Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) will be presenting the new generation Stahlfolder TH/KH 82-P at drupa 2016. The “P” stands for the plus points: performance, productivity, and reliability. The first users have already confirmed this, reporting constantly high folding production and better production planning. The new folding machine was rolled out to other customers in March of this year, and has been very positively received.

Know-how born of passion

"Our team works tirelessly on producing print media of outstanding quality and innovation,” says Martin Kirchner, describing the philosophy of Kirchner Print Media GmbH & Co.KG, based in Kirchlengern, Germany. What started as a small family company now numbers many discerning customers among its clientele, and currently employs 80 people. Its long-standing customers include well-known automotive manufacturers, leading companies from the worlds of fashion, lifestyle and furniture, and service providers and companies from the food and beverage industry. Many of its proprietary, premium products have won prizes, while Martin Kirchner himself was awarded Printing Company Manager of the Year 2015 for his life’s work. His two children are now also involved in managing the company. The Special Print division has been offering UV offset printing services for over 35 years. The wide range of products continues to include premium commercial and print products for the food industry as well as comprehensive cross-media services. "In order to meet our customers’ high expectations, we need modern machines capable of high quality and fast delivery,” explains Martin Kirchner. The company has worked with Heidelberg since the beginning, and has a history of being an early adopter of new technology. Today there are three Speedmaster XL 105/106 machines in the press room, producing a high level of output. 

"Investing in the Stahlfolder TH 82-P was absolutely the right decision. We have finally been able to optimize our processes from printing through to folding, since the high productivity of the folding machine means it can keep up with the press,” says Martin Kirchner. The print shop wants to fully exploit the potential of the machine by optimally adapting the associated processes. Apart from the high folding quality, another plus point is better planning. The Stahlfolder TH 82-P is mainly used for 16- and 8-page products as well as parallel folds, which are then finished on the saddle stitcher or perfect binder. "Our goal is very clear: to keep growing. That is why we are investing in new technology that will allow us to minimize costs and give our customers the best possible service within the shortest time. The new Stahlfolder TH 82-P fits perfectly into this strategy,” concludes Martin Kirchner.

No more finishing bottlenecks

Müller Druckverarbeitung GmbH in Paderborn, Germany, specializes in adhesive products, catalogs, books, magazines, brochures, and calendars. The company, which now has more than 50 employees, has been offering a full range of finishing services since 2003. In addition to perfect binders, cutters, gathering machines, thread sewing machines, and calendar production machines, it also has a total of nine folding machines. Work is done in two to three shifts and around 20 million end products are produced annually. "Heidelberg showed me the video of the new Stahlfolder TH 82-P folding machine, and straight away I recognized its potential,” explains owner Dietmar Müller. "We get lots of jobs from print shops that use Speedmaster XL machines. With our new Stahlfolder TH 82-P we can now compete at their level, and have finally solved our bottleneck problem.” The machine is used exclusively for 16-page signatures and produces a constantly high level of output, which the company feels it can improve even further. "What is important to us is the quality of the orders, and our ability to plan them. Our planning is focused on the perfect binder, and all upstream operations are timed accordingly. So it’s great to be able to rely on the productivity of the folding machine,” says Dietmar Müller. "The price/performance ratio of this machine impressed me. It delivers constantly high quality thanks to its slow speed, but the shingled processing still ensures high productivity. Even when the speed is increased, there is no need to adjust the folding length. We intend to invest in another Stahlfolder TH 82-P.”