Offset Printing
SIX DEGREES OF SEPERATION
Saturday 07. June 2008 - It is said that we are all connected by six degrees of separation. DRUPA created a new chain of six degrees when past and present owners of a Goss Community newspaper press met by chance on the Graphic Web Systems stand in Hall 6 C45.
Mr. Mahgoub Erwa, the owner of Al Sudani Newspaper in Sudan was on the GWS stand to sign off the commissioning of the six tower press when a previous owner, Fernando Sanz of RecoPrint came onto the stand. Eric van Kessel, Commercial Director at Graphic Web Systems was surprised but delighted by this chance meeting, “It looked like it was staged managed but I can assure everyone it wasnt!” he said.
Graphic Web Systems had sold the press in 1997 to Snr. Sanzs company in Madrid to contract print the Financial Times. The press had been a mixture of mono units and two highs but GWS re-configured it into a six tower press for this prestigious contract. RecoPrint sold the press in 2001 to another Madrid printer. When they decided to sell the press GWS were contacted to organise the sale.
For many years, GWS had been in close contact with the Sudanese newspaper Al Sudani, trying to help them overcome a most unusual production problem. The paper was printed in Jordan and had to be flown daily to the distribution centres in Sudan. Mr. Erwas wish was to bring production of the newspaper to Sudan but he needed a press capable of high colour content, which was proving difficult to find.
Naturally he was delighted therefore when GWS tipped him off that this Community was coming back onto the market. Despite opposition from South America and Eastern Europe, Mr. Erwa moved quickly to secure the press in a deal which included GWS being responsible for the dismantling and installation.