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THE VISION TREATMENT - by Robin George
Due Consideration
In February this year the SP Group a division of St Ives plc took delivery of a Chim 92 M4 screen cleaning machine. The decision to purchase this equipment was the subject of lengthy and detailed negotiations with Vision Supplies Ltd. Vision had identified massive potential cost savings, environmental benefits and performance improvements the SP Group would achieve by purchasing the new equipment and chemical products, exclusively distributed by them in the UK, Eire and Australia.
Ultimately Adrian Kelly, the Production Director of the SP Group, made the decision to purchase the equipment, however there were a number of factors which influenced this, not least the fact that Vision offered to refund the investment costs in full should the equipment not perform as to the levels presented to them. These formal written guarantees related to reductions in the volume of chemicals used, reductions in screen mesh stretching and very specific performance guarantees based on the cleaning performance. Vision guaranteed in excess of 95% of all frames exiting the machine would require no further treatment prior to being re-coated.
The production team headed up by Adrian identified some time ago that an area requiring improvement within their screen process department was screen cleaning. A company under the St. Ives plc banner, SP Group have always been at the forefront of technology and working practices, and have a continual focus on improvement of environmental performance surrounding their diverse print and display production processes.
Having targeted the screen cleaning department as an area for improvement the team created a ‘wish list' of how they wanted to develop and improve to create a more efficient process, lowering running costs and reducing the environmental impact of the process whilst recycling as much of the products and packaging from within the department as possible. As the largest supplier of Point of Sale in the UK, SP Group's consumable requirement is considerable, as such they require continuous support from their supply chain.
SP Group had previously purchased a solvent based screen cleaning system the results from which, although comparable with other solvent systems, lacked the performance and cost in use required in today's competitive market. Understandably SP were hesitant in investing significant capital in new equipment without considered consultation with their production team and prospective suppliers.
Mark Deeley, Pre & Post Press Supervisor, considered many of the options available in the market and discounted a number of machines early on, Mark has extensive knowledge in pre & post press equipment being responsible for analysing a number of machines previously purchased by the SP Group. He takes up the story, "We were confident that our existing screen cleaning machine was as up to date as many of our competitor's, but as the results achieved were inconsistent we chose to anti-stain 100% of frames exiting the system prior to them re-entering production."
Mark arranged a demonstration of the Chim 92 range of equipment and chemicals by contacting Vision Supplies, he continues, "Unlike many of their competitors Vision demonstrated a machine to us that was over 3 years old, a machine that had been used in production from the date of installation and had cleaned more than 25,000 frames. It was clear that the chemical in the machine was near the end of its life cycle but the results achieved were quite simply stunning. We've all been there when we're being wooed by potential suppliers demonstrating new machines with clean or unused chemical products which show the equipment in the best possible light, Vision's approach was very different. The demonstration presented what is being achieved in production day in, day out by their systems."
Paul Waterton, Managing Director of Vision Supplies continues, "We have worked exclusively with Chim 92 in the area of screen cleaning for more than 6 years, throughout that period I believe our companies have developed the most complete screen cleaning solution available today. We work with many of the leading providers of point of sale solutions in the UK and Australia so we were confident in committing formal guarantees to the SP Group, safe in the knowledge that our partners in Chim 92 had installed more than 35 machines throughout Europe over the last 5 years or so."
More Than Lip Service
The new equipment has now been installed and in production for nearly 6 months and has achieved the agreed performance levels from the date of installation, Adrian Kelly says "the Chim 92 M4 we invested in has delivered everything promised. We now only anti-stain 4% of frames made and have seen a 25% reduction in re-meshing requirements. Added to this the working environment has been significantly improved. The machine was delivered and installed on time and the Chim 92 engineers with assistance from Registerprint Machinery Ltd were enthusiastic and professional, the installation was controlled by Vision who set very high standards."
"As a company we are absolutely delighted with the machine, chemicals and technical support from Vision."
Mark Deeley continues, "The Chim 92 equipment has been a revelation, it has delivered everything that was promised of it. The operators now have a cleaner, almost odour free environment to work in, the cleaned frames are more or less spotless, dry and ready to be re-coated on exit from the equipment. Any medium to large size POS printer in the UK would benefit from using this type of equipment."
Clear Facts
Paul Waterton continues, "There are many benefits from using a Chim 92 screen cleaning machine, the most obvious is the fact that frames generally don't require any further anti-staining, chemicals are contained and recycled, the waste water discharge from the equipment has very low COD content and the frames are dried in-line, but that's only part of the story. If we analyse the savings made by the SP Group it's simple to understand why they purchased the equipment."
- VOC reduction - the company has reduced its consumption of oil based solvents by more than 40,000 litres per annum
- COD reduction - the waste water COD discharge has been reduced by an average of more than 12,000 mg/ltr
- Chemical consumption - over 45,000 litres of combined screen cleaning chemicals have been eliminated from their process
- Waste packaging - more than 500 steel and plastic chemical containers are no longer required or disposed of, associated chemical transport costs are also reduced
- Polyester mesh - the reduction in purchases of polyester mesh will equate to greater than 30,000 sq mtrs per annum
Headline figures like these more than convey some of the benefits of our system, benefits and savings that can easily be achieved and realised by companies as forward thinking as the SP Group.
For more information on the Chim 92 range of equipment and chemical products contact Vision Supplies Ltd
Tel: 0113 2008270
Fax: 0113 2777282
e-mail custserv@visionsupplies.co.uk
