To complement the new 18,000sph press, which is said to offer 60% greater output than the older Speedmaster SM 102-8-P it has replaced, the firm has also purchased a Stahlfolder TH 82-P high-productivity folder.
Both new machines were installed at the company’s 7,430sqm Newcastle site earlier this month and will be fully operational by next week.
Elanders business development director Bryan Crennell said: “We looked around the market but we’re a bit of a Heidelberg house – we’re big fans of the brand and feel that the capabilities of their machinery are second to none. This investment drives us forward and helps to futureproof the business.
“The new press increases our productivity, gives us more reliability, so less downtime, and keeps more work within the business. The maintenance charges we were paying in the past few years were very high so it should also help to improve our bottom line.”
The press, which can handle a stock range of 0.03mm to 0.8mm thick, is equipped with Autoplate Pro plate-changing and Axis Control off press spectral measurement. The business hopes to fill the machine with large extent – 200pp ideally – 10,000 to 20,000 run A4 square back books.
Training and testing on the press is currently underway. “We’re just trying different formats at the moment – different brochures and collateral for our customers, just so that we know what its capabilities are. It’s all going well,” said Crennell.
The new eight-colour press joins three other Speedmasters at the Newcastle factory – a 10-colour, a six-colour and a two-colour – and a raft of HP and Canon Océ digital kit.
The new Stahlfolder TH 82-P, which is additional to the firm’s plant list, has been bought to keep up with the high speeds of the new press and to increase capacity to ensure there are no bottlenecks in the finishing department.
The device was trialled at Heidelberg’s plant in Wiesloch, Germany, and the company said it proved efficient over a wide range of stocks and jobs.
Elanders UK is part of the Elanders Group, which employs 7,500 people globally and has locations in 15 countries. The UK arm of the group has a turnover of around £25m and employs just over 200 staff – 180 of which are based in Newcastle. It also has a print and packaging facility in Bellshill and logistics services in Stirchley.
In September last year Elanders UK installed an HP Indigo 6800, its second, at the Bellshill site. Elanders Group signed a deal for five HP Indigos, to be installed at sites in Sweden and Germany, at Drupa last year.
