ProLiner Upgrade at Caxton: A Simple Idea with Great Effect

11/08/2016

Caxton, the South African newspaper producer, has recouped its investment within just six months after an upgrade carried out by Muller Martini as a world first – the installation of a second opening station – on two ProLiner inserting systems.

The extremely positive cost-effective consequences of a simple idea even surprised Jaco Koekemoer, Managing Director of Caxton Local Media and Coldset Printing. After only six months, the leading South African newspaper producer, which publishes 143 local newspapers, had recouped the costs for the installation of a second opening station on two ProLiner inserting systems. The new advertising means, in the form of a large-surface wrap advert around the entire newspaper, called PowerWrap by Caxton and made possible thanks to technical innovation, attracted huge interest among advertising customers and even resulted in it being sold for three newspapers within a short time for a period of three years for every week published!

After the ProLiner upgrade of the inserting systems, Caxton can process both the PowerWrap and the inserts in a single step at full production speed.

But that's not all: On top of the additional advertising income – Jaco Koekemoer says: “The other benefit is that it allowed us to pull advertisers which were not traditional local newspaper advertisers, hence extending our market.”  – generating also new print orders for Caxton. Because the PowerWrap items are printed in house – in offset, digital and on various paper grades. But not in unlimited volumes. To underline the exclusive nature of the new form of advertising, it is sold only once a week per newspaper. Incidentally, the advert is applied in such a way that the newspaper masthead is not covered. “The readers will therefore recognize their favorite newspaper,” says Jaco Koekemoer.

Caxton came up with the solution involving a second ProLiner opening station because a similar advertising product had been made by hand in the past. But this manual process correspondingly took a long time. “That's why we contacted the local Muller Martini representation Thunderbolt Solutions. Within a short period of time, Muller Martini technicians installed the second opening station and extended the two ProLiners simultaneously with two stations.” The main jacket is now no longer applied before the first, but before the second opening station.

After upgrading the inserting systems, Caxton can now process both the PowerWraps fed in the first opening station as well as the inserts – Caxton inserts 50 to 80 million products a month at its biggest plant in Johannesburg – in a single step.  The ProLiner also runs at full production speed with two opening stations. “The new advertising form and its efficient processing have hugely increased our profitability,” underlines Jaco Koekemoer.