Consumables
Intelligent Energy Saving That also Protects the Environment
Thursday 18. June 2009 - Heidelberg sells 30th CombiStar Pro energy-saving combination unit; Electricity consumption cut by up to 50 percent a year; Protect the environment and save money
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 Druckmaschinen 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’ 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 print shop, the press’ inking unit is cooled using only this external source. This is performed using an air-water heat exchanger and with minimal energy consumption. The refrigerating unit is only activated at temperatures over 20 degree Celcius. Control is automatic and printers do not have to concern themselves 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 print shop 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 50, Pharma Druck also produces labels, packaging inserts, and mini brochures for the pharmaceutical 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.
Protecting the environment and saving 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 print shops in other countries with moderate or cool climates.
Extrapolated over all the 30 print shops 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.