Stephens & George has completed the transformation of its finishing processes with an order for three P Stackers, robots that will stack folded sections from the high speed TH82P folders that company already has.
The first of the robots will be delivered in October, the second and third in November. Their implementation will improve productivity and ease stress on staff who will no longer have to load 8-12 tonnes of paper from the folder to a pallet, the company believes. It mirrors investment in pallet feeders which have eliminated the need to load feed tables with printed sheets.
“We were looking at this investment since before the pandemic,” says chairman and managing director Andrew Jones. “This will make a massive impact on staff. With the previous generation of folders, operators would have to lift 8 tonnes of paper onto the folder and 8 tonnes off. The advent of pile feeders cut this in half. Now we are removing the need to lift sections on to the pallet.”
The order was placed without anyone at the Merthyr Tydfil company being able to travel to see an installation of the technology. Jones is confident that Stephens & George will receive any necessary support from Heidelberg UK. “There are already 37 installations across Europe. We have seen it on video.
The expectation is that the P Stackers will match the dexterity of human operators. With many of the company’s jobs falling as short runs, Jones says that a 1,000 run magazine would have two folded sections stacked on each pallet. The robot will be equally adept to loading different sections on each pallet.
Shortly after the P Stackers and a fifth TH82P folder is installed, the company will take delivery of a five-colour Speedmaster XL106 with coater. This will replace a similarly configured press that is now nine years old and the oldest in the company’s fleet. Like its XL106 long perfectors, the new press includes the same Push to Stop technology.
“We meant to replace the press after ten years,” Jones says, “but brought that forward a year to take advantage of the financial allowances available.
“We did look at putting in a UV press for the covers, but the inks are more expensive with components coming from India and China, and we would need to have extraction. Part of the reason was the sheets in the delivery would be dry, but we have never had a problem with the aqueous coater or scratching on the coating, so there would be limited benefit while inks are more expensive.”
The new press will complete a £16 million round of investments which has ensured that the business remains at the front in terms of technology. Next investments, says Jones, might include a new mailing line or solar panels, but there is no need to replace major items of production equipment for another three or four years. “We can look at the other stuff than needs reviewing,” he says.
