A new Continent press at UPP in Abu Dhabi is the third Gulf newspaper to fire up a KBA hybrid in recent years, with a huge waterless Cortina press at ‘Gulf News’ to follow shortly. Abu Dhabi-based United Printing & Publishing, one of the largest companies in the United Arab Emirates and one of the biggest newspaper and commercial print operations in the Gulf, began operation of the multi-unit Continent in mid-May. It follows Continent installations at ‘Dar Al-Yaum’ in Dammam (Saudi-Arabia) in 2004 and at ‘Dar Al Sharq’ in Doha (Qatar) in 2007. The first waterless KBA Cortina outside Europe – in a configuration with multiple heatset dryers – will come on stream next year at the daily ‘Gulf News’, owned by Dubai media group Al Nisr Publishing. The new Continent at UPP is thought to be one of the biggest and most technologically-advanced newspaper press lines in the region. In addition to its awesome production capacity it delivers an enhanced quality and supports a diverse range of products. It has been installed in gleaming new 20,000m² premises outside Abu Dhabi on the highway to Dubai, not far from the international airport – the result of a 100 million dirhams ($27 million) investment. The new plant becomes UPP’s newspaper and commercial printing centre, with all the presses from its existing city facility to be relocated ahead of an official inauguration scheduled for the first quarter of next year. Along with the new Continent, the press hall will then accommodate a Compacta 213 heatset press installed in 1998, a two-year-old Compacta 215 and sheetfed equipment, some of it yet to be delivered. UPP was established in 2006 as the print arm of Emirates Media, one of the Gulf’s leading media houses and, in the early 1970s, part of Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC). UPP’s corporate policy is founded on advanced technology supporting rigorous standards of service and quality, and to this end the company has gained ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 18001 accreditation. A dynamic, fast-growing enterprise, UPP has already become a familiar name throughout the region and is now busily expanding beyond the United Arab Emirates into the global marketplace. Its diverse product spectrum ranges from newspapers, magazines, brochures and newsletters to catalogues, point of sales products, books, directories and customised marketing products. UPP chief executive Ali Saif Al Neaimi says a successful alliance with KBA and its agent, Giffin Graphics continueds because they were delighted with the performance of the Compacta 213, and with service and support at the planning stage for the new press. “We couldn’t be happier with the way the project has gone,” he says. “Despite delays in the completion of the new printing plant, all the deadlines were met for commissioning the Continent. Press performance is superb and handling is exceptionally easy.” At present UPP uses the new semicommercial press to print two daily paid-for titles, ‘The National’ and ‘Al Ittihad’ – with a circulation of 110,000 copies each – plus a free distribution title, ‘7 Days’. “We are planning to make the most of our expanded capacity by securing more lucrative contract work,” says Al Neaimi. “We have already successfully completed negotiations to print a global newspaper title, and other promising contracts are in the offing.” He says the company has not escaped the current recession, and as a result has reduced production shifts and postponed a scheduled extension of the KBA Continent. “At present we have a total newspaper production capacity of 18 printing towers,” he says. “Since this is perfectly adequate for the time being, in view of the changing market scenario we have abandoned our original idea of linking up the Continent and the Compacta 213. “The new Continent allows us to produce a maximum of 64 broadsheet pages, of which 40 can be full colour. With a cut-off of 578mm we can print up to 50,000 copies per hour. The web width can be varied between 635 and 1,000mm. Following its relocation to the new printing plant the Compacta 213 will be used as an independent semicommercial press. “Once the recession is over, growth will return to its former steep trajectory.” Newspapers currently account for approximately 65 per cent of output, with magazines and commercials accounting for the remaining 35 per cent. “The balance will steadily shift towards commercials. With our KBA presses we are well equipped for this type of work and are confident that we shall soon be able to move into more lucrative niche markets such as packaging printing,” says Al Neaimi.