Speedmaster's short make-readies and high speed

Following 18 months of production with a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 145 press, packaging manufacturer Friedrich Freund is achieving 30 per cent shorter make-ready times.

The German company is is also attaining 25 per cent higher production speeds.

The Speedmaster XL 145 at Friedrich Freund was the world's first Speedmaster XL 145 to enter service and the company, which primarily works for the food industry, is also impressed by the service concept Heidelberg offers for the press.

The press currently operates in three shifts with an average net print output, including press-related and job-related auxiliary times, of more than 10,000 sheets per hour.

Friedrich Freund's managing director, Karl-Heinz Freund, said: 'With ever shorter runs and quicker job changes, the short make-ready times and high production speed of the Speedmaster XL 145 are particularly welcome.

What's more, the print quality is of the consistently high level we have come to expect from Heidelberg.

He added: 'Right from the start of the project, we had dedicated contacts at Heidelberg who provided us with a highly efficient customer service both during and after commissioning.

Our staff also received comprehensive training on the new press.

Since the end of the field test, press availability has been in excess of 95 per cent.

Michael Stiegemeyer, plant manager at Friedrich Freund is satisfied with the print results achieved with the Speedmaster XL 145.

Heidelberg said that the Speedmaster XL 145 and Speedmaster XL 162 have been designed primarily for use in the packaging printing and industrial publishing sectors.

The large-format presses in the Speedmaster XL 145 and XL 162 ranges are based on the XL 105 press.

As a result, they also provide faster make-ready times, less waste, consistently high print quality, good flexibility with a range of printing stocks, and high press availability.

In addition, they offer features that are important in packaging printing, such as the largest sheet size in format class 6 (106cm x 145cm - 41.73in x 57.09in) and a high throughput for long runs.

The company added that large repeats in particular - for packaging in the food, electronics, and toy industries, for example - can be produced more efficiently in the new formats.

Those features are enhanced by simultaneous washing of the inking unit, blanket, and impression cylinder, and synchronised plate changes in all printing units in two minutes.

Friedrich Freund employs a workforce of 230 people at its sites in Georgsmarienhutte and Nordhausen.

Sales in 2009 totalled EUR40 million.

The company mainly manufactures packaging made from solid and corrugated board, together with displays that are used by consumers and retailers (shelf-ready packaging).

In 2008, a corrugated board installation with in-line laminator for offset-printed board began operation in Nordhausen.

This makes Freund one of the few companies in Germany that can produce its own corrugated board and process it in-line.

Last year, the company processed 16,000 tons of solid board and 15 million square metres of corrugated board.

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