The plastic parts also saved farmers fuel and money because they are half the weight of Printing Spare Parts . “If farmers can lighten their weight and save even a gallon an hour, it’s pretty significant ... diesel is nearly $4 a gallon,” Cronen said.
Last year’s custom-manufacturing contract with DragoTec emerged at the same time Georgia-based AGCO also ramped up orders for GVL’s harvesting machine attachments. Now GVL is building a factory next door to AGCO’s combine plant in Kansas. GVL broke ground six weeks ago and construction will wrap up next year.
Managing Director of FC Exports in UK, representing Kodak West Africa, Mr. Fenton Curley commented: "Multinational Concepts is a great example of how investing in digital press can really breathe new life into print. They have seen that there is no compromise in terms of quality, and with such investment, they are unlocking the potential of personalised print in Nigeria."
Cronen credits the company’s gamble on high-tech 3-D printing equipment for GVL’s rapid growth. “Our focus on foreign sales and on the technology pieces of 3-D, or additive manufacturing, has pushed us. We just don’t have competitors out there that have made those capital investments.”
But entering the world of rapid 3-D prototyping meant big changes for GVL and the need for outside help.
According to him, the 3-Dimensional printing machine remained the newest print technology in the world today that prints 3000 sheets per hour. He added that Digital Press could only print on A2 but explained that the new 3-D printer could print on A2, A4, and banner sheets, and that the machine is limited to the creativity of the designer, which means that the user can add many forms of creativity and the machine will produce the designs, with personalised prints.
Speaking on quality print, Esuabanga said: "The press we have invested in is high-calibre variable data production machine that can print on various substrates like paper, card, plastic, metallic, pearl, gloss and semi-gloss. Others are linen, magnetic synthetic and yellum. He said the machine has great capability for security print, including cheque books, photo books, production and high premium marketing media. He called on Nigerians that are into printing, to take advantage of the Kodak 3-D machine that is now available in Nigeria.