Since the start of this year, production operations at the Diehl bookbindery in Wiesbaden have been boosted by two new postpress machines from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). The company has invested in a new Eurobind Pro adhesive binder with 28 feeders and a new KH 82 folding machine with automated cross-fold unit and six buckle plates. The machine configuration, production concepts, and the entire material flow were optimized in consultation with experts from Heidelberg.  

"We have been experiencing enormous pressure on prices and costs for a number of years, but quality requirements are just as high as ever. The only way we can face up to this challenge is to ensure that we have state-of-the-art equipment and all processes at the company run smoothly," says managing director and proprietor Axel Diehl. "This requires well-trained, motivated, and flexible staff," he continues, adding that additional potential can be unlocked by cooperating more closely with print shops. "Some print shops involve us in job planning from the outset, which optimizes the way we organize our work and the quality of the end product," he explains.

The family company has a long history. Founded as a small craft enterprise in 1857 by master bookbinder Carl Hetterich, the firm was taken over by Wilhelm Diehl shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and later passed on to his son Hildebrand Diehl. In 1989, Axel Diehl followed in his father's footsteps. The publishing bookbindery with 21 employees working in two-shift operation with state-of-the-art equipment now has a customer base comprising numerous print shops and agencies in the Rhine/Main region. In addition to the two new acquisitions, the company has three Stahlfolder machines in different formats, a Stitchmaster ST 350 saddlestitcher with eight feeders, a Polar 115 XT Autotrim cutter and an Aster 150 book sewing machine.

50 percent faster setup and high flexibility pave the way for growth
Before making the investment, Diehl checked out several potential suppliers. "I was particularly looking for good availability, excellent service, and additional productivity through maximum automation," he says. "Setup is around 50 percent faster and much more precise with the Eurobind Pro than with the old system. The adhesive binder is ready for production in the space of 10 to 15 minutes. With standard products, automatic setting is so precise that even the very first brochure is fit for sale," adds a highly satisfied Diehl following an initial period working with the new equipment. The Eurobind Pro with polyurethane (PUR) nozzle system is highly automated and offers maximum flexibility and precision when jobs are interrupted or repeated. A stored product type catalog and saved job data are used to preset the adhesive binder and automatically select all the assemblies required for spine preparation, the adhesive, or the cover feeder. The format can be input quickly and easily via the touchscreen. "When resuming the job, the adhesive binder soon delivers the required result again thanks to the saved data - no matter who is operating the machine. This flexibility is even more important to us than machine output and shorter makeready times," states Diehl. Adhesive binding of products with a spine thickness of between two and 60 mm is supported. Spine preparation consisting of milling, roughening, and subsequent powder removal enables very clean and durable binding. "Our customers are very impressed with the binding quality and spine shape. We see annual reports and other high-end products as a growth segment for us," underlines Diehl.

In the just over seven weeks since it was taken into service, the Eurobind Pro has produced around 800,000 brochures - mainly in A4 format. "That's even more than we expected, and in future we will endeavor to use the adhesive binder to full capacity by producing around 500,000 brochures per month," the managing director adds.

Stahlfolder KH 82 with automated cross-fold unit doubles net output
"The Stahlfolder KH 82 has exceeded our expectations in terms of folded sheet quality and output," continues an enthusiastic Diehl. He was also very impressed with the way service engineers from Heidelberg instructed his staff, stating: "Effective and informative training enabled my staff to get the hang of the folding machine very quickly and use its new options to the benefit of our customers."

The new Stahlfolder KH 82 with automated cross-fold unit now runs at 230 meters per minute - even in cross-fold operation. The design of the new cross-fold unit results in top-quality production at high machine speeds. "Setup now takes half the time it did with the previous model, the KH 78," continues Diel.

The machine's stability and reliability have also been improved. The extremely wide range of papers that can be processed with high folding quality is unrivaled in the industry today. "Now that we have four folding machines, our daily folding capacity is between 250,000 and 280,000 sheets. This means we can supply our customers with top-quality products even faster," concludes a satisfied Diehl.