Date:19/06/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/06/19/stories/2004061901751900.htm

Back Pragati Offset bags four golds in SAPPI contest

Our Bureau

Hyderabad , June 18

PRAGATI Offset Pvt Ltd, the Hyderabad-based Rs 50-crore printing solutions provider, has bagged four gold awards and one bronze in the recently concluded `SAPPI Asian printer of the year competition' held at Singapore.

The South African Pulp and Paper Industries (SAPPI) is the largest producer of coated (art) paper in the world. Headquartered in South Africa, it has mills in Europe, the US and Africa. It started the printing competitions in Africa 25 years ago and extended them to various continents subsequently.

Addressing newspersons here on Wednesday, the Pragati Offset promoter, Mr P. Narendra, said the Asian awards were started by SAPPI in 2001 and Pragati has the distinction of being `Asian printer of the year' since inception.

In the latest competition, which had seven categories in each region, Pragati competed in the group consisting of the Asian, Australian, Central and South American regions. The other regions were North America, Europe and Africa.

In the Asian region, golds were awarded in only four categories since the other three categories did not have entries that deemed fit for a gold.

According to Mr Narendra, Pragati had the honour of winning all four of the golds awarded as well as one bronze.

"In the 25-year history of these SAPPI Awards, Pragati has the unique distinction of being the only printer to have won four golds in a single year," he said.

The gold winners from this round would move onward to the International `Printer of the year competition' that would be held in October in Cape Town, South Africa. Pragati would be competing with the winners from the other regions for the title of the `Best printer in the world', Mr Narendra said.