TWE¦EN from Müller Martini makes softcover products
more attractive
Ricoh SA donates R50 000 to Dutch Cairo-to-Cape cyclist
M
üller Martini’s Ventura MC is the world’s first
book sewing machine that is capable of stitching
products featuring signatures in different sizes
and positions directly in the book block, thanks to the
new TWE¦EN option. State-of-the-art servo technology
makes it possible for the ‘tweens’ to differ both in length
and width and to be placed in different positions in the
book block.
The Ventura MC is highly efficient as it can stitch
without the need for a blind stitch. The book blocks pro-
duced using this method have short thread ends, which is
especially beneficial for the finishing process in the soft-
cover segment. Thanks to the heat sealed thread loop,
the deep stitched book blocks from the Ventura keep their
compact form.
‘Softcover products produced using the Ventura MC
are of especially high quality,’ said JürgenNoll,Managing
Director of Müller Martini Book Technology GmbH. ‘They
arethereforeparticularlysuitedtohigh-qualitycatalogues
and brochures with striking shorter signatures, photo or
art books, and softcover textbooks designed to convey
knowledge in a more interesting way.’ In addition, fur-
ther product ideas arise from the possibility of stitching
in signatures with different fold types, such as a double-
parallel fold or a zigzag gatefold.
Noll added, ‘Thanks to motion control drive design,
the lug chain adjusts independently to the different sizes
and the tweens can be processed entirely automatically.’
What used to be a process requiring elaborate, time-
consuming manual work can today be automated with a
far quicker production method, meaning that attractive
print products can be offered to end customers at more
competitive prices.
Newer models of the Ventura MC book sewing ma-
chine are already fitted with the TWE¦EN option, and it is
easily retrofittable on machines from the 2/11 series and
upward. For Ventura MC machines with an older year of
manufacture, it can be checked individually whether an
upgrade is possible.
R
icoh SA has sponsored Dutch cyclist, Shayne
Rookhuyzen, R50 000 following the completion of his
bicycle ride from Cairo to Cape Town to raise money
for children in need.
Rookhuyzen recently completed the three-and-a-half
month, 11 000kmWheels of Hope journey to raise aware-
ness and money for Support Orphans in Southern Africa
(SOSA) foundation. The R50 000 will be put towards a
school for the children of Oasis Haven.
‘OurMD, Richard Pinker, believes in the ethos that we
need to be responsible corporate citizens, which means
living in harmony with the environment, sustainably
and with a strong regard for human rights and poverty,
which are burning global issues prevalent also in South
Africa,’ said Dierdre Fernandes, head of marketing com-
munications and corporate social marketing at Ricoh SA.
‘Shayne’s journey was incredibly brave and succeeded in
raising over R500 000 following our additional donation.’
Ricoh Europe sponsored various equipment for the
Dutchman’s ride, including his KOGA World Traveller bi-
cycle, the Yellow Brick GPS tracker, cycling gear and ad-
ditional bicycle equipment, as well as posters, flyers and
other media activities.
Rookhuyzen’s ride traversed Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and ended
at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation Youth Centre in
Cape Town, South Africa. It began on 16 February and
ended on 28May.
He experienced some of the horrors as well as the
generosity of Africa during his trip, including facing down
threeAK47-armed people on a desolate road, fromwhom
he quietly rode away after they cocked theirweapons and
pointed them at him. He also received many well wishes
from locals en-route representing the social dichotomy of
the continent.
He averaged roughly 150km and 8 hours per day
using equipment sponsored by Ricoh, amounting to just
25kg besides the bicycle, to ensure that all proceeds
could be given to charity. He had no support vehicle and
he spent his nights in a small tent with a Waka Waka
solar powered light and recharge unitwith a gas burner to
cook hismeals. He experienced long periods of loneliness
and extreme weather with temperatures reaching nearly
40 degrees Celsius. He performed all of his own main-
tenance and had more than 10 000km of puncture-free
riding, thanks mainly to his Schwalbe Marathon Mondial
sponsored tires.
‘Shayne has been an enthusiastic amateur cyclist
and runner born to Dutch parents in South Africa,’ said
JP Skinner, sales support co-ordinator and customer rela-
tions officer at Ricoh Europe SCM as well as the organ-
iser behind Rookhuyzen’s epic charity ride. ‘Shayne has
travelled extensively throughout Africa and knewwell or-
phans’ needs on the continent. InSouthAfrica alone there
are 3,3 million orphans, as many as there are children in
the Netherlands.
‘Unlike most European countries, most orphanages
and organisations depend on the support of others to give
these children a safe home,’ said Skinner. ‘Foundation
SOSA supports four of these orphanages and organisa-
tions with direct help. The founding members collect
donations in the Netherlands and buy the supplies per-
sonally or through family assistance in Johannesburg and
Cape Town and deliver them to where they are needed.
There is no more direct means of using all donations to
a worthy cause.
‘Without Ricoh’s support there would be no Wheels
of Hope project,’ said Skinner. ‘Our promise that 100 per-
cent of the donations are spent on children could only be
realised if the costs were covered.’
Visit theSOSAwebsite at
for
more information.
Vol 4 Issue 3 • THE GAPP TIMES
Tweens, which are shorter folded signatures in thread-sewn book blocks, can
be variably positioned and provide high added value for both softcover and
hardcover products.
World Premiere: The VenturaMC fromMüllerMartini is the first book
sewingmachine than can stitch in signatures of different sizeswith
accurate positioning.
80
I
The GAPP
magazine
www.
thegapp
.co.za
