Superior Ferag mailroom technology installed at Bartaman

Bartaman was founded as recently as 1984, and which has now become the second-largest Bengali daily in West Bengal. It is appeared in five different regional editions, and has a total circulation of more than 670,000 copies (2017). The newspaper has five printing sites—Kolkata, Malda, Midnapore, Burdwan and Siliguri. Sprawling Kolkata is the third-largest metropolis in India, with 14.1 million-population (2011).

In India, regional dailies whether in Bengali or any other language are a flourishing and they form a highly dynamic market segment that has seen annual growth averaging 8 percent in recent years, which means 9 out of India’s 10 largest dailies, are regional newspapers. The country’s size and occasionally difficult logistics circumstances give rise to numerous newspaper printing plants producing regional editions mainly on smaller, Asian-built presses.

Meeting Indian requirements

In 2018, Bartaman decided upon major investment in its new Kolkata printing plant. To this end, capital was ploughed into technology from European manufacturers. In printing, for example, that came in the form of a Manroland CROMOMAN 4-1 newspaper press with three towers for printing up to 24 pages each. This is the fourth such machine to arrive in India and is adapted to regional conditions: designed to stand on a ground floor so it will fit inside existing production premises, tolerant of fluctuating power supply voltage, and capable of handling the newsprint available in India.

Likewise adapted to the special requirements of Indian customers is the mailroom system from Ferag, a supplier newly chosen by Bartaman to equip its Kolkata operation. The scope of supply included: two HPS High Performance Stacker stack turners; two JobStrap N-RT strapping units with AVT SA03 foil wrapping machines; and a 63-metre-long HPC paced conveyor line for linking the transfer station at the press output, the two stack turners and a separate out-feed station.

Seen as superior

Concerning the reasons for choosing Ferag technology for the first time, Abhijit Bhattacharya, Director, Bartaman Private Ltd, says, “Our selection criteria for the mailroom technology included the suppliers’ production operations, their hardware and software technical solutions, and the services on offer, both during and after installation. After visiting several Ferag users and on account of feedback received, the Ferag mailroom system could be seen as superior to all the other systems available.”

Abhijit continues, “The entire purchasing process was most satisfactory, from the quotation to the technology being delivered at the installation site. Every aspect was handled very professionally, with clear communication of all the pre-installation requirements to be fulfilled. The installation itself then went ahead perfectly and within the specified time frame.”

Total endorsement

After just a few months under construction, the new printing plant began operating in May 2019. With regard to the experience gained with Ferag technology, Abhijit mentions that ‘output is excellent’. Even the most minor of problems was solved promptly and with the necessary support from Ferag engineers. He adds, “All-in-all, we see it as total endorsement of our decision to invest in this system.”

Ferag AG, with its headquarters at Hinwil in Switzerland, has for over 60 years been known and respected in the printing industry for high quality, absolute dependability and perfect customer support. Through its worldwide sales organisation, the company is active in more than 20 countries with its own sales and service companies or agencies.