The Group produces virtually all of its newspapers in their own print facilities that fall under the subsidiary, Amedia Trykk, with a total of seven wholly-owned and three partially owned print facilities. The Group is headquartered in Lilleström, also the location for their largest production unit.

In conjunction with an analysis on future production needs which was completed in 2014, Amedia decided to expand and future-proof (to replace obsolete electronics and software to extend the service life of the control system) their GOSS Universal press in Lilleström. The press, which originally consisted of six four-high printing towers and one folder would be extended by two second-hand printing towers and one folder from the printing plant in Stokke (Norway) that was facing closure.

The press in Lilleström was previously equipped with EAE control system and the press in Stokke with Honeywell control system. To future-proof the system from a spare parts and support standpoint while increasing productivity, Amedia chose to invest in a new control system and decided to partner up with DCOS Sweden AB as a total supplier to move and reinstall the new equipment and carry out the complete retrofit of control systems.

"One reason we chose DCOS is their support, we have their systems in several of our print shops and feel very secure with them as a supplier. DCOS provides robust and transparent system solutions based on standard components and it is obviously very positive from my point of view”, says Trond Christensen, Maintenance Manager Amedia Trykk.

The project started in December last year and completed in June this year with the press being in full production throughout the project. In addition to the new printing towers and the folder, two used Amal AR60 reelstands was installed alongside the existing Amal AR75 reelstands.

Plant Manager Morten Kringler say; "The project has run in parallel with the expansion of our mailroom. It's always a challenge to carry out these kind of projects in a time when our occupancy of the presses has increased considerably since we closed a printing plant. But we are very pleased with the performance and can now see a considerable saving in waste paper by the new control system. This was not part of our expectation and not accounted for since this was mainly a measure to future-proof the press. But it’s of course very positive since it also shortens setup time between runs."

Universal is the sixth press type of GOSS International's range that DCOS has performed replacement of control systems on. Similar project have previously been carried out on models; Uniliner, Magnum, Community, M600 and Urbanite.

About DCOS
DCOS offers custom-designed automated solutions with a focus on user-friendliness, efficiency and reliability – the aim is to maximize the productivity of the customers.

DCOS offers a new approach in operation and control systems, operator interfaces, production follow-up and camera-based inspection systems for new and printing press installations, including retrofitting of existing ones. The company has printing press customers across the world and operates a strong service organization based on a network of carefully selected and skilled agents and partners.

(http://www.dcos.se)