Packaging

The Alprinta 74 from Muller Martini with Stack Delivery System and Folding Machine from GUK

Friday 08. April 2011 - August Faller KG Enhances Its Production Process for Pharmaceutical Package Inserts in Binzen

August Faller KG has invested in a new production line for its site in Binzen (Germany). The system, which is the only one of its kind in Europe, was put into operation recently, and comprises an Alprinta 74 web offset printing press from Muller Martini with a stack delivery system for sizes of up to 74 x 101 cm, as well as a finishing line with a folding machine supplied by GUK.
August Faller KG is based in Waldkirch, close to the area of Freiburg im Breisgau, and has over 125 years’ experience in the production of packaging solutions. As a system supplier with more than 430 customers across Europe, this family business is one of Germany’s market leaders for pharmaceutical packaging solutions. The site in Binzen, opened in 2003, is the second expert center opened by August Faller KG for manufacturing package inserts, with the first at its Grossbeeren site. According to Jörg Frischkorn who heads up the package inserts sector at the Pharma Service Center, the Faller site in Binzen with its staff of 155 produces some 900 million package inserts every year.
A recommendation from the European Union sparked the decision to invest in a new production line: In future, package inserts are to be printed in a larger font to make them more legible, and new statutory regulations will also require package inserts to be provided in more than one language.
Web-Printed Products and Sheet-Fed Printed Items
The Alprinta 74 variable-size web offset printing press from Muller Martini, which is combined with a newly developed sheeter plus stacker unit, enables August Faller KG to produce both web-printed products and sheet-fed printed items. The most striking feature of this setup is the fact that the 740-mm wide signatures can be a maximum of 1016 mm long, meaning they can be used to produce a huge range of package inserts. The printing press, which reaches production speeds of up to 365 meters per minute, also features a web scanning video device and a complete in-line print image monitoring system.
The Alprinta 74 has also been enhanced with a finishing line for web-printed products which is kitted out with a folding machine supplied by GUK. “Thanks to this new line, we are well equipped for the production of large-size package inserts; this is an area that will continue to grow,” says Dr. Daniel Keesman, Managing Partner at August Faller KG.