The rollers produced by Albert-Frankenthal are traditionally used in the printing press industry. Due to the stagnant printing press market, the company has increased its focus on other industries for some years which in turn has placed increased demands on the efficiency and quality of its production processes. A new CLOOS automated robot system is playing a significant role in helping the company to achieve its objectives.

As a leading specialist in the production of rollers and rotationally symmetrical components, Albert-Frankenthal GmbH can look back on over 150 years of manufacturing tradition at its Frankenthal site. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Koenig & Bauer AG and manufactures primarily on behalf of its parent company, with responsibility for all roller manufacturing within the Group. Albert-Frankenthal has around 85 employees and produces more than 40,000 rollers each year. In addition, Albert-Frankenthal has become increasingly active as a contract manufacturer. "Since the traditional printing press market has experienced heavy losses in the last years, we are developing new business areas in industries such as packaging printing, shipbuilding, gear manufacturing, pumps and special purpose machines," explains Markus Spiegel, Production Manager at Albert-Frankenthal GmbH. "In addition, the service business is becoming increasingly important for us.

Increasing demands on roller production

In some respects, the requirements of the new business areas differ considerably from those of the printing press industry. For this reason, the company is investing in new production technologies to keep pace with its new competitors. In the past, the rollers were mainly welded by hand. "We also had an older CLOOS robot which has performed reliable automated welding for 19 years," says Spiegel. However, the new business areas require different types of rollers. "Since the handling effort needed with the old system was very large, particularly for frontal rollers, we decided to invest in a new robot system," says Spiegel.