Rolling Meadows, IL—Komori America—Komori announced today that Forum Communications Printing (FCP), a full-service print and mail house, has purchased an eight-color Komori Lithrone G40 advance perfector (GL840P advance) with coater and LED-UV, along with an MBO K8RS Pallet Fed Combi Folder, for its facility in Fargo, North Dakota. This is FCP’s third Komori press, the first purchased in 2009 and the second in 2011. FCP specializes in printing magazines, catalogs, books, brochures, postcards and more. The company chose to invest in the GL840P advance for its ability to print two-sided jobs at least two times faster than the current straight configured presses. The company’s goals are to significantly shorten turnaround times to meet the speed-to-market and flexibility these projects require while increasing the capacity needed to support FCP’s growth.

“With the incredible speed and quick makeready the GL840P advance delivers, we are anticipating up to 30% expanded capacity due to the efficiencies gained with the one-pass-and-done process,” said Jeff Foss, plant manager at FCP Fargo. “Our focus at FCP has always been to provide quality, value and exceptional customer support. Upgrading our capabilities allows us to successfully continue to meet our customers’ needs, as well as expand our customer base. We are looking forward to all the productivity benefits the Komori GL840P advance will deliver.”

Along with investing in the new press for its enhanced capabilities, FCP is also upgrading its folding equipment to match the productivity increase the new press brings and to provide another avenue for meeting today’s labor challenges. The company is installing MBO’s highest productivity folder available, the K8RS, B1 size, fully automated combi-folder. The K8RS is designed with a pallet-style feeder, which significantly reduces touch points and repeated lifting and jogging to load and feed paper. It is capable of production speeds up to 16,600 sheets per hour on a 25” x 38” sheet, allowing the folder to keep up with the GL840P advance press in a near 1:1 production ratio. Additionally, the folder’s automation features shorten makeready times to only a few minutes, increasing uptime and overall productivity.

“When you put in a perfecting press that's going to possibly double the output and you have manual processes after the print run, you create a potential bottleneck that will significantly slow production,” said Foss. “We felt it was imperative that we invest in both the GL840P advance and the MBO K8RS at the same time to ensure production output stability.”

FCP notes that the intuitive automation of the press and folder and the ability of the K8RS to accept product on skids direct from the press, should reduce the skillset required for future hires.

“We did not even look at the competition before we made the decision to purchase the Komori GL840P advance. Komori is an outstanding company that is going to be here long term,” said Dave Erstad, vice president at FCP. “We appreciate their support, their service and especially their honesty in doing business from the top to the bottom. We are excited to add this new press to our operation to fully take advantage of all the press has to offer.”

The new folder will be installed in the first quarter of 2023. The new press is scheduled for installation in the second quarter.

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