The world’s largest integrated banknote printer De La Rue has just taken delivery of three new POLAR N 115 PRO guillotines from Heidelberg UK at its factory in Gateshead.

De La Rue is replacing four Schneider Senator machines and has selected the make and model only after a thorough investigation of the market. Many of the plants within the De La Rue group are standardising on POLAR cutting technology. 

POLAR badge

“We were impressed by the fact the POLAR guillotines would be networked to speed up set up and make the transfer of work between machines very easy,” says the De La Rue process manager at Gateshead. “The thread in banknote paper means the stock can be wavy so the TwinClamp, with swivel backgauge, is ideal and enables us to make micro-adjustments for different stock heights.”

The TwinClamp is an option that allows users to increase ream height and output, improve quality by more constant clamping and reduce manual intervention.

The 115cm width of the POLARs marries up comfortably with the largest sheets sizes from the presses at the De La Rue plant. They will run long-life knives supplied and sharpened by a company which understands the particular angles needed for banknote work. The OptiKnife facility on the POLAR N series makes changeover quick and safe.

POLAR N 115 PRO

The touchscreen programmability and operation on the POLARs is popular with the operators who gave very positive feedback after the practical training provided by Heidelberg. After sales support is critical for De La Rue when selecting suppliers and while the guillotines are under warranty Heidelberg will undertake the regular Health & Safety checks required by law.

The guillotines are now all available for full production at the plant which operates 24/7 to meet customer demand.