Odcombe Press LP, the print arm of Haynes Publishing, needed to upgrade its Tennessee printing operation in order to handle a more diverse array of printing jobs.  Renowned for over 50 years as a publisher of automotive repair manuals, Haynes also publishes a variety of specialty titles of varying sizes and formats.  The U.S. plant was equipped with a 15 year old Muller Martini Monostar perfect binder.  Clearly, this legacy equipment would be challenged by the additional workload.

Moreover, because of the diversification of its product line, Haynes envisioned an unprecedented upgrade in their post-press manufacturing capabilities, one that involved the configuration of a high-speed perfect binding line and a fully integrated packaging and palletizing solution that had the ability to do shrink-wrapping, cartoning and palletizing all in line.

The key to the success of such an ambitious venture was to engage the experience, expertise and cooperation of two market leaders, Muller Martini and Solema, the Italy-based packaging manufacturer who Haynes had worked with in the past as well.  Together, the customer and the manufacturers developed a highly complex and customized complete solution – one that even included the design and manufacture of an all-new cartoning machine.

Nigel Clements, Haynes’ Group Production Director and Odcombe Press LP Vice President of Production, helped to spearhead this collaboration.  “The great thing about sitting down with Muller Martini and Solema,” he remarked, “was they had already worked together on smaller projects.  This was a chance for them to work together on a bigger, more ambitious undertaking.  We were able to brainstorm with these partners and work as a cohesive team to develop a fully integrated bindery to packaging solution.”

The entire project took over four year’s time, including planning, design, installation and training.  The enormity of the endeavor demanded extensive project management, which was led by Jody Harrison, Muller Martini’s Product Manager, Book and Publication Binding.  According to Mr. Harrison, “This was a very challenging project because our machines needed to accommodate not just Haynes’ current workload, but that which would transpire in the future.  We worked under a very tight set of deadlines to install the machines and had to train the operators on a new automated way of perfect binding since they had been working with very old equipment.  Plus, we had to redesign the workflow within the plant.”

Commented Lee Crompton, Haynes’ Group Production Manager, “there needed to be a lot of convergence between the Muller and Solema equipment.  For example, if one shrink wrap goes down, the binder needs to also slow down so that production doesn’t stop.  So, they created a system that diverts product and keeps the production moving.”

With regard to the partnership, Mr. Crompton added, “Throughout the installations, communication was key.  We looked seriously at other competitors, but none were able to demonstrate the level of cooperation and expertise that had been developed between Muller Martini and Solema.

Haynes’ overriding objective was to reduce manpower while increasing throughput.  Mr. Clements noted that “on the old binding line, we were running two shifts and the department employed 18 people running that equipment.  Now, we’re down to six people working just one shift.  Moreover, our makereadies are less than half what they were and we’re averaging three times more books than before.  Obviously, we’re very pleased.”

The full contingent of the Muller/Solema solution for Haynes includes:
- Corona C-12 Binder.  An efficient, high-performance adhesive binding line offering great flexibility and high net output capacity.
- 3695 Gathering Machine.  Offers a high degree of processing reliability in the production of single sheets, while also running the widest variety of signatures.
- Automated Stream Feeders
- Book Data Center.  Helps eliminate human error by allowing operators to preset jobs so that set-ups are faster and take less time.
- Zenith S Three-Knife Trimmer.  A high-performance trimmer which produces at a speed of up to 7,000 cycles per hour.
- Solema Speedy Diverter to switch from one lane to two.
- (2) Solema Glove Compensating Stackers.
- Solema Magic Box, a fully automatic cartoning machine.
- Solema Pluton Palletizer, fully automatic for cartons and loose piles.