Argentine packaging printer Talleres Graficos Scolnik in the provincial capital of Santa Fe has added a KBA Rapida 105 six-colour coater press with board-handling capability to upgrade its production line. Established over 75 years ago by the present owners, this family business is one of KBA's oldest customers in Argentina and has operated sheetfed presses from Radebeul since making the transition to offset in the 1960s. The last KBA press Scolnik ordered was a six-colour Rapida 104 with inline coating, which went live in 1997. After printing 279 million sheets this press now needs some reinforcements.

Four generations of printing packaging
Under the guidance of Jaime Scolnik, Abraham Scolnik, the present owner Roberto and his son Roberto Bruno, who is deputy president, the company has cornered the pole position in the Argentine market by specialising in packaging printing. In the region around the River Parana the biggest industries are agriculture and food processing. The Scolnik family has therefore focussed on offering a complete range of services relating to food packaging.

A modern press fleet with the two medium-format Rapidas from KBA at its core, and a flexible finishing line at two separate production plants with a combined 6,500m2 (70,000ft²) of floor space provide a sound basis for fulfilling challenging print jobs on a range of different substrates. Around 440 tonnes (484 US tons) of paper and board, varying in weight from 260 to 450gsm (120lb to 205lb Bristol) are printed every month.

Regular investment in equipment upgrades has enabled the company to keep abreast of a surging demand in the Argentine market for enhanced quality and performance. The excellent service that Talleres Graficos Scolnik and its 65 employees offer its many customers has quickly become known far beyond the province.

40 years of presses from Radebeul
Roberto Scolnik says: "We laid the foundations for our present success with sheetfed presses from Radebeul soon after the introduction of offset in 1965. Even back then, Planeta presses had a reputation in Argentina for a fine print quality and high output. From our original two Variant-P24 two-colour presses to a six-colour Super Variant installed in 1993 and the six-colour KBA Rapida 104 with inline coating and IR capability that came on stream in 1997, we have benefited on an ongoing basis from the technological improvements that Planeta and KBA have launched on the market. The same applies to our new six-colour Rapida 105."

For Roberto Scolnik, the Rapidas' inherent strengths lie in their advanced level of automation, which has dramatically shortened makeready times, their high output, their ability to handle a wide range of stock weights, and the finishing options they offer. "It was time to bring our production line up to the cutting edge again, and there was no doubt in our minds that the new press would bear the KBA logo. Our positive experience with the Rapidas over a period of decades, and our cordial contacts with staff at KBA's Radebeul plant and Argentine agency have resulted in a continuation of this longstanding association. The press made a great start and has already printed five million sheets in an outstanding quality."