Continuing business growth at Auckland communication print solutions specialist Oliver Young has forced an upgrade in technology with the company switching from hand collating for some of its work to the latest automatic machinery.
The company has just installed a Duplo collator through distributor TS Wilson Jnr Ltd at its west Auckland premises overlooking the upper harbour from its Rosebank Road site.
Operations manager, Russell Fuller says that while they bought the collator to service specific clients, it has proved itself extremely useful in smaller runs and in taking the overflow work of its wider operation.
"We had taken on a couple of new clients who needed NCR work printed and we used to either outsource the finishing or do it by hand. We'd set up a large table and staff would move around it, hand collating as they went. The Duplo's taken what was previously a two-day job to something that one person can do in two hours," he says.
Oliver Young also chose the Duplo model for its ability to collate heavier grades to accommodate technical folder jobs.
Russell says the upgrade is part of tightening processes and making sure the company meets their clients' expectation.
"With the Duplo, we've bought ourselves some peace of mind by bringing collating in house and ensuring that we do meet our own quality standards. When outsourcing numbering work especially, there is always the potential that the sequentially numbered pages might get out of synch," he adds.
He says they also had a "good look" at the collator at this year's Printex trade exhibition in Sydney and were especially interested in its modularity.
"We wanted something very versatile with the ability to add further modules (stitching unit, three-knife trimmer and other collating towers) if we needed them in the future.
Russell says Oliver Young has experienced significant growth in the past 18 months and was expecting that growth to continue in the near future at least.
