Making space where there’s none available

Tight, tighter, not going to fit? But it is: For over 20 years now, SCHOLPP has been the installation partner for printing presses made by Koenig & Bauer Digital & Webfed AG & Co. KG, Würzburg. Over this long period of collaboration, the teams have gained a lot of experience and are ready to deal with all new and used press types. This job involved relocating a Colora printing press. The offset rotary printing press for newspaper printing was to be dismantled at Schenkelberg Stiftung & Co. KG in Meckenheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, and then reinstalled at Druckzentrum Schleswig-Holstein in Büdelsdorf. Due to the tight spatial conditions at both sites, the fitters were fighting for every last millimeter when maneuvering the press.

Everything in sync: Every relocation jobs needs its own rhythm

The electrical and mechanical dismantling work at Meckenheim was put in the experienced hands of the Erfurt SCHOLPP team. The spatial conditions for the dismantling were very limited, in particular with regard to height. Building services, air-conditioning systems and stair structures needed to be skillfully avoided using customized installation solutions, i.e. a lower cable gantry than normal. All of the dismantled parts were carefully packaged and prepared for transportation. They were put into temporary interim storage in Meckenheim and were then transported to Büdelsdorf for installation on demand, in line with the “just in time” system. The SCHOLPP team sent 26 truckloads on the 550-km-long journey. The heaviest parts were the four printing units, each of which consisted of a top part and a bottom part weighing 27.5 metric tons each, the two folders weighing 12.0 metric tons each and the four reel splicers weighing 8.0 metric tons each.

The electrical and mechanical reinstallation in Büdelsdorf was performed under the watchful eye of a Koenig & Bauer supervisor, a form of collaboration between the machinery manufacturer and the industrial service provider that has proven its merits over many years. With this project, the team had to fight for every single millimeter of space, as spatial conditions are rarely as tight as this. Bringing the parts in via the building facade was not an option for cost reasons, even though this would have been the easiest approach from a logistics perspective. This left the option of bringing them into the hall via a small door, which was like threading the eye of a needle with some components

Watch out, things are getting tight!

Due to the chosen approach, switch cabinets had to be dismantled to a greater extent than usual, for example, in order to fit through the low door and ceiling. A tandem lift was then performed with two indoor cranes to position the large components. The safety officer from the crane manufacturer was also on site to ensure that the maneuver was performed safely. The right equipment, the technical expertise and a team approach all combined to make what had seemed impossible possible.

When completely assembled, the impressive printing press measured over 31.0 meters in length, 6.0 meters in width and 13.0 meters in height. Within 12 weeks, the fitters had brought in components with a total weight of over 400 metric tons. SCHOLPP carried out all of the work right through to the electrical installation testing, and handed the plant over on time and well-prepared for the subsequent commissioning.