The Ai-33 is capable of inserting 33,000 items per hour and works in a modular system with Kern feeders, folders, cutting and grouping systems. It can be installed with up to 20 envelope inserters on the same system, although the average customer will use around six, the company says.

"The Ai-33 represents the next stage in the quest for speed and productivity to drive cost-effectiveness in the inserting market," added senior vice-president of strategy Dave Squires.

The machine was developed by Kern’s US business and incorporates more than 100 sensors that monitor the product across the whole line.

This enables the machine to adapt its behaviour to the process and product to maximise efficiency, while identifying errors and automatically taking faulty products out of the production line.

"With this highly intelligent system, we can guarantee high integrity and accurate mail packages that can be relied upon," said Squires.

He added that the current shifts in the inserting market had driven the need for this new product. He explained that more companies are outsourcing their inserting, bringing consolidation. This has meant fewer companies producing many more mailings.

The machine is aimed at customers inserting more than 50m packages a year, but Squires said a typical customer would be producing well over 100m a year.

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