Montreal-based Transcontinental, the largest print corporation in Canada and the sixth largest in North America, has ordered four triple-wide versions of the ultra-compact KBA Commander CT for plants in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. It is one of the biggest newspaper or semi-commercial contracts Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) has received in recent years. The four presses will have a total of sixteen towers, four single and two double folders and six heatset dryers. Installation of all four presses will start in the first quarter of 2010. The purpose of the investment is to accommodate long-term printing contracts and enhance efficiency.

Focus on excellence in printing, publishing and service
Founded in 1976, Transcontinental is Canada’s largest independent newspaper printer, and has driven growth in recent years with contract work for big North American newspapers like The Globe and Mail, La Presse and San Francisco Chronicle. It is also the leading publisher of consumer magazines and French-language educational resources in the country, and the second-largest community newspaper publisher, while its digital platform delivers unique content through more than 120 web sites. Its Marketing Communications Sector provides advertising services and marketing products using new communications platforms supported by database analytics, premedia, email marketing and custom communications. The firm’s 14,000-strong workforce is dedicated to a culture of continuous improvement and financial discipline, based on values such as respect, innovation and integrity. Transcontinental operates in Canada, the United States and Mexico, and reported revenues of C$2.4 billion in 2008.
 
Commander CT wins on ROI, productivity and flexibility
The decision in favor of the high-automation, high-output KBA Commander CT was influenced by a potentially higher return on investment (ROI) when factoring in the cost of infrastructure and buildings: the press takes up less space, consumes less energy and requires fewer personnel than other presses. On top of this the Commander CT’s compact design, which minimizes fan-out, and optimized film inking units with three form rollers deliver a superb print quality. Since Transcontinental is planning to combine coldset and heatset operation, this was a key criterion.

Brian Reid, President Print Sector Transcontinental, says: “We were won over by the first-class technical support KBA provided throughout the entire planning period, and by the innovative solutions they offered. Although the Daily News in New York can lay claim to the first triple-wide Commander CT installation in North America, we’ll be the first print operation worldwide with multiple press lines printing hybrid coldset/heatset products or coldset newspapers alongside heatset commercials. And with these innovative compact presses, we’ll be doing it more cost effectively than was previously considered possible. In addition to the Commander CT’s raft of winning features for reducing operational and maintenance input, what impressed us most was the enormous flexibility displayed in customizing the press for our specific needs.”
 
Low build, high output
The presses for Transcontinental will be controlled by KBA ErgoTronic consoles and incorporate heatset dryers with auxiliaries, KF 5 single or double jaw folders and KBA Pastomat reelstands, embedded in Patras A automated reel-logistics systems. Each press line will have a maximum hourly output of 90,000 full-color newspapers, inserts or magazines with up to 48 broadsheet or 96 tabloid pages. 
 
Claus Bolza-Schünemann, Deputy President of KBA, says: “Over the past decade we have expended a lot of money and effort developing this new compact platform comprising the waterless Cortina and the conventional Commander CT. This contract from an internationally respected market player like Transcontinental is a major vote of confidence in KBA and confirms the wisdom of our strategy.”