Modernization as an overall project

The new OMET X4 at the centre of a complete modernization at A. Maussahardt Etiketten Gmbh in Dettenhausen

By Klemens Ehrlitzer

The purchase of a new packaging printing system at the Labelexpo 2015 turned out to be a starting point for A. Mausshardt Etiketten GmbH, aiming for the complete modernization of the company. One and a half year later, the label printing company located in Dettenhausen, with its ten employees, has become a successful family-owned business after investing in new technologies and new a production site. The commissioning of an eight-color OMET X4 flexographic printing machine in January 2017 was the highlight of the investment program. Markus Klein, future managing director, and Sandra Schmidt, assistant to the management, report in this interview the details of this overall modernization. Markus Klein – the grandson of Johann Zierlinger who had acquired the company in 1969 – came back from Labelexpo 2015 with a purchase contract for a new machine to achieve the necessary level of the technology to fulfil the planned expansion. Back in Dettenhausen, however, the reflections on the optimal placement of the new machine led to a major modernization wave.

Farewell to the letterpress

The year 2016 was dedicated to rebuilding arrangements, machine installations and renovation work. Today, the core of production is an eight-color OMET X4 flexographic printing machine, which was started-up at the beginning of 2017. It replaced an Arsoma EM 260 with five printing units for water-based flexographic printing and two aged single-color letterpress machines. Markus Klein summarized “With this renovation, we have put an end to the chapter of book printing in our company as planned”. The main purpose was the addition of new finishing possibilities such as embossing, backside or glue-side printing. Sandra Schmidt says: “Today we are producing also these kind of jobs and, of course, we offer our customers an improved level of services.”

Reliable partners preferred

For smaller companies such as Mausshardt, this kind of investments are crucial. Markus Klein explains: “Whether building or purchasing new assets, any wrong investment can have fatal consequences. That is why we rely on trustworthy partners for such important projects. We chose Chromos GmbH because we wanted a reliable trading company with a strong reputation in the industry. The experience and the knowledge of the market are essential especially when installing a new printing machine, in order to go into operation without a long start-up phase and be able to quickly deliver the required production output”.

Chromos GmbH turned out to be the right choice for Mausshardt as Markus Klein notes in retrospect. The Augsburg trade company represents the Italian machine manufacturer OMET in the German-speaking market (D / A / CH) including sales, commissioning, training and service. The printing staff is more than satisfied with the high-quality service and machine. The installation and start-up was easier thanks to the high user-friendliness of the machine. The operators confirm that all the processes are logically structured, so that all the steps can be carried out intuitively. In particular, the registration accuracy is kept extremely reliable by the Vision-1 automatic control regardless of the production speed and the number of printing units used.

Customized machine line-up

Markus Klein continues: “In the run-up to the purchase decision, Chromos always had an open ear for our requirements so that today we have a complete solution to our needs with the OMET X4. The machine features 370 mm web width and a maximum printing speed of 190 m / min. The equipment includes a rail system, web cleaner and corona treatment for plastic materials such as PE labels; Delam-Relam unit and a web turning-bar system. The machine is fully equipped with UV curing with additional hot air drying on four printing units, in order to be able to print with water colors for certain jobs. By focusing on flexographic printing, the company has completed the conversion to low-migration inks.

For various processing steps, such as die-cutting and sheeting, a total of three converting units – some equipped with GapMaster system – are available. Practical benefits come also from the exclusive Rock’n’Roll Matrix rewinding which simplified the stripping process of many orders, which had previously caused difficulties in matrix rewinding.

From banderoles for coffee and sausage to modern labels

Founded in 1920 by Anna and Theodor Mausshardt in Leonberg, the company mainly supplied coffee houses, confectioneries and butcher cooperatives with lovingly designed labels. The focus was on metal-lined, embossed labels for product labeling, as well as sausage loops and label trailers.

In 1969 Johann Zierlinger took over the company. Since then, the A. Mausshardt Etiketten GmbH became a family-owned company. Regina Klein, daughter of Johann Zierlinger has been running the company since 1999 and is therefore active in the company for more than 45 years. Her son Markus started the third generation in 2009 when he became operations manager and future managing director.

An important milestone in 1997 was the acquisition of today’s company headquarters in Dettenhausen, after the previous premises in Stuttgart (1956) and Leinfelden-Echterdingen (1976) both rented. With extensive arrangements and installations of new technologies in all production areas in 2016 and the commissioning of the new OMET printing machine at the beginning of 2017, the label printing company has successfully completed an ambitious re-modernization project.

Photo 1: The executive management of Mausshardt: (from the right) Regina Klein, Managing Director; Helmut Klein, Operations Manager; Markus Klein, operations manager and future managing director; And (front left) Sandra Schmidt, assistant to the management

Photo 2a and 2b: bbefore and after the modernization: an impressive difference.

Photo 3: Regina Klein runs the company Mausshardt since 1999. In 2009 her son Markus became operations manager, starting the third generation of the company.