Eukerdruck GmbH & Co KG in Marburg, Germany, has taken delivery
of the 30th CombiStar Pro energy-saving combination unit. The
system was successfully put into operation at the company on the
new Speedmaster XL 105-8 P. Just one year after market launch,
demand has exceeded the expectations of Heidelberger
Druck-maschinen AG (Heidelberg) and, from fall of this year, the
unit will be available worldwide.
The CombiStar Pro is a high-end version of the CombiStar
combination unit, expanded to include numerous energy-saving
functions. Like the CombiStar, the system is used for controlling
the press's temperature and supplying it with dampening
solution. The Pro version works like an intelligent refrigerator
and employs the free cooling principle. If it is cool enough
outside the printshop, the press's inking unit is cooled using
only this external source. This is performed using an air-water
heat exchanger and works with minimal energy consumption. The
refrigerating unit is only activated at temperatures over 20
degrees Celcius. Control is automatic and the printer does not have
to concern himself with anything.
"We have had the CombiStar Pro in operation on our
Speedmaster XL 105-8 P for a short time now and have succeeded in
making significant cuts in energy consumption in our
pressroom," says a delighted Dietrich Mägerlein, managing
partner of Eukerdruck. The savings are not just reflected in the
electricity bill - they also lower the company's CO²
emissions, thus ensuring eco-friendly production.
Eukerdruck has two plants in Marburg and focuses on the
production and sale of pharmaceutical packaging materials in
Germany and Europe. Each day, its more than 250 employees in
Marburg produce over three million labels, four million packaging
inserts, and 500,000 mini brochures.
Wilhelm Mägerlein acquired Eukerdruck as a commercial
printshop with a staff of ten in 1950. Manfred Mägerlein took
up the reins in 1960 and pursued a systematic strategy of focusing
on the needs of the pharmaceutical industry. Today, Eukerdruck is
managed by Manfred and his two sons Dietrich and Robert. The eldest
son Christian spearheaded expansion into Saxony in 1992 and today
manages Pharma Druck in Ottendorf-Okrilla near Dresden with his two
brothers. With a workforce that will soon reach fifty, Pharma Druck
also produces labels, packaging inserts, and mini brochures for the
pharma-ceutical industry.
The eight new printing units at Eukerdruck increase the
capacity of the existing two-, four- and six-color presses by
around 50 percent, with the company achieving particular increases
in efficiency in the production of multicolored packaging inserts
and brochures.
The new Speedmaster XL 105-8-P is part of an investment
program worth around ten million Euro that Eukerdruck and Pharma
Druck are looking to implement in this financial year. This aims to
enhance the already high quality and reliability of service for
their more than 200 pharmaceutical customers through efficient
production and innovative products.
Protect the environment and save money
The CombiStar Pro saves energy through free cooling of
the inking unit and by using speed-regulated motors. The recooling
pump, which links the entire press to the external cooler, and is
an integral part of the CombiStar Pro, can be speed-regulated.
In the German climate, the intelligent control of the
CombiStar Pro leads to cuts in electricity consumption of up to 50
percent a year. The investment therefore pays for itself within a
few years. This technology can also help protect the climate and
cut costs in printshops in other countries with moderate or cool
climates.
Extrapolated over all the thirty printshops that now use one
of the eco-friendly CombiStar Pro units, over 500 tons of CO²
can now be saved each year with this technology.
As well as its energy-saving functions, the CombiStar Pro
also simplifies alcohol-reduced and alcohol-free printing. It
achieves this thanks to its two-stage dampening solution
filtration, which is also sold separately under the FilterStar
name, and a high-precision metering system for dampening solution
additives.
The lower the alcohol content in the dampening solution, the
more important it is to have precise metering of additives. The
slightest variations can lead to problems in printing, which is why
Heidelberg has designed the metering unit in the eco-friendly
CombiStar Pro combination unit to deliver a metering accuracy of
+/- 0.1 percent. In the event of problems, additional sensors and
trend analysis help locate and eliminate the cause.
Heidelberg made environmental protection a corporate
objective back in 1992. This issue has continued to gain in
significance, proving time and again that sustainability and
economic success are not mutually exclusive.
It is for this reason that Heidelberg has set up a dedicated
area on its website, providing a whole range of information on the
subject of sustainability - the
HEI ECO website.
Image:
Dietrich Mägerlein (left), managing partner of
Eukerdruck GmbH & Co. KG in Marburg, and Lars Dresmann, head of
production at Plant I, in front of the new CombiStar Pro
energy-saving combination unit. The 30th unit in this system was
successfully put into operation there on the new Speedmaster XL
105-8 P.
For further information, please contact:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Public Relations
Hilde Weisser
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 50 66
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 99 50 66
E-mail:
hilde.weisser@heidelberg.com