel stands, Goss Universal and SSC folders, and, in the mailroom, Müller Martini Alphaliner inserting machine and Müller Martini 335 collate, stitch and trimmer. All equipment will be operating on the night.

The SWUG annual presentation dinner is scheduled for Sunday 15 October, where the winners of both the SWUG awards for excellence in newspaper printing and the SWUG Apprentice of the Year award will be announced.

Conference registration packs and details on how to enter both the SWUG Awards and the Apprentice of the Year are available from Anita White at Rural Press on (02) 4570 4444 or email anita.white@ruralpress.com . Completed registration forms should be returned, together with payment, by 15 September, 2006.

Entries to the SWUG Awards should be supplied by 22 September, with entry forms and details available with the registration pack. To be eligible, newspaper entries should be printed between 21 August and 15 September for category one and two, while commercial products should be between May and August 2006 to be eligible for category three.

It is the third year of the SWUG-sponsored Apprentice of the Year award and nominations are once again invited from print site management. The purpose of this initiative is to encourage apprentices in all print centres and to provide them with an opportunity to learn more about the industry within Australia. The winner will attend the 2007 conference and undertake a tour of selected print sites around Australia during the following year.

The closing date for nominations is 29 September, 2006 and should be sent to: SWUG Committee, PO Box 158, Kurmond NSW 2757.