The new line comprises infeed station, cutting machine, LiftPack compensating stacker, PR 460 robot with servo gripper and the G-Connect higher-level control system presented at the fair.

B&K has been a Gämmerler customer for many years and said it was very happy with the Gämmerler equipment, in particular because it was not prone to faults and required minimal maintenance.

For this latest purchase, the deciding factor was that the robot, with its servo gripper and separate slip sheet feeder, was able to meet B&K’s need for high speeds. 

Installation of the new line is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017 and follows on from the installation in May of a KBA C16 web offset press. 

B&K is a family business, now run by the second generation, with more than 200 employees. The company has the potential to produce more than 5 million 16-page products a day. 

Pictured (from left) are  Dietrich Lauber, head of sales and project management at Gämmerler; Hannspeter Schubert, chief executive of Blue Cap, the investment company that owns Gämmerler; Hans Geideck, technical director of B&K; Werner Stimmler, commercial director of B&K; Jörg Westphal, managing director of Gämmerler; and Jörn Kalbhenn, owner and managing director of B&K.