Friedheim International takes over Wohlenberg and Baumann agencies
Friedheim International has taken over the UK and Ireland sales, service and spare parts representation for Wohlenberg guillotines and perfect binding systems, as well as Baumann handling equipment. Effective from 2 November, the two agencies were transferred from existing supplier, manroland GB. Members of manroland GB's Wohlenberg sales and service team have also transferred to Friedheim International.
The move is a strategic step for the three companies involved. Friedheim International has gained a product range that is fully complementary to their existing business, and Wohlenberg and Baumann will benefit from a partnership with a dedicated post-press agency in the UK. manroland GB will now focus totally on its printing technology, and expanding range of service and support for products with consumables and maintenance packages.
Peter Morris, Managing Director, Friedheim International said: "Until now, Friedheim has had a presence in all areas of post-press, except for perfect binding. But with Wohlenberg and Baumann on board that gap has been filled and in that respect this is a very exciting move for Friedheim. Both are strong brands and their products have a reputation in the market for being well built. And Friedheim's well established infrastructure for supply, service and support of post-press products is the ideal platform from which to drive these products ever further into the market. Crucially, the timing of the move means that the new sales and service structure will be established well in advance of IPEX 2010, which will be the ideal venue to demonstrate the new set up to the market and act as a launch pad for the economic recovery."
Norman Revill, Managing Director, manroland GB said: "manroland GB has been in partnership with Wohlenberg and Baumann for many years. However, manroland's strategy of building a market-leading service and support package to complement its press technology requires it to now focus all of its efforts on its core business and further develop our offering in the UK. In Friedheim International, Wohlenberg and Baumann have found a natural home in a very professional organisation and we wish them all the very best for the future."
Alito continues investment with new MBO folder
Continuing investment by the Alito Color Group has seen the installation of a second MBO folder, this time a B30, following on from the earlier installation six months ago of a B26 model.
Says David Collins, Alito’s managing director: “The new MBO B30 has replaced two other older folders and since installation has been working like a dream. By replacing two machines it has also provided the additional benefit of creating more space that we can utilise.
“The B26 we previously installed also replaced an ageing machine, and was running so fast the existing stacker we had couldn’t cope! When it came to requiring another folder the effectiveness of the B26 made the purchasing decision very easy.”
Based in Leyton, East London, the £10 turnover Alito Color Group operates 24/6, producing leaflets, booklets, reports and mailshots on behalf of blue chip companies, in particular financial institutions, as well as agencies.
“The MBO folders are top quality machines, providing much quicker setting up of jobs and therefore faster production,” says David Collins. “The new B30 is providing particularly beneficial in handling 16-page section work, with the consequent cost-savings helping the company’s financial position in these times of current tight margins.”
Second time around for Hunkeler finishing equipment at CPI Antony Rowe!
CPI Antony Rowe has extended its range of Hunkeler in-line finishing equipment with the installation of a Flyfolder book solution to its second Xerox 1300. The new Hunkeler Flyfolder will be involved in the production of signatures and book blocks with fully variable paginations.
Says Martin Clegg, general manager: “With the Flyfolder book solution we have made a great stride forward. It will allow an automatic changeover between four- and six-page signatures while production is running. The book blocks are stacked on the LS6 and processed on a nearby perfect binder.
“The line allows us to keep pace with the developments and growing demands of our market and run production more efficiently, and that can only be of on-going benefit to the company.”
CPI Antony Rowe first began printing books in sheet offset at its plant in Chippenham, Wiltshire, in 1983. Over the years the company has been particularly prominent in the production of academic literature – a sector that places above-average demands on quality and where there is a trend towards short print runs.
Digital printing at CPI Antony Rowe started in 1991 when the company began production on a cut sheet printing system. In recent years the company has introduced continuous-feed technology, firstly configured for roll-to-sheet production, the latest equipped with the Flyfolder book solution.
Explains Martin Clegg: “When we installed our first Xerox 1300 for duplex production the question of in-line finishing arose. We looked around the marketplace and quickly realised that with POPP6 Hunkeler had the best solution.
“As a result, the line was equipped with a complete pre- and post-system incorporating the UW6 unwinding module, high performance CS6-II cutting module, SE6 offset module and LS6 stacker for book block production in 2-up and 3-up.”
Now part of the CPI Group (since 2005), last year CPI Antony Rowe had a staff of 250 and achieved a turnover of £19 million. Of the total print run of six million books spread across 15,000 titles, a third was produced using digital technology. This year that proportion is expected to be 50/50, and by 2010 nearer 80/20 in digital’s favour!
Martin Clegg is enthusiastic about the inclusion of the Hunkeler Flyfolder on the latest production line. “Thanks to its ability to enable pagination changes ‘on the fly’ at a full 92 metres per minute production speed, we are able to achieve a clear boost to productivity at a much lower cost per copy. And in the case of the production of academic material, the fact that we can process papers down to 60 gsm is particularly significant!”
Beck shrink-wrapping line answers Alito’s need for increased throughput!
The Alito Color Group has installed a Beck Packautomaten Serienpacker Type SX1546 automatic shrink-wrapping machine as part of a £250,000 investment programme that has also included two MBO folding machines. The Serienpacker was specifically customised and purchased to service a new contract from a major financial institution that required the majority of products to be shrink-wrapped.
Says managing director David Collins: “Since being installed the new Beck wrapping line has been absolutely fantastic. Prior to its installation, our method of packaging was unsatisfactory as it involved several processes and a lot of manual labour, so we needed to find a viable solution. We looked around and found the Beck system, and as a result our packaging process has now been significantly simplified!
“From the Bravo stitching line, items are stacked and then fed via a special Beck-designed L-shaped conveyor to the Serienpacker machine, and from there the shrink-wrapped products are conveyed ready for packing into boxes. It is a much quicker, cleaner and tidier process all round!”
Based in Leyton, East London, the £10 turnover Alito Color Group operates 24/6, producing leaflets, booklets, reports and mailshots on behalf of blue chip companies, in particular financial institutions, as well as agencies. At Alito, the new Beck Serienpacker is handling up to 14,000 items per hour 2-up from the Bravo, and is easily keeping up with the throughput from this or other equipment.
“With margins currently being so tight, we are constantly looking for more cost-effective solutions to our production processes,” says David Collins. “The new Beck Serienpacker shrink-wrapping line has certainly achieved this by not only saving a process and therefore time, but by also requiring fewer staff to operate, who can then be utilised elsewhere!
“There has also been an added bonus on the back of the install as we have managed to secure another contract doing similar type of work, and that helps in keeping a constant flow of work going through the factory.”
Friedheim and Duplo announce new Finishing Alliance
Friedheim International and Duplo International have announced a new strategic print finishing alliance. Launched as ‘The Finishing Alliance’, the partnership is aimed at making ‘all-in-one post-press solutions’ more accessible for UK print businesses, with an emphasis on making the buying experience smoother and more convenient for end-users.!
The agreement will see Friedheim’s and Duplo’s portfolio of finishing products available from both companies, either as individual sales or as total ‘package’ solutions involving products from both suppliers. The alliance will broaden both companies’ market reach and will initially concentrate on digital print companies.!
“We have been working with Friedheim over the years and we have natural synergy with our products and business ethos, so the decision to form an alliance was a simple one. Customers want the purchasing process to be as simple as possible. To combine multiple products in one finance package and purchase from a single source can make the investment in plant machinery simpler and quicker, which is crucial when time is so sensitive,” said Robin Greenhalgh, chairman of Duplo International.!
“Digital print is all about on-demand: there is no point in investing in a top of the range digital print engine if you are then going to send your work out to be finished, the value to the customer will be totally lost. With this partnership we can ensure that we can offer tailored solutions that give printers the best chance of making a quick return on the investment they make.”!
Both companies have announced positive feedback from print vendors regarding this new announcement.!
Peter Morris, managing director of Friedheim International, comments: “All that our vendor partners want is to be able to rely on us as finishing specialists to offer expert advice to them so they can offer their customers a total and bespoke solution that is right for them. Now that we are working hand-in-hand with Duplo it means that we can be more responsive and proactive and offer them more. This partnership just makes their and their customers’ lives easier.”!
The companies are already working on enquiries involving both product ranges, and Peter Morris continues: “We are already speaking to UK printers interested in particular in the combination of our Hunkeler roll-to-stack device coupled with Duplo’s new PUR perfect binder. The conversations between customer and supplier are so much easier when there is a single source for all finishing.” !
Robin Greenhalgh concludes: “Our purpose is clear: make the customer’s life easier and jointly help printers find their way out of the current financial predicament by adding value to their bindery and saving unnecessary outsourced finishing costs.”
Point Control discovers folding benefits with another MBO
Greater demand and a need for greater efficiency has led to the installation of a MBO T800.1/444 buckle folding machine + A66-2ME mobile stream delivery at Point Control Print Finishing. Says managing director Richard Berwick: “We already had a couple of very reliable but quite old (up to 20 years!) MBO folders, but needed a new machine to cope with the increased workload.
“I have always used and preferred MBO folders to Stahl folders because you know you’re getting reliability and efficiency, and with the new T800 we now have the increased production speed that we required due to the ease of setting up, plus even greater accuracy and better overall quality.”
Point Control Print Finishing has been in business since 1996 and specialises in PUR and perfect binding carried out on a Muller. The company currently occupies premises in Accrington, Lancashire, and employs eight staff.
Print runs can be anything from one copy to an ‘ideal’ of around 30,000 copies, although the company will handle larger jobs if they are produced in a ‘staggered’ operation. Says Richard Berwick: “Although we handle work from larger concerns, the majority is from small to medium printers located in this region. Why we like to handle smaller, quicker turnaround jobs is that we find that they are slightly more profitable than tackling large production runs, and this is where the new MBO is already proving its worth!”
Besides the greater efficiencies provided by the new MBO T800.1/444, by choosing another MBO folder Richard Berwick has discovered other benefits, as he explains: “Everything is interchangeable with our two existing machines, which can be very helpful in a fast-moving production process. I also like working with Friedheim because I know that if I do have any queries, they will be quick to respond.”
Friedheim widens range of products with new agency
Friedheim International is pleased to announce its appointment as exclusive agent for the UK and Ireland markets by Pfankuch Maschinen GmbH. The appointment, which is effective immediately, covers sales, service, spare parts and training for the company’s equipment range of high speed feeders, collating and wrapping systems, highly flexible shrink packaging systems, as well as ancillary items including batch counters, batch banders and transport systems.
With more than 27 years of manufacturing know-how, Pfankuch Maschinen is recognised worldwide for its innovative machine designs and dependable automation. The company’s modular approach to machine design and system processes ensures that adding capacity, balancing line throughput and reacting to evolving market demands can easily be accomplished. Single machine components can be changed over or upgraded at any time, and solutions incorporated for scoring, folding, barcode reading and controlling, bundling, inkjet printing, gluing and labelling.
Managing director of Friedheim International, Peter Morris, comments: “The addition of Pfankuch Maschinen to our portfolio of companies not only enables us to expand our range of available products, but also provides greater opportunities for users to lower unit costs through more efficient production and processing solutions.”