Austria's First KBA C16 to Go Live in St. Pölten This Year
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NOP places order for high-automation commercial web press
NOP in St. Polten, Austria, has signed up for KBA's new 16pp commercial web press, the C16. The deal was finalised at the end of December, just one month after the press launch at pioneer user L.N. Schaffrath in Geldern, Germany. It was an excellent start for KBA's new web press agent for Austria, Gunter Lindner, whose close customer contacts were instrumental in winning the contract when the ink had barely dried on his own contract with KBA.
An industry major in Austria
Dating back to 1874, in the course of its long history NOP - short for Niederösterreichisches Pressehaus - has established a name for itself in the Austrian market with two main activities: the printing and publishing of newspapers and books. A controlling share in the company is held by the Bishopric of St. Pölten. The newspaper publishing arm, which is the company's oldest business, publishes a raft of titles that include weekly paid-fors NON (Niederösterreichische Nachrichten) and BVZ (Burgenländische Volkszeitung) plus freesheets LHZ (Landeshauptstadt) and kurz&bündig. NÖP's book-publishing division, Residenz Verlag, specialises in literary, non-fiction and children's books.
In 1984 NÖP expanded into commercial web offset with a Koenig & Bauer Compacta. NP Druck, its ISO 12647-2-accredited commercial operation, prints catalogues, brochures, flyers, magazines and journals in medium to multimillion runs for prominent industrial enterprises, retailers and service providers, many of which are longstanding customers. "At present we print over 200 periodical titles, and are planning to add more," says Gerhard Schmidrathner, engineer and managing director of NP Druck, which also offers customers a complete service encompassing address labelling and subscription management. A KBA Rapida 105 litho press installed in 2005 has impressed the firm with its high output. Last year it bettered its own record for the number of saleable sheets delivered. In April 2010 NP Druck became the first printer in the country to be awarded the Austrian Ecolabel for its web, sheetfed and newspaper production processes.
Performance-boosting investment
NP Druck invested in new KBA technology to meet fresh challenges in the magazine market. "We are keeping a weather eye on the market and expect magazines and journals to rebound after the crisis. While many circulations will shrink, and there will be greater specialisation, the demand for rapid turnaround and high quality will be as strong as ever," explains Johann Peter Jordan, head of sales and marketing. Diminishing circulations and a greater focus on quality and versatility increase the demands placed on production kit. "In terms of technology, we believe the key to future success lies in maximising automation in order to minimise changeover times when printing different products, to cut waste, raise productivity and reduce maintenance input," declares Schmidrathner. These were also the reasons for purchasing the new 16pp KBA press, which is scheduled to go live in autumn this year. "One of the main benefits of the new press is that it will make short-run magazine production even more efficient," says Schmidrathner. Jordan is equally delighted with the high-tech KBA press: "Its flexibility, and our keen workforce, will really enable us to raise our game."
Configuration to suit product portfolio
The C16 for NÖP will have a cylinder circumference of 620mm (24.4in) and a maximum web width of 1,000mm (39.37in). Although the press is available with a maximum rated output of 65,000cph, NÖP opted for the 55,000cph version since it will mainly be used for short-run work.
Irrespective of its speed, the KBA C16 delivers significant makeready benefits over earlier models by virtue of its high-speed automatic plate changing in tandem with KBA EasyTronic for fast, low-waste press start-up and run-down. This was compellingly demonstrated in November at the open house in Geldern. The C16's advanced level of automation embraces reel logistics with Patras A; a Pastomat C50 reelstand with integrated infeed unit; low-maintenance, energy-saving KBA RollerTronic roller locks (new to commercial web offset); KBA's new rapid-conversion P3 folder with automatic copy control in the quarterfold; and KBA LogoTronic Professional job and press management. Other features include a colour measurement and control system, cut-off register control, a gluing and softening unit and a sheeter that allows the press to handle stock weighing well over 200gsm (128lbs).
Rückfragen / Enquiries:
Klaus Schmidt
Telefon / Phone
+49 931 909-4290
E-Mail: klaus.schmidt@kba.com
