Other: Sharjah Neon invests in 4-colour SM52 because of suitability for shorter runs
Dubai based commercial printers, Al Sharjah Neon LLC has invested AED 1.7 million in Heidelberg 4-colour SM52. The machine was installed in January this year, and has been fully operational since February, though 'operating at about 65-70% capacity, due to the slowdown'.
Speaking to PrintWeek MEA, managing director, George Varghese said, "We liked high speed of the machine, and other features like auto wash and particularly suitability for shorter runs was a feature which made our choice simpler. Also, the market conditions are such, with so many print units closing shop, we were not very keen on a higher investment and a bigger machine, so the 4-colour was the perfect choice."
Sharjah Neon was established in 1998 by Varghese and his brother, Paulson, with 3 employees. Today, the unit has grown to 65 employees and owns a 1-colour and 2-colour GTO besides smaller machines, branching into the digital, outdoor, signages, vehicle wraps and other print jobs besides offset printing.
Among their regular customers are Sharjah Airport Duty Free, UAE Exchange, Union Co-operative and Dubai Customs.
"We are keen to buy the bigger version of the SpeedMaster," says Varghese, "but are currently adopting a wait and watch approach. The market conditions are not too good with payments becoming a major headache, and so I feel the next 1-2 years will be tough. We intend to wait 6-8 months before deciding on investing in the 70 inch SpeedMaster.
"When we booked this machine, Euro exchange rate was much higher, and the subsequent tumble the Euro took set us back by AED 300,000 on the 1.7m we invested," he said.
