Ferag Polystream Live in Liverpool for Four Months

By: E&P Staff The first PolyStream packaging line from Ferag, Hinwil, Switzerland, went into production at large rotogravure printer Prinovis Liverpool last fall as part of a field-testing partnership.

Foil-wrapping is taking on a key role for the English printer, especially in relation to magazines and supplements produced for News International. Forty million foil-wrapped bundles are shipped each month from the facility, where the PolyStream line is set to boost net output by a factor of at least two, according to Ferag.

Prinovis performance estimates for PolyStream showed stable production at net output of 25,000 bundles per hour, including demanding collections, with products of varied formats, paginations and substrates.

To overcome existing performance barriers, Ferag completely reworked the basic functions, from hopper feeding to collecting to foil sealing and evacuation of finished bundles. PolyStream produces inline, from collecting through to distribution-ready bundles. Performance-related components, designed for almost any products, are the JetFeeder universal hopper, FlyStream collecting line, PolyPacer rotary sealing system, and high-speed conveyor incorporating the Top Performance Clamp. Grippers transport bundles of up to 50-mm thickness to the bundling sector. The Intelligent Repair Control function is integrated into the collecting process, ensuring that only complete collections pass to foil-wrapping.

The Prinovis Liverpool PolyStream line has 13 hopper stations. The JetFeeder hopper is used for infeeding, and Ferag also developed interfaces for third-party systems. "Ferag's resolve and willingness to integrate the solutions we have here in Liverpool with systems from other manufacturers was vital to the successful realization of the PolyStream project," Prinovis Liverpool Managing Director Richard Gray said in a statement.

Commenting on the partnership, Ferag CEO J?rg M?ckli said: "The high volumes and complex structures of the collections that require processing reveal a system's every weakness. So we are very satisfied with the results. At Prinovis Liverpool, we can also count on competent and experienced professionals whose support is without equal."