Druckzentrum Südwest in southwest Germany's Black Forest is updating controls and drives on its Wifag OF370 press with an order to ABB.

Based in Villingen-Schwenningen, the plant produces newspapers including Schwarzwälder Bote.

ABB is on familiar ground, with the systems to be installed having already been implemented on more than a dozen Wifag presses worldwide.

At Druckzentrum Südwest, new ACSM1 drives are to be installed for two printing units, each of 12 printing couples, and one folder. The new high performance machinery drives can control induction, synchronous and asynchronous servo and high torque motors with various feedback devices, and will be built into the existing cabinets.

A second part of the order covers the replacement of obsolete Wifag WPOS controllers on the same printing units and folder with ABB's APOS system based on the industry-standard AC500 PLC. In addition the control systems and drives on four reelstands are to be replaced with solutions based on the AC500 PLC and the ACSM1 drives respectively.

The order represents the second step in the upgrading of the press at Druckzentrum Südwest. ABB Printing's head of sales for Germany Thomas Troendle says the ABB solutions represent a tried and tested replacement for the obsolete systems on Wifag presses of this generation. The commissioning of the systems will be completed in the course of this year.