Finishing & Screen Printing
Aschendorff Druckzentrum – modernizing zoned newspaper production with Ferag
Monday 09. August 2010 - Each day, for the production of 250,000 newspapers in 30 editions and circulations ranging between 2,000 and 20,000 copies, Aschendorff Druckzentrum GmbH & Co. KG in Münster (Germany) has to put a lot of effort into finishing and logistics. A fundamental rethink preceded the investment in replacement Ferag technology, which was brought forward from the planned date.
“Splitting is always increasing.” Of that, Technical Operations Manager Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Wenge is convinced. “That is our business. That is what we do well. From prepress through page data delivery to combination and inserting options and the whole logistic effort that that entails.” During Saturday night, around five million supplements have to be split – thats more than 60 times in a circulation totalling 80,000: 200 copies here, 300 there, another 700 there, and so it goes on. The Aschendorff Druckzentrum has three mainstays: the daily newspaper Westfälische Nachrichten, the remaining Zeitungsgruppe Münsterland (ZGM) titles, and the commercial products arising from the newspaper printing operation.
After excessive pressure on the mailroom…
The thriving business, which over the course of ten years has seen an increase of approximately 15 percent in the number of newspapers being processed, a rise in the number of titles by about 20 percent, and roughly 33 percent growth in newsprint consumption, has placed a greater burden on the mailroom technology used so far. Pull and stretch all you want – it was like a bedspread that eventually is just too small. The slightest fault easily resulted in a delay of an hour or more. And because – Mondays excepted – production is always in three shifts, it was not possible to make up the lost time just like that. With the three existing MSD lines, which are now over ten years old, that was not going to be feasible in the long run.
High utilization means that this technology has quite a few operating hours behind it. It has also undergone a general overhaul in order to extend its service life. The Aschendorff Druckzentrum intends to replace the MSD lines between the years 2012-2014. A number of solutions have been considered – including ones from the competition. In the end, however, Ferag AG in Hinwil, Switzerland, was again selected, because the companys technology offers greater flexibility and expandability, as well as consistent innovation.
Due to the increase in both volumes and splitting – necessitating additional space and an alternative technology for the logistics – the first step was to complete an extension to the building. For advice, documentation and project management, the Aschendorff Druckzentrum drew upon the services of Dipl. Ing. Günter Billmeier of Grünwald (Germany), who is an expert with broad experience in the printing industry. The building is now complete, and since January 2010 an offline Ferag inserting line comprising RSD technology has been augmenting the existing systems as an ahead-of-schedule investment in replacement equipment. One of the requirements is that production must be able to run on four processing lines in such a way that one of the lines can be replaced without impeding operations.
… comes a new approach to staffing
Production in Münster has therefore begun with a RollSertDrum (RSD), including the modular RollStream precollecting system and six JetFeeder hoppers. A follow up order has been placed for two further hoppers. Now, supplements or preprints can be fed simultaneously – manually off eight JetFeeder units and automatically from two discs. The finished copies are taken by conveyor from the inserting drum to the packaging sector for stacking, topsheet application and cross-strapping before evacuation of the bundles to the loading docks.
The supplement changeover processes are controlled by means of LineMaster from a central station. Sufficient time must be allowed when preparing to change the data to the new zoning set-up. Great care must also be taken when assigning products to the job. A large monitor suspended above the RollStream line shows the status of preprints and supplements. With the offline installation, the thinking has also changed with regard to personnel. The usual allocation of one specialist to DiscPool, one to the MSD and one to the packaging sector has been superseded. One machine operator at the control station next to the RollStream system can monitor the entire installation, virtually and in reality.
The assignment of personnel will depend on the number of JetFeeder hoppers required. Furthermore, when worthwhile, supplements supplied on pallets will have already been wound during the day using a Ferag roller hopper. Wound products, running off disc during night production, will cause far fewer interruptions since skewed, buckled and otherwise damaged copies will already have been separated out. This is also an excellent way to double check products delivered from external sources.
Conclusion
The JetFeeder is really very simple, says Thomas Wenge. This hopper can be mastered very quickly by any one with just a little aptitude. Apart from that, pre-assembly in Hinwil has meant that installation and commissioning of the offline equipment has been excellent. The Aschendorff Druckzentrum is also extremely impressed by the fact that there is no longer any background noise from the conveyor chain.
The flexibility and expandability of the installation is assured; its unlikely that the same configuration will be maintained for a further decade or so. When it comes to zoning-related splitting, a compromise always has to be found between the demands of sales and marketing and the capabilities of the technology. Thomas Wenge: “I expect that splitting will increase and well have to adapt to that.”