The company MKM media is expanding its fleet of machinery by several system modules from MB Bäuerle for the production of mailings.
The media service provider MKM media, domiciled in Stahnsdorf / Brandenburg, is known across Germany as a specialist for innovative and attention-getting advertising campaigns in the field of dialog marketing. Moreover, MKM offers the complete range of services of a traditional lettershop from printing to customization and finally the transfer to German Mail.
Under the URL www.selfmailer.com, a portal for print mailings was created especially for this purpose. Among the exclusive portfolio of products are individualized, customized and also serialized mailings. Be it card mailings, promotional letters, selfmailers or eye-catching premium mailers, there are no limits to creativity. Another important pillar of MKM is image personalization. According to the statement of the company, MKM is one of the market leaders in this segment in Germany. The portal www.bildpersonalisierung.com offers a wide choice of personalized calendars such as desk and wall calendars, calendar boxes, and calendars with additional functions such as memo fields, three-month-overview or calendars with tear-off postcards.
The expansion of the machinery is the natural result of the steadily growing order intake, as individualized print mailings continue to be popular because they promise high response rates. After all MKM is regarded as a leading provider in the field of variable data printing. The digital printing department produces and finishes a large number innovative promotional products with the latest technology. The customers come primarily from the industrial sector and are located all over Germany. The company, which was founded in 1997, has only recently invested in a new liquid toner digital printing system. Since print finishing also has to cope with changing requirements, the company management gathered information about possible investments in this area.
For some years MKM has used a semi-automatic folding machine CAS 52 with gluing system from MB Bäuerle. The market for selfmailers is expected to become more important, therefore the company planned to invest in this sector. ”We want to be more flexible in the production by arranging the different machine components to suit the particular job. As no other manufacturer was able to meet our technological requirements and as we were satisfied with our MB fold systems, we decided to purchase the two MB fold units of the prestigeFOLD NET 52 series and the cutting module CM 52”, explains Thomas Müller, founder and managing director of the company, the reason for the investment.
The two fold units are fully automatic, which means that the automation deals with the setting of all important components. On the basis of the pre-specified unfolded sheet size, the desired type of fold and the paper thickness which has been calculated by a paper thickness sensor, the computer control calculates the position of the different setting elements and takes care of their setting. Manual interferences and set-up times are reduced to a minimum.
A special feature of the new components from MB Bäuerle is the fact that they can be combined with other modules and positioned to suit particular demands. The flat pile feeder is, for example, also available as a mobile unit with an independent drive. This also applies to both fold units. The cutting unit CM 52 is mobile and can therefore be linked to folding machines and other systems in any position. The perforating knives are normally used for head, spine or tear-off perforations. The appropriate circular knives and counter knives are available for multiple-up separation, for strip cut-outs and edge trimming. With the roller table, an exact alignment of the sheets is possible. “With the new equipment for mailing production, we are now able to create certain products which had formerly been produced manually by means of a machine. This has resulted in considerable advantages as far as production costs are concerned. The fully automatic machine concept has also lead to a significant reduction of setup costs. With print runs which normally range from 500 to 50,000 units, this is a crucial factor“, Thomas Müller sums up his initial experiences with the new technology.
In the field of digital printing and mailing production, MKM now has a comprehensive equipment, further investments are therefore not planned in the near future. However, should there be any changes, provisions have already been made – the neighbouring property has already been purchased for a possible expansion.
Caption:
The two Managing Directors Thomas Müller (right) and Sören Patz (left) - here with Harald Schöning, MB Bäuerle Service Representative for Eastern Germany - are convinced of the advantages of the complete automation offered by the MB Bäuerle system components.
