Secrets of the economic sustainability of newspaper presses – not dependent solely on technical performance – were presented at a NOPA seminar in Malmö.

Eric van Kessel, commercial director of manroland Goss subsidiary GWS Printing Systems, told delegates that equally crucial were the long-term availability of spare parts, reliable technical service and targeted modernisation.

“Printing companies are under real pressure,” he said. “Machines are running for longer than planned, spare parts are becoming scarcer, and there is limited financial scope for new investment.”

He said the Malmö event had shown that demand for reliable lifecycle solutions was growing. In addition to retrofits and automation upgrades, the group’s portfolio also includes the supply of spare parts, technical services and second-hand printing presses and components, working with subsidiaries GWS Printing Systems and GWS Parts.

A further meeting of the Nordic Printing Association (NOPA) is set for November 11-12 in Amsterdam. NOPA was founded in the 1970s and established as a formal organisation in 1999. It is one of the leading industry networks for print shops and their suppliers in the Nordic and Baltic regions.