MAN Roland India hits expansion targets three years early

MAN Roland India has cemented its growing presence in the country by reaching its web offset target three years ahead of schedule, following a recent sale to one of India's biggest print companies.

The company already has installations at The Times of India and the Hindustan Times, and has just announced the sale of a 32-page heatset, webfed Euroman press to newspaper giant Jagran Prakashan, which runs more than 30 production sites and reaches more than 20 million readers a day.

The machine is a 32-page heatset, web offset press with a web width of 965mm, a cylinder circumference of 1092mm and a maximum speed of 35,000rph, or 70,000 copies cross-folded.

It has a horizontal web lead and consists of four printing units, an automatic splicer and a DualDry III dryer. The folding system is equipped with a 2:3:3 jaw folder with quarter fold and is driven by shaftless AC motor technology.

This is the latest boost for MAN Roland India, which last year established headquarters in Delhi, as well as a branch office in Chennai, and is currently planning a new centre in Mumbai.

With Drupa approaching, the company has said it is targeting 75 printing units in the sheetfed segment. Since October 2007, it has installed 27 printing units across the country.

This includes a number of Regioman presses for The Times of India, three Colorman presses for the Hindustan Times  in Delhi, and two Regioman presses for the paper's Mumbai plant, along with key installations at Silvassa-based Twenty First Century Printers.
 
As part of its expansion in the country, MAN Roland India has also taken over its long-standing sales and service partner for web presses, IPP India (Intergrafica Print and Pack).

It has also taken over the sheetfed press agency rights from IEM (Indo European Machinery), making it responsible for sales and service of the company's product range.

General manager at MAN Roland India, Neeraj Dargan, said: "The Indian market has enormous potential. Long-standing customers are welcoming us because of our transparent pricing and efficient servicing."

He added: "Our goal is to maximise our customer care. We intend to support each and every MAN Roland installation. By December 2008, we will have 28 technicians on board."