➤ A unique ‘one-stop’ resource of people for sales, parts, products and technology now supports manroland newspaper and commercial customers in Australia and New Zealand, and provides expertise for press users around the world. A sales and technical service centre in Sydney now coordinates a team of 18 specialists with a single focus ... making certain that manroland web customers get the most from manroland’s resources. Proactively, it offers a range of services designed to help customers increase productivity, reliability and technical knowledge. The new initiative follows the establishment last April of manroland Web Services Australia (MWSA), with John Ostler heading up sales and market development and Graham Wickham heading up the complete services company. Having a one-stop provider with its own team of sales, engineering and technical support ensures that web customers receive priority access to expertise and support around the clock, both in Australia and from Germany. Experts with specialist newspaper and commercial web knowledge are able to discuss opportunities created by the latest manroland technology, relating them to the particular needs of local customers. “That might mean detailed and intensive involvement in a new plant project, or an upgrade to increase efficiency or open up new production opportunities,” says Ostler. But the strength of the new team goes way beyond this, taking service and support in a new direction: The biggest single team of web specialists ever assembled in the region now includes a dozen factory-trained technicians with expertise covering The complete press mechanically, electronically and print training support. Online and telephone support from the Sydney centre provides a range of services from fault-finding and diagnostics to production analysis and advice. Wear and tear parts facilities are being extended to provide an online system based on the proven manroland model in Europe, with local stock availablility and local pricing. Says Wickham, “Our aim is to build strong and open relationships with our customers, so we can understand their needs and priorities and ensure that equipment is running optimally and to world’s best standards.” With increasing attention on value-added production, Ostler says the manroland team are uniquely qualified to discuss and implement upgrades which can extend and enhance the capability of existing equipment and the scope of production. “This might embrace additional colour or pagination capacity, or the ability to print upgraded products through technologies such as heatset and inert UV, of which manroland is a pioneer,” he says. Improvements to productivity and environmental performance often come together, and the manroland team can discuss projects such as web-width reduction for newspaper presses or upgrades with ancillary equipment such as blanket washing systems for both newspaper and commercial presses, as well as mechanical, electrical system upgrades. Modifications can also be developed to suit specific needs. Providing a range of printcom consumable products – tested and approved by manroland in Augsburg – is part of the package. These include printing blankets, silicon, fountain solution, blanket wash, roller, plate and press cleaners, plate and bake gums. printcom blankets undergo a testing process tailored to ensuring their long and trouble-free performance on high-speed manroland presses. Wickham and Ostler say the aim is to be an all-encompassing, proactive web company for all customers – a one-stop facility, offering training, suggestions and advice, sales and service ... everything from a new press to a consumable item from the printcom range. “The focus is you.” MEET THE TEAM Graham Wickham – MWSA managing director – has extensive experience in heatset web-offset, most recently in the senior management team at manroland customer PMP Print in Moorebank. Over almost 40 years he has managed projects and engineering, advised on production, design, and consumables, and developed maintenance software. John Ostler – general manager for web presses – had a trade background in web printing before moving into sales with Howson-Algraphy (now part of Agfa). He joined the manroland team in 1989 initially to look after the service needs of the small number of existing users, before focussing wholly on sales and business development. Rob Partridge – who as service manager heads the MWSA service team in Australia – entered the printing industry in 1978 as a service technician with the graphics division of Sidney Cooke. He joined the manroland team in 1994, and has worked in various roles as technician, web technical specialist and spare parts manager. Wayne McCamley – web project manager – has been involved in the web printing industry for 38 years, managing projects for most of Australia’s major daily and regional newspaper sites, as well as several major commercial installations here and in New Zealand. His focus is total customer satisfaction. Martin Okkes has been manager of the TeleSupport Centre (TSC) in Sydney since 2003, looking after newspaper and commercial customers worldwide. A PECOM software and electronics specialist, he entered the printing industry in 1994 as an electrician for a Munich printer, and joined manroland in Augsburg in 2000. Christian Ilgen – 3S manager – is mainly responsible for spare parts issues and the new internet-based e-store for consumables. He joined the R&D section of manroland’s Offenbach sheetfed division, moving to Augsburg and web in 2005 as a service manager. He moved to the Sydney role in early 2009. manroland Web Services Australia (MWSA) Phone: +61 2 9338 3980 Email: info@manroland.com.au website: www.manroland.com.au