Offset Printing
ABB announces substantial press automation orders from WIFAG
Wednesday 14. October 2009 - Five sites in four countries
ABB, the integrated workflow, press control and press retrofit specialist, has announced a whole host of orders from the press manufacturer WIFAG in Bern, Switzerland, for press automation of a number of its presses.
The first two presses to be automated by ABB as part of this package will stand in Bielefeld, Germany. The two evolution 473 presses being supplied to J.D. Küster Nachf. + Presse Druck G.m.b.H & Co. KG, where the Neue Westfällische is printed, are to be automated with ABB systems including an MPS Production press management system in a twin configuration and three press control consoles. The delivery will also include ABBs calibrated soft-proof solution, the roll logistics management system MPS Roll Handling and the press production analysis system MPS Inform. Production on the first press begins in August 2010 with the second press coming on-line in March 2011.
Ouest France in Nantes, France, a long-standing ABB customer, will have three MPS Control Consoles on its new OF375S press. In addition, the existing MPS Production press management system operating in Nantes and the existing multi-site MPS Cockpit system operating at the Ouest France plant in Rennes will be extended to handle the new press. The commissioning will start in August 2010 and the systems go into full production in October 2010.
Next stop is Bilbao in Spain, where Bilbao Editorial Productiones SLU, the printers of El Correo Espanol, will receive ABB automation solutions on its line of new evolution 473 presses. ABBs scope of supply includes six control consoles of type MPS Control Console and an MPS Production system in a twin configuration, which will also manage the existing presses at the site. Bilbao Editorial Productiones SLU has also selected ABBs calibrated soft-proof solution and its Roll Logistics Interface.
Le Monde, in Ivry, France, is extending its OF370 press with an additional tower evolution 371 tower and an IR drier. ABB has been called upon to extend its existing systems at Le Monde, including its MPS Control Console and an MPS Production, to accommodate the press extension, which will go into production at the end of March 2010.
Finally, the Centro di Stampa Quotidiana in Erbusco, Italy, is extending its evolution 373/6 press, used to print newspapers such as Eco di Bergamo and Giornale de Brescia. ABB is suppying three additional MPS Control Consoles and extending the MPS Production system that is responsible for managing the current press configuration.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120 000 people.