Enhanced Performance with Cost Efficiency: IGR Group Invests in a Komori Lithrone G37 H-UV L (LED)
France, IGR Group | Lithrone G37 [GL-537]
13 June 2024
Launched in 2016 by Komori, the 37-inch offset press continues to prove its relevance and appeal to print professionals year after year. The investment made in 2023 by the IGR (Industrie Graphique Responsable) Group is a perfect example of this. The formation of the IGR Group itself illustrates the current underlying trend in the printing industry. The Group was formed in September 2023 through the merger of two printing companies in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central France. The first, Neuville Impressions, was established in 1990 in Digoin (Saône-et-Loire), serving a national clientele of public bodies, ad agencies and communication departments. The second, SEIC (Société d'Edition et d'Imprimerie du Centre), was also founded in the 1990s but catered to local business clients. The two printing companies had highly complementary activities, a fact that motivated the acquisition of SEIC by Neuville Impressions in 2017 with a plan to eventually merge the two entities.
When size makes a difference
"To cope with rising production costs and meet the demands of clients seeking quick turnarounds, printers need to improve performance and responsiveness," explains Jean-Philippe Neuville, President of IGR. "This requires accelerating investment cycles and enhancing capabilities in areas that are complementary to offset, like digital printing, large format printing and production workflow automation. To achieve this, companies must reach the critical size required to acquire and retain support from banks."
By merging Neuville Impressions and SEIC to form the IGR Group (which also included the acquisition of Imprimerie Buxynoise, a label printing specialist, in 2022), Jean-Philippe Neuville along with General Manager Emmanuel Gaillard and Chief Financial Officer Carine Neuville have created a team of 25 employees who were capable of achieving a turnover of €4 million (US$ 4.4 million) in its first fiscal year and are capable of investing in all essential areas.
New offset capabilities
As part of the initiative, the IGR Group moved into a 4,000-square-meter building in Montceau-les-Mines and launched a €2 million (US$ 2.2 million) investment plan. This included acquiring a five-color Lithrone G37 H-UV L (LED) with a flexo coating unit that has been in operation since September 2023. The company also deployed a new generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and invested in a new computer-to-plate system as well as a perfect binding system to complete the finishing equipment. The new press replaces the two existing presses of Neuville Impressions and SEIC, both 29-inch, four-color Komori models, with H-UV and H-UV L (LED), respectively. "Our aim was to match the production of our previous two presses with one press while also anticipating our business's expected growth," confirms Jean-Philippe Neuville. The Lithrone G37 was the perfect choice to achieve this goal.
Optimal machine format
The 37-inch format chosen by IGR is an intermediate between the 29-inch half-format and the 40-inch full format. The Lithrone G37 runs at 15,000 sheets per hour and supports paper sizes up to 640 x 940mm, allowing 16-page impositions to be printed with registration marks and color control bars. The Lithrone G37 also comes with a price tag 15% lower than a 40-inch press. "Choosing this press allowed us to limit our investment," confirms Jean-Philippe Neuville. "It also helps us save on production costs, energy costs (the press uses significantly less power than a 40-inch), offset plates and blankets. At the end of the day, we are saving €50,000 (US$ 55,000) on an annual basis." The new press also enhances the Group's responsiveness and versatility. "The 37-inch format cuts the production time for a given job by 50%," notes Jean-Philippe Neuville. "We are now competitive for short-turnover jobs. Also, the fifth unit allows us to include spot colors or metallic colors in the print run, which we could not do before. This is something that is increasingly requested for the packaging jobs that we've been concentrating on at SEIC in recent years."
The IGR Group was formed with strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) ambitions. They are already an ImpriFrance gold medalist for several years for their CSR approach, and the company embarked on a carbon footprint assessment and has initiated several steps to limit its environmental impact, such as providing staff with two electric cars for carpooling. By handling production on a single press with the optimal format, IGR has streamlined its energy and raw material consumption while reducing its emissions. This is the perfect response to customers' increasing concerns about the environmental impact of print production.
New business opportunities thanks to the H-UV L (LED) technology
The savings made on the investment of a 37-inch press compared to a 40-inch press allows additional financing options. In the case of IGR, the management team opted for the H-UV L (LED) technology for their Lithrone G37 press, consistent with a decision made ten years earlier by Neuville Impressions and SEIC. "We originally invested in an H-UV press in 2010 as a differentiator," explains Jean-Philippe Neuville. We wanted the ability to print on closed substrates, like vinyl, PVC and other synthetic materials. We then had orders for horticultural labels. This choice helps us to quickly respond to market trends and the changing environment. Currently, such products account for 25% of our overall business."
