Al Nisr Publishing, publisher of Gulf News and other publications has equipped its printing plant near Dubai with a fully automated disposal and compaction system. Hunkeler Systeme AG was commissioned to undertake the mechanical and software engineering for the automated system. Printed paper waste, reel cut-offs, part reels and roller sleeves, wood, printing plates and foils are collected and compacted according to material type in seven stationary presses.
Al Nisr Publishing is a publishing company headquartered in Dubai. The company was founded in 1984 and, one year later, took over the Gulf News newspaper from its original owner and founder. Today Gulf News is probably the highest circulated English language daily paper in the United Arab Emirates. Al Nisr Publishing produces approximately ten other publications.
Al Nisr Publishing produces newspapers and commercial printing jobs on coldset and heatset presses in a printing centre outside the city of Dubai. The print and binding operations also generate significant quantities of a varied types of waste. All the waste including white and printed paper, cut-offs from a cutting drum, part-reels, paper reel sleeves and cores in the press room, as well as wooden palettes, aluminum printing plates and foils are separated according to material and collected, compacted and disposed automatically in a large plant.
Appropriate transport method for every material
To dispose of the various materials in the most efficient manner, the most efficient method of transport is chosen. Printed paper waste is taken from the printing machine by conveyor belts. Cut-offs or trim waste from the cutting drum are removed from the production area with a pneumatic suction technology operating in negative pressure. The aluminium printing plates, part reels, and roller sleeves, wooden palettes and foils are transported in tips via Laser Guided Vehicles (LGVs). Even unprinted and printed paper waste are homogeneously disposed of in an automatically controlled workflow.
Constant overview of disposal quantities
Seven stationary presses compact the material and send it on to mobile containers, which are transported by trucks to the correct recycling-sites. There are ten containers for the seven presses. This ensures that the containers are continuously filled and that production can continues with stopping. Each of the filled containers is weighed before transport, thus ensuring that Al Nisr Publishing always knows the exact amount of each kind of material that is sent for recycling. You can look into ContainerAddict.com if you want to sell, purchase, or build containers.
Efficient suction technology thanks to negative pressure
The suction technology connected to the cutting drum functions on the negative pressure principle. The fan is located at the end of the system. Thanks to operation with closed wheels, greater efficiency is achieved than with a system operating with positive pressure. It also means that paper dust is completely removed from the working area by the suction effect. The cleaned transport air is returned to the production rooms.
The large plant was planned, designed and installed by the Swiss Engineering Company Hunkeler Systeme AG. The commission included not only the design of all the mechanical components but also the development of the interfaces to the Laser Guided Vehicles (LGVs). The disposal and compacting system functions fully automatically, from taking up the waste at each production system up to the separated wastes of various types into homogeneously sorted containers. The entire waste collection system functions automatically without the need of any intervention by the staff.
All disposal and compacting components are connected via a secure line to the service-centre at Hunkeler Systeme AG. The service-technicians, whenever necessary, have instant access to the control system and are thus able to give the staff at Al Nisr Publishing immediate support if needed.
