ABB eyes newspaper production process plus retrofits

“ABB’s production management and workflow solutions not only make managing and optimising the production process easier, but they also make complex production forms simpler and more economical,” said Steve Kirk of ABB.

He added that the company’s MPS Cockpit, which allows production management across the whole newspaper production process at one or more print sites, will be a particular attraction to Indian newspaper publishers with multiple sites.

The advantage with the MPS Cockpit is, it defines the final product as delivered to the readers. Then the planning of its production is made. MPS Cockpit’s template ensures that a year’s production of a newspaper can be planned in two minutes with the possibility of adding further detail and precision at later dates.

When the time for production comes, MPS Cockpit distributes the orders and planning data to the individual subprocesses such as the press and the mailroom.

The central position of MPS Cockpit, its interfaces to the production management systems of the individual subprocesses and the addition of copy counters at strategic points in the plant also make it a tool for monitoring the progress of the productions.

“In addition, ABB’s latest modular press retrofit solutions can be tailored to almost any press type. These allow the life of a newspaper press to be extended in the most cost-effective way possible and ensure the long-term availability of spare parts. The modular solutions include drives, controls, control console and press management system replacements,” Kirk added.