The project is scheduled for October this year and includes the replacement of two Allen- Bradley 1336 AC Lineshaft drives with modern, off-the-shelf Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 755 250HP A.C. drive modules. This will increase production efficiency and help future proof the press by eliminating obsolescence. Improved diagnostics will ensure that performance of the new drives is continually monitored so that if any issues occur they can be rapidly resolved.

In addition to the upgrade, Harland Simon engineers will carry out preventative maintenance on the remaining A-B 1336 drives to ensure all drives will continue functioning as required.

The other five 1336 drives will remain in operation but will be replaced in a phased approach over the next two years. This allows the full press-wide upgrade to be staged over several financial cycles relieving the burden on budgets whilst ensuring that essential upgrades can take place. Benefitting from Harland Simon’s extensive upgrade expertise, the installation is set to be carried out without any interruption to the production process.

Jim Jones, Regional Operations Director for Advance Local, commented: “Harland Simon’s flexible approach and their ability to spread drive upgrades over time allows us to spread capital expenditure over a number of years while harvesting spare parts and extending equipment life”.

Phil Tilley, US Sales Manager for Harland Simon, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Advance Local team again. The extensive experience of our project managers and engineers of carrying out this type of retrofit will help ensure that the project will be completed without requiring any downtime.”

About Harland Simon
Harland Simon is one of the world’s leading suppliers of newspaper press control and management systems. With roots going back to 1915, the company has been providing innovative, user-friendly and reliable solutions to the newspaper printing industry for over thirty years, from ‘turnkey’ systems for new presses to cost effective upgrades on existing presses.

Utilizing the benefits of industry-standard hardware and software platforms, Harland Simon offers a complete range of products and solutions including press drives and controls as well as associated computer management systems and production tools. It’s an approach that Harland Simon has used on many occasions previously on systems supplied by Goss, Rockwell Automation, KBA, Honeywell, EAE and manroland to improve performance, minimize waste and maximize production quality whilst keeping presses in daily production.

(http://www.harlandsimon.com)