Located in the picturesque university town of Marburg, about one hour north of Frankfurt, Römer Etikett has been the German production facility of the Dublin-based Watershed Group since 2011. The Group now numbers seven sites across Europe, and while each retains its own identity and operates as a separate profit and loss centre, there is a close working relationship among the companies that shares knowledge, solves problems, and importantly allows work scheduling across country borders as is best suited.
One key element in this is the Group’s standardisation on Mark Andy flexo technology, with a portfolio of the American manufacturer’s Performance Series presses, including two eight-colour P5 machines at the Römer plant. Drawing praise for their ease of make-ready and production speed across a variety of substrates and jobs, the P5 presses provided a significant boost to capacity, according to the General Manager at Marburg, Claus Schüring.
“In addition to rapid job changes and their ability to print a high-quality dot at speed, the Mark Andy presses generate significantly less waste material than anything I had experienced before, and this led me to a train of thought regarding non-stop operation,” he explained. At a time when the industry overall is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain skilled operatives, the move towards a greater degree of automation seems inevitable.
Automation is best started at the beginning
“As with most processes in life, I feel automation is best started at the beginning, so for me the first item on the technology shopping list was automating the unwind and splice, and this is where I have seen from numerous installations on label presses worldwide, Martin Automatic has no serious competition,” he explained, saying that negotiations began with the US manufacturer back in 2024.
Bernd Schopferer, European Sales Manager for Martin Automatic, takes up the story: “We knew exactly what Römer needed because we have fitted countless of our MBS models to label presses from all major manufacturers – the challenge was the site itself, which required a degree of improvisation and adjustment that our design team enjoyed.” The Marburg facility is built on a steep hill and consequently suffers from several changes in level on the production floor. In addition, the P5 press to be automated was tightly squeezed between walls and supporting pillars.
The solution was unusual, if not unique, for the label industry, and certainly not uncommon for the Martin team when supplying to other markets. The MBS non-stop unwind/splicer installed at Römer allows for a walkway between the festoon and the press-infeed by routing the web above head height across a bridge. “I was very impressed with how quick and smooth the installation went, considering the limited space available. The Martin technicians were very professional, and the operator training has been excellent, especially as we have several different languages to cope with on our shop floor,” said Schüring.
Automatic roll changing
The Martin technology installed is a fully featured MBS model that allows automatic roll changing at production speeds up to 150m/min and comes as standard with the Martin EOPP system that guides the operator through the splice preparation process. Speaking for Martin, Bernd Schopferer said: “The basic principle of non-stop operation is automated roll changing, and Mr Schüring saw this straightaway. It not only saves time and money, it allows for more consistent print quality by allowing the press to run at a consistent speed.”
It has allowed Romer to use 4000m rolls of material instead of the 2000m rolls it had used previously, and the non-stop unwinder also makes it easy to use smaller, part-used rolls, which wouldn’t make economic sense with a standard single-position unwinder. According to Mr Schüring, this is both more cost-effective and labour-saving. “The rolls are delivered and stored vertically, which makes handing and loading much easier, and with the Martin MBS we can change them quickly and easily despite their size and weight.”
Early results from non-stop running indicate a saving of at least one hour per day with the Martin splicer. With the Mark Andy P5 now fully geared up with non-stop matrix waste extraction, 100% camera inspection, and automated turret rewind technology delivering finished rolls into the box, Römer believes this figure will improve further. Also included in the €500,000 investment plan is extensive operator training and hands-on experience in running the fully automated printing line to ensure the maximum benefit to productivity.
“The short ROI makes a convincing case for the Martin equipment,” said Schüring, with which Bernd Schopferer concurred: “I see no sense installing a label press of any size or operating speed without automated unwind/splice and rewind – they all improve quality and efficiency – and therefore the bottom line,” he stated. This is the first installation of Martin Automatic technology in The Watershed Group. Once proven, Bernd Schopferer is optimistic that its success will lead to more.
Caption: Claus Schüring and Bernd Schopferer are well pleased with the Martin Automatic MBS installation in Marburg.