Paper industry gets boost as Academy Press buys N1.5bn equipment

Academic Press plc has launched its state-of-the-art sets of printing equipment worth N1.5 billion, as it celebrates fifty years in the industry.

Academy Press acquired five new machines with a war chest from the Bank of Industry, and guarantee by First Bank.

The impact of this equipment is that customers no longer need to go outside the country for their print production needs.

“This is cannot happen at a more auspicious time that our country needs to produce its own requirements locally, generate employment for our teaming youths and more importantly conserve the scarce forex earnings,” said Oguntimehin Simeon., chairman, Academic Press, at the equipment launch in Lagos.

“With a combined capacity that would produce over 100 million standard books, 24 million magazines and annual reports as well as several million copies of sensitive and confidential print in a year among other publications from our company alone, we can confirm that Nigeria is self-dependent as far as meeting the print production needs is concerned,” Oguntimehin said.

Priding itself as the ‘Home of Printing Excellence’, AP said it’s ensuring that its equipment and personnel skills are consistently modern and updated.  The company boasts of having one of the best printing facilities in the sub-Saharan African.

“Our industry is currently facing the problem of raw materials availability. Paper, which is the main input, is not produced locally and has to be imported as the only relevant paper mill in Iwopin is non-functional,” he stated.

He added that accessing foreign exchange for paper importation has been almost impossible, warning that these assets may be wasted if this trend continues.

“We stand the risk of rendering these facilities to waste for lack of production materials and consumables. This will not augur well for our academic environment in the educational system where printed book are mostly required,” he said.

He appealed to the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to make special concessions for the paper industry on forex in order to forestall shut-down of printing firms.

“I also want the government to create the enabling environment for investment in the local production of these materials, especially paper and ink, so that we can fully be self-sufficient in this sector as a nation,” he appealed.

Explaining the efficiency of the machines, Gbenga Ladipo, managing director, Academy Press, said “it has consolidated the strength of the company as one of the leaders in the industry in Africa and is also supportive of our mission to maintain a first class printing outfit of high quality service for our customers.”

CHIGOZIE EGWUATU