manroland web systems has successfully met the scheduled milestone for the Phase 1 portion of the controls retrofit project underway at the Star Tribune Media Company, based in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The scope of Phase 1 includes replacing the existing obsolete control system installed in 2003 with a new manroland web systems PECOM system and operator interface.

The retrofit project at Star Tribune Media Co. has been an effort involving every aspect of the manroland web systems aftermarket expertise to successfully provide the company’s first PECOM system operating on a non-manroland brand press. The milestone, completed on September 12th, is the first step integrate the existing Star Tribune presses to the manroland web systems PECOM production environment. Phase 2 of the project, includes a retrofit of two existing folder desks, and will be completed by mid-October.

The new manroland web systems gateway process, the “PECOM Umbrella,” was installed in Phase 1, allowing daily testing of the control system, switching between the previous system and PECOM with a push of a button. Use of this technology resulted in no interruptions to daily production during installation. The “PECOM Umbrella” will be used on future Phases involving the unit, folder, and reelstands sections of the press, to replace the original panels with new Ethernet PLC controls. All of these Phases will be completed around daily production schedules with minimum interruption to Star Tribune’s current production requirements.

”The manroland web systems installation and engineering team has been extremely responsive to our needs and schedule demands,“ stated Star Tribune Co. Senior Vice President of Operations, Kevin Desmond, “This project will extend the life of our presses and cement our position as a regional printer well into the future.”

The PECOM system provided Star Tribune’s production facility with many new features to improve product quality not previously available with the obsolete press controls. All aspects of training for the press crew, using PECOM’s uniquely intuitive user interface, have been completed to equip Star Tribune with the knowledge of the new system as their first level of support.

At the completion of the project, Star Tribune will own a robust off-the-shelf control system with modernized PLC programming to maintain and support their production requirements. manroland web systems will support the PECOM PressManager (PPM) system with the Telepresence 24/7 remote service and support. Star Tribune’s controls retrofit efforts offers an OEM-supported product scope from manroland web systems, allowing for increased flexibility and efficiency in production, creating new business opportunities.

Star Tribune Media Co. is a locally owned, award-winning media company serving readers in Minnesota and the upper Midwest as well as local and national advertisers. With the seventh-largest Sunday and 12th-largest daily circulation newspaper in the U.S., the most-visited local website, a range of home-delivered advertising solutions, a popular arts/entertainment publication and mobile app, and a broad portfolio of digital marketing solutions, Star Tribune reaches more consumers than any other Minnesota media brand.