Q.I. Press Controls (QIPC), the Dutch optical measurement and control systems specialist for the printing industry, has found a new partner in Iran – Arta Taraz Niavaran, which will represent QIPC and EAE in the country.
Babak Soukhakian founded Arta Taraz Niavaran in 2015. Babak, a 12 year industry veteran, was previously engaged in selling equipment to the printing industry. “Because of our background, many Iranian printing firms are seeking us out so that we can help meet their needs. We supply them not only with equipment and machinery, but first and foremost we offer them solutions.”
In the past, QIPC represented the Iranian market by direct association with printing press manufacturers. “To outsiders, the Iranian market is not an easy one to penetrate,” says Erwin van Rossem, head of sales at QIPC. “But the potential is enormous. It has always been our aim to gain a foothold there.” Babak Soukhakian: “QIPC has the technical know-how and we know what the market wants. In total there are more than 200 web-offset presses in the country. Most of these have become outdated and require upgrades or retrofits. For those kinds of projects, who could be better than QIPC?”
In Arta Taraz Niavaran, Erwin van Rossem sees a key bridge-builder between QIPC-EAE and the Iranian market. “Babak Soukhakian enjoys a good relationship with all his partners. That doesn’t mean on the ground in Iran, but with us too. It brings the two diverse cultures of the West and the Middle East much closer.” Babak Soukhakian underlines this: “I’ve never been just a salesman. I learn a great deal from both printing plants and suppliers. My first mission is to introduce new technologies to Iran, such as those offered by QIPC and EAE. At the same time, I’m keen to let printers know what the benefits of QIPC for them are.”
The first joint Iranian project is now on the order books. In the printing workshop of Iranian Bookprinting, two mRC-3D cameras for colour register and two mRC-3D cameras for cut-off control have been installed. Iranian Bookprinting is the only official printer of schoolbooks in the country and turnover of printed copies each year is enormous.