According to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hermann, Member of the Management Board responsible for Lifecycle Solutions and Chief Digital Officer at Heidelberg, the company looks forward to its partnership with the Bertelsmann Printing Group.
‘We see it as an important milestone in the acceptance of our subscription model,’ said Hermann. This comes following the announcement that Bertelsmann Printing Group (BPG) based in Gütersloh, concluded a subscription contract with Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Vertrieb Deutschland GmbH (HDD) for its two sites, Mohn Media in Gütersloh and Vogel Druck in Höchberg near Würzburg.
‘Our goal is to continuously increase productivity over the next five years, and in this way boost overall equipment efficiency,’ explained Dr. Niklas Darijtschuk, Chief Operation Officer at BPG. ‘The subscription contact with the performance partnership is therefore key for us. It gives us the confidence of knowing that for the next five years Heidelberg is responsible for performance and availability.’
The deal is the culmination of comprehensive consultation sessions and intensive discussions. Together, the data, figures and job structures for sheetfed printing provided by the sites were systematically and professionally analysed and evaluated. This enabled both sides to gain a shared understanding of the future increase in performance with a defined product portfolio.
‘More and more printing companies are recognising that the profitability of their installed resources is no longer just a question of ‘horsepower and displacement’, but rather of ‘proven lap times’.
When choosing the subscription model, the main factors to the fore in BPG’s mind, in addition to the long-term high performance of the Heidelberg press, were process control, automation, data management, benchmark-based management, and autonomous production sequences. The subscription model provides what all the parties involved are looking for, namely the consistent targeting of increased overall equipment efficiency (OEE) over the lifecycle.
‘This ensures the long-term profitability of the printing company and thus a return on investment in the equipment,’ continued Hermann. The agreement includes Heidelberg delivering the expected print volume to BPG over the next five years with the corresponding increase in the OEE at both sites. To this end, the on-site service team will receive intensive training, 24/7 support will be guaranteed, and a consignment warehouse will be set up. The subscription model also includes ‘Vendor Managed Inventory’, where Heidelberg takes over inventory management of selected consumables and wearing parts on behalf of BPG.
A highly automated Speedmaster XL 106 will replace two competitor presses at each site. Next spring, a Speedmaster XL 106 ten-colour perfecting press with coating unit will be installed at Mohn Media, while Vogel Druck will install an identical nine-colour press. The aim of the innovative Push to Stop operating concept, the Prinect Production Manager, and the Heidelberg Assistant digital platform is to achieve a smooth process workflow and to make sure that the necessary data is always available where it is needed.
Heidelberg Graphic Systems Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd +27 (0) 86 142 4756 warren.jones@heidelberg.com www.heidelberg.com/za
