The success story of the UNISET in Latin America has continued over the past twelve months. The Ecuadorian newspaper houses El Comercio in Quito and El Universo in Guayaquil, as well as El Colombiano in Medell'n, Colombia, all invested in UNISET printing systems, banking on the future-oriented concept from manroland.

The manroland UNISET has convinced newspaper printing companies in Ecuador and Colombia. A remarkable fact is that all three customers decided on the 3/2 press concept (two of them with a larger web width) and can thus produce newspapers with two, three or four pages in the width. The flexibility of this technology provides versatility: all presses have the well-known UNISET commercial equipment such as a third plate inking roller, a third ink distributor roller, distributor roller cooling, segmented ink blades, parallel turner bars and a magazine fold. Thus, El Comercio, El Universo and El Colombiano have acquired extremely versatile printing systems to expand their product portfolios with supplements/inserts, magazines, books and advertising printed matter. In a Road Show prior to the new investments, the customers and manroland identified the potential.

A "royal" press for a new printing plant
The investment made by El Comercio in Quito was part of an overall plan for modernizing the printing plant. The main objectives were entry into new market segments and growth in commercial printing. manroland presented a concept perfectly tailored to El Comercio's requirements and the project was completed in only 14 months. Managing Director Andres Hidalgo is thrilled with the technology he has installed: "Our experience in production with the new press in the first months was excellent. In a few words: with this project that combines German technology and precision with the speed and resourcefulness of Ecuadorians, we are very optimistic about our future." During the official opening ceremony for the new El Comercio printing plant, the UNISET was christened "La Reina" – the Queen. Grupo El Comercio and manroland also signed an agreement that covers strategic cooperation in the areas of quality improvement, product optimization, and experience exchange for the coming years. Heiko Ritscher, Regional Sales Manager responsible for the Latin American market, sees these projects as a positive signal: "With all three investments, the customers are realigning their businesses and laying the foundation for a successful future. The experience so far with El Universo and El Comercio shows how newspaper houses can successfully implement growth plans through investments."

Entering the semi-commercial market with the UNISET
A UNISET hybrid system has been in production at El Universo, Guayaquil, since mid-2009. The concept is tailored to the individual needs of the customer. Oscar Avila Medina, Production Manager at El Universo, explains: "El Universo decided to invest in a new webfed printing system because our future planning includes growth in additional publications: newspapers for specific target groups, new editions of our tabloid newspaper Super, and magazines as inserts in our newspaper El Universo. We also plan to penetrate and grow in the selected commercial market, mainly with products that can be inserted in our newspaper." He adds: "We opted for the UNISET because of its technological and quality advantages, plus its speed and the flexibility it offers us for new formats. Besides that, the press equipment makes it easier for us to start printing on other substrates apart from newsprint. This enables us to diversify our business."

The first manroland newspaper press for Colombia
With the sale of a UNISET to the El Colombiano newspaper house in Medell'n, known as the City of Flowers, manroland is to install its first newspaper press in Colombia. The contract was signed in January 2010 and the press will be delivered in January 2011. Founded in 1912 as a publishing company for the newspaper of the same name, today El Colombiano generates the widest variety of information for different media forms. In print media, the company edits two daily newspapers and one weekly for Medell'n and the surrounding area. These newspapers contain a wide range of magazines and supplements. The constraints in formats and color with the existing press equipment led to customers virtually insisting that the printing plant be modernized. Luis Miguel De Bedout, Managing Director of El Colombiano: "We decided in favor of the manroland UNISET with a web width of 1270 mm because it meets all our requirements concerning quality and productivity." Three major objectives lay behind this decision: 1. Product format flexibility, which makes it possible to produce different formats of broadsheet and tabloid publications as well as magazines. 2. The highest four-color quality and a more modern and attractive design for readers. 3. To offer contract printing to other publishers and enter into commercial printing to improve press utilization and profitability.