Smart Folder Cuts Makereadies for Pharmaceutical Packaging Specialist

MY Healthcare, Newmarket, is already experiencing 'remarkable' productivity gains just weeks after installing the UK's first Horizon AF-406T6A automated all-buckle 40 cm wide folding system.

Operations manager Tina Goodman explains: “It gives us more flexibility in planning jobs. Makereadies are so much faster and we can store jobs in the machine's memory which reduces a lot of the set up times since so much of our throughput takes the form of short-run repeat work.”

Mrs Goodman had originally seen a beta version on the GAE/Horizon stand at Ipex 06 and tracked its
progress at Drupa for the official
European launch of the production model. The MY delegation was suitably impressed:

“It was the size of the fold dimensions and the high level of automation that were key deciding factors,” says Mrs Goodman. “We also run Herzog & Heymann and GUK folders but there is nothing else like the Horizon in this format on the market. The specification of folds for our leaflets are also getting more complex so to have a highly automated set up with the touch screen makes operation easier and faster. With the storage of so many profiles you can find the size you need quickly and easily. It saves so much time.”

MY's AF-406T6A was supplied by GAE with 6-buckle crossfold and standing delivery. The new Horizon has 6 fold plates, is fully-automated and is fitted as standard with large intuitive colour touchscreen controls for quick operator training and efficient operation. The 6+6-buckle modular concept covers a broad fold pattern range - from the very simplest to highly complex - and the on-board memory can store up to 200 jobs. Steel and soft-formed polyurethane combination rollers are fitted for easy adjustment of roller gap pressure and short make-ready and fold dimensions as little as 20mm can be performed. It is JDF compatible via Horizon's i2i NetWorkFlow software - a system which also creates infinite job storage capacity.

Like other sectors of the industry Mrs Goodman says run sizes are getting smaller which affects the amount of time spent on setting up. “Because of the high level of automation on the folder we are doing a lot of the shorter runs on it. We can set it up quickly and get the jobs done much faster leaving the other folders to complete longer runs. After the first six months we will be able to see what impact the machine has made but we are already seeing a big difference in makeready times.”
 

The Newmarket site has a staff of 70 and is one of a number of UK and European operations in the MY Healthcare group providing the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector with print, packaging and contract packing services.

The new Horizon is part of a £3m investment programme at Newmarket that includes an extension to the 2,000 sq m site and the addition of Drent and Goebel presses.