Atlantic & Hastings Purchases Heidelberg Gear
SALISBURY MD—With the summer tourist season fast approaching, Atlantic & Hastings, an 83-year-old print shop located about 30 minutes outside of Ocean City, is eagerly looking to make use of its newly installed, six-color Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74 press and Stahl USA B 26 folder.
Atlantic & Hastings will use its new Heidelberg equipment to produce the wide range of work it does for the local travel and leisure industry. Whether it's 500 menus for local restaurants or 100,000 brochures for nearby hotels, the commercial printer is now equipped to handle it all.
Owner and CEO Brian Twilley says that with the new folder and the shop's first six-color press, the $4 million company will look to add a significant $1.2 million in revenues this year.
Twilley estimates that the new equipment will cut makeready times to 20 minutes from one hour. The faster press, he explains, is expected to increase production by roughly 80 percent.
And since Atlantic & Hastings will be able to produce faster, that will free up time to take on more jobs and new capabilities.
The shortened makeready times and increased capabilities are vital to the company's continued success, reveals Twilley.
The printer realized that it needed to operate leaner and meaner. If it could cut makereadies and streamline the production process, it could boost profitability.
"We have demanding turnarounds," Twilley states. "Customers want work in three, four, five days—which we can do—but it's challenging. We thought that if we could add new capabilities to our shop through some new equipment, we could produce jobs faster, which would free up time to take on new work and ultimately generate additional revenue."
"Today," Twilley notes, "I'm proud to say that Atlantic & Hastings is ready for wherever the economy may turn."
