Aldus reveals sale of country's longest Mark Andy label press

Flexo is fighting back against digital print for label production, as weighing scale giant Wedderburn bought its eighth Mark Andy narrow web flexo press at PrintEx11.

It is also Wedderburn’s second press from the manufacturer’s Performance series, which comprises the P3, P5 and P7.

Denis Slater, general manager of Wedderburn’s label division, came along to the opening day of the show to sign for the 10-colour Mark Andy P7, the largest of its type on the country.

In fact, the machine’s spec if so long that only a stripped-back version is able to feature on the stand of Mark Andy’s local dealer, Aldus Engineering.

Slater said: “The P series has turned us around so we can be competitive against digital presses.

“We consider ourselves to be the type of business that looks after our clients the way they need and we can do it thanks to Mark Andy,” he said.

Wedderburn started making weighing scales in 1896, before expanding into label production.

Aldus Engineering managing director Ian Guanaria said the sale was the fourth of the Performance series in the country, and since this Wedderburn sale, the dealer has already sold number five.

“Four years ago, the Mark Andy engineers were given a brief to produce the most productive press in the market. Some 18 months ago in Brussels, the Performance series was revealed for the first time. Since then, they have sold 75 in 18 months,” said Guanaria.

Mark Andy international sales manager Mike Russell said: “We had a clean sheet of paper for the design [of the P series].

We went around the world and talked to printers about what they wanted.”

The design has paid off – the Performance series has just won the 2011 Technical Innovation Award by the USA’s Flexographic Technical Association.