When the Tarabichi Print & Packaging group decided to enter the Nigerian packaging market, they set the bar deliberately high: a single press configuration capable of handling every possible customer requirement from day one. What followed was two months of worldwide searching, a major retrofit in Augsburg, and an installation in Lagos that turned out to be a record — the longest offset press in the country.
The Tarabichi family has been in the printing business since 1933, when the company was first established in Damascus, Syria. Nearly a century later, the family-run group operates printing branches across the Middle East and Africa — in Jordan, Turkey, Sudan, and now Nigeria — producing self-adhesive labels, carton boxes, and flexible packaging for a broad roster of multinational and regional clients. The Lagos plant represents TPP's latest step in a long-standing expansion strategy: bringing production capacity closer to growing export markets on the African continent.
No compromises on the spec sheet
From the outset, TPP's brief was unusually precise. The Nigerian plant needed to hit the ground running, able to serve packaging clients across the full spectrum of requirements without limitations. The press specification reflected that ambition: eight printing units, all prepared for interdeck dryers, four interdeck dryers installed, two coating units with drying units in between, an inline cold foiler, hybrid UV and conventional capability, and a non-stop elevated configuration at both feeder and delivery. In short — a press configured for virtually anything a packaging customer might need.
Finding that machine on the used equipment market, in a short timeframe, was a challenge by any measure.
Found in Augsburg, completed in the workshop
After two months of intensive worldwide research, a near-perfect match was located in Augsburg, Germany: a Manroland 708 LTTLV HiPrint. It checked nearly every box on TPP's specification — with two exceptions: the non-stop system and the elevated press configuration were missing. Both were retrofitted in collaboration with Manroland experts as part of a comprehensive overhaul. All 12 units were fully cleaned, and over 160 wear and tear parts were renewed before the press left for Lagos.
A record, discovered after installation
The press arrived, was installed, and was commissioned. Only then came the surprise: the Manroland 708 — stretching across 12 units with two coating towers, interdeck dryers, and an inline foiler — was apparently the longest offset press in all of Nigeria.
For TPP, that's a fitting reflection of the ambition behind the project. The Lagos plant is now equipped to produce print jobs quickly and at the highest quality level, including cold foil applications that remain out of reach for most competitors in the market.
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