PRESS RELEASE
April 28, 1995
Small pumps challenge
established giants

Technical development has moved ahead rapidly in printing, but at the cost of the work environment. ‘High temperatures and high levels of noise and vibration are serious problems for printers', says Peter Tell, of Piab at Åkersberga, north of Stockholm. ‘But now these problems have been solved with our new series of pumps, that we call Graphic Air Pumps
(GAP). Both vacuum and pressure pumps are driven by compressed air, and develop no heat or vibration. As a result, noise levels are much lower. The weight is only about 10 kilos compared with large electric pumps which often weigh hundreds of kilos'.

The company was established over forty years ago. Patents for compressed-air-driven vacuum pumps at the beginning of the 70's led to current major involvement with vacuum products and vacuum-based technical solutions for industry. Now, after years of experience in other areas, the company is looking at the printing industry, where pumps have been tested and given good results in several applications for some years beforehand. From the outset, the products have been certified to ISO 9001.
‘There are something like 100,000 printing works in the world, and virtually all of them are equipped with pumps that need regular maintenance. That is where we come in', explained Peter Tell. Applications for Graphic Air Pumps are, for example, vacuum frames for film and plate manufacture, paper handling during pre-prep, printing and after-printing operations, laying-on and clearing-off paper, collating, guillotining, trimming, stitching, binding, and packing. The pumps have no moving parts and need no lubrication of any kind. They are small, compact, and light, and can be located directly on the press at the various positions where air is used. They can either replace electric pumps on existing presses, or be fitted directly to new machinery. Several pumps can be connected to a central system and driven from a single compressor.
The pumps have been tested by the large German printing press manufacturer MAN Roland, Heidelberg. They are also in use at the Kramp Printing Works at Offenbach, not far from the Roland factory. Both old and new sheet-fed offset presses have been fitted with Graphic Air Pumps at Kramp's. One of the most recent installations is at Druckzentrum Sutter & Partner, Essen, where pumps have been fitted to the newly-operational latest-model Heidelberg Speedmaster with eight printing units and perfecting.
‘Results have been just as we expected, with a significantly improved working environment, minimal maintenance costs, and high operational reliability', says an enthusiastic Peter Tell. ‘This means that we can solve many printing industry problems and compete directly with established manufacturers of large electric pumps'.
Piab AB was founded in 1951. The company has over 100 employees at Åkersberga and Hede. The main activity is applied vacuum technology which accounts for 75% of business. There are subsidiaries and distributorships in 25 countries.

Captions:

1 In comparison with electric vacuum pumps, Graphic Air Pumps are maintenance-free and much easier to handle. The weight is much lower -- the pumps in the photograph only weigh about 10 kilograms.

2 Print Manager Werner van Treeck of Druckzentrum Sutter & Partner shows Piab GAP-pumps which have replaced conventional electric pumps on the latest Heidelberg Speedmaster in their printing shop.


For further information, please contact:
Piab GB Ltd
Ms Vourneen Doyle
PO Box 8
Brentford
Middlesex TW8 9AJ
Tel: 0181 568 0165
Fax: 0181 847 3437

N.B. This text is available on 3.5" format disk (Word 5.1a)
formatted for Macintosh or PC.


directly with established manufacturers of large electric pumps'.
Piab AB was founded in 1951. The company has over 100 employees at Åkersberga and Hede. The main activity is applied vacuum technology which accounts for 75% of business. There are subsidiaries and distributorships in 25 countries.

Captions:

1 In comparison with electric vacuum pumps, Graphic Air Pumps are maintenance-free and much easier to handle. The weight is much lower -- the pumps in the photograph only weigh about 10 kilograms.

2 Print Manager Werner van Treeck of Druckzentrum Sutter & Partner shows Piab GAP-pumps which have replaced conventional electric pumps on the latest Heidelberg Speedmaster in their printing shop.


For further information, please contact:
Piab AB
Åke Hinndal
Box 123
184 22 Åkersberga
SWEDEN
Tel: +46 8 540 825 00
Fax: +46 8 540 630 30
N.B. This text is available on 3.5" format disk (Word 5.1a)
formatted for Macintosh or PC.