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Pressnet  Sakurai 
After 12 months of building up Sakurai’s brand name in Australia, new local agent Pressnet has received a flurry of press orders A single impression diameter Sakurai 566SI and 466SIP have been ordered, as well as a double diameter Sakurai 566SD destined for Brisbane.

Charlie Scandrett from Pressnet says that nine Australian engineers will be trained in the Sakurai factory in Gifu while these presses are being delivered.

“A unique condition in each sale contract is that a Sakurai parts store, and factory trained engineers must be maintained by Pressnet in each state with a Sakurai installation,” explains Scandrett. “We are sending nine Aussies up to Japan because we expect orders to be finalised this quarter in every state except South Australia and Tasmania. We must re-double our efforts in those states.”

Scandrett says rebuilding a brand name that has been dormant in the Australian market for some time is hard work, as Australians are sceptical and prefer names they are familiar with.

“However, with the new orders and quality of machinery and engineers we now have, they will soon be familiar
with Sakurai,” he says.

Peter Kurmann Snr of Precision Print in Busselton, WA, was one such sceptic. A former printer in the Swiss mint in Zurich, he was partial to European brand names.

“However, when he saw the engineering and print quality of the Sakurais, he changed his mind,” says Scandrett. From there it was just a matter of linking up with an Australian Sakurai dealer, and AP drew his attention to Pressnet.

The family owned business, which is managed by Peter’s sons Peter Jnr and Gian, and six additional staff, has ordered a Sakurai 566SI.

The 66 x 45cm press comes with fully automatic makeready, auto roller wash, CIP3, IR dryer, 980mm feed pile, and non-stop delivery making it ideal for both very short run work and turn jobs, as well as long run work .

Precision Print opted to leave the blanket wash out off this model because it can be easily retrofitted in later years without significant extra installation cost.

The company is upgrading from a four colour GTO, and will also switch from polyester CTP to chemical free metal plates.

Peter Jnr says two big advantages Sakurai offered were affordability and quality – even as the machine aged.

“We went to look at an older 1996 model in Perth, and for its age, it was still producing great work,” says Peter Jnr. “The printers running it said it was very easy to run and operator friendly.”

Peter and Gian visited the Japanese Sakurai factory in January and were very impressed with the machines, people and company culture.

“We ran the machine for about four hours, and were very impressed with the quality and efficiency. Makeready times were extremely fast, and print quality evident from the first sheet. We are looking forward to the increased productivity the new machine will allow.”

The Sakurai 566SI is set to be delivered to Precision Print soon and Peter Jnr says he expects it to be up and running in the next three to four months.

Based in a wine region, Precision Print completes a lot of tourist brochures, as well as business stationery, book work and posters.

Peter Jnr says the new Sakurai will allow the company to complete presentation folders in-house, as well as make book work more efficient.

“We will expand our market to other areas and are hoping to increase our workload once the Sakurai is installed,” he says. “We are already working on getting a wider range of jobs, through both new and existing clients. We will also be able to serve our existing clients better, with shorter turn-around times and increased print quality.”

Pressnet will provide work training, with a demonstrator from Japan, an engineer from Perth and Scandrett himself.

Sakurai celebrates 60 years

In the company’s 70th year, president of Sakurai Graphic Systems, Yoshikuni Sakurai, will this year celebrate his company’s 60 years of press manufacture and the launching of its new robotic frame and base line which will double Sakurai’s capacity.

Robotics’ decades of precise engineering experience and world quality electronics are part of building presses that will stand the test of time. However it is the unique family company culture of Sakurai that creates a unique and dedicated workforce. The Sakurai family likes to travel and meet their customers in every corner of the globe.