Stephens & George takes fourth Stahlfolder TH 82-P

Print Solutions

A fourth Stahlfolder TH 82-P (and the company’s eleventh folder in total) is being added by Stephens & George to meet the significantly increased output from the ‘Push to Stop’ version Speedmaster XL 106-8-P press installed in the summer.

Aside from the increase in speed over the press it replaced (18,000 sheets per hour rather than 15,000 sheets per hour) the ability of this latest press to automatically process work without manual intervention and to maximise output has led to such a significant lift in productivity that an additional folder became a necessity.

‘This folder will enable the finishing to keep pace with the exceptionally productive pressroom,’ said Andrew Jones, managing director. ‘It is evidence that we have found the technology robust, reliable and productive. In my opinion the TH 82-P is the best industrialised folder in the market.’

The company has five B1 presses in total and each month handles about 16 million 16 page sections and four million 32 page sections. The P series Stahlfolders are the ideal high output machines in this environment.

The Stahlfolder TH 82-P with PFX shingle feeder can output up to 16,400 16 page A4 sections an hour at a machine speed of just 140 metres a minute. The shingling or overlapping of sheets allows the machine to fold a higher quantity without ramping up the speed which means better sheet control and higher quality folding along with much greater output. It is a folder that can attain a net output of 12,000 sheets per hour 16 page sections.

Stephens & George employs 231 at the Merthyr Tydfil plant. The company dates back to 1912 and today is run by Andrew Jones, the fourth generation in this family business.