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New Hagadone press
will help triple output
capacity

HAGADONE Printing Co. has been doing more than window shopping lately and has purchased a $9.2 million dollar Goss-Heidelberg M-600.

Ooh. Huh?

It is a new, commercial heat-set press designed for printing on glossy paper, as opposed to the type of press used to print newspapers, said President Erwin Hudelist.

"The new equipment we are bringing in can triple the output capacity we have right now," he said. The company will not have to add staff, since modern presses require fewer operators, "but when we triple the output, we have to make sure post-production (staff) can keep up," said Hudelist.

The purchase is part of an estimated $10 million the company plans to spend on capital improvements in 2005, including bindery upgrades and the latest computer-to-press system and mailing equipment.

The goal is to bring back print jobs to Hawaii that are being lost to out-of-state vendors, he said.

"It is just to show, basically, that we truly believe in Hawaii and the leadership in government, so we are willing to make an investment like that," said Hudelist.

Hagadone is beginning a physical restructuring of its 100,000-square-foot Kalihi printing plant to accommodate the large equipment.

The Goss-Heidelberg will replace the company's old heat-set press and will complement three Komori presses from Japan, purchased in 2000.

The new machines are to be installed and operational in October 2005.

"Hagadone Printing will be the most sophisticated in the United States," Hudelist said.

"We're not going to hold onto that," because another company will install the next-greatest thing, "but for a short period of time we can enjoy that," he chuckled.

Buzzbits

L&L Drive-Inn founder Eddie Flores is not just a huge University of Hawaii Warrior football fan. He's also the caterer for the UH Alumni Association members attending this weekend's game against Fresno State ... Maui-based radio station owner John Detz's bid of $3.1 million for radio licenses in Kaunakakai, Molokai, and Kihei, Maui, yesterday made him the sixth-highest bidder in an ongoing federal auction of 288 licenses nationwide. The auction continues today.

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