Who is Åtta45?
Åtta45 is one of Sweden’s largest printing suppliers in the graphic industry. They are a total-service supplier assisting with everything through the process from start to finish.
Åtta45 Malmö was formerly known as CA Andersson but changed its name in 2022 to Åtta45. The name means 8.45 in Swedish and refers to the official daily meeting times for employees. This is of course with modifications, as the productions run in shifts to keep up with production.
Åtta45 employs 250 people and has a revenue of 500mill SEK. The company is distributed in eight companies and six production sites all over Sweden. The customer comes from the whole of Scandinavia. They service mainly large companies, retail chains, help organizations, and other businesses.
In Malmö they mainly produce wide-format display materials, and in Stockholm offset print and production of magazines, brochures, and other graphic applications.
Åtta45 offers service all way from idea to finished produced product, and they are always up for a new graphic challenge – however, complicated it may be. They never turn down a job, however small or large it may be, and always strive to be a partner to the customer more than a supplier.
Back to ”Made in Sweden”
A growing interest in local production.
Niclas Rennstam, sales, and production:
Our clients are very environmentally conscious, and this weighs heavier than prices. So, they are turning against production in Poland and China and placing it locally in Sweden. It’s becoming a competition parameter”.
Niclas Rennstam, sales, and production:
We are quite ingenuous and are good at figuring out how to create solutions in materials that are easy to work with. This means that the execution time for new products is reduced noticeably”.
Åtta45 have two G3 cutters – one manually operated and one automated. This gives the production full flexibility in terms of materials and material sizes. The industrial ABB-robot both loads and unloads to the cutter, and assures a smooth cutting process with a minimum of manual interference. Both systems use Eye in The Sky above the cutters, and the robotized cutter also uses EIS load table for backside cutting applications.
Day-to-day cutter delivery
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Sweden, the need for face-visors exploded from one day to the next. The cutter was running day and night and could still not keep up with the demand.
So, a few weeks into the pandemic, Åtta45 called Jacob at Zünd and urgently requested another cutter. By chance, Zünd in Odder had a G3 cutter in stock and it was sent to Sweden the following day.
Niclas Rennstam explains
”With the new cutter in place and running, we started considering automation to make production more efficient, and the work more comfortable for our staff – and we contacted Zünd again for possible solutions.”
Robot vs. board feeding system
After deciding for automation Åtta45 visited Zünd to discuss different options.
Zünd had just entered a global cooperation with Robotfactory who is specialized in automation for digital cutting systems. Based on the current machine setup at Åtta45 and the flexibility offered with robots, Åtta45 was instantly convinced about choosing a robot solution, rather than a standard Board Feeder system from the factory.
Zünd, in cooperation with Robotfactory, presented convincing solutions and a professional plan for implementation.
By spring 2021 the largest cutter was upgraded with an ABB robot with a 2×1,25m gripper, well suited for handling plastic sheets.
Next step was to think BIG!
Gradually, the need for visors decreased, and we reconsidered the use of the robot and decided to inquire after a larger gripper that could handle all sheet formats – from minimal to maximal in all materials.
In summer 2022, the smaller gripper had been replaced by a 2×3 meter gripper, well suited for all different sizes and materials – from sandwich boards to plastics, composites, and cartons.
The cutter is also equipped with EIS and EIS load table, so cutting is possible from both the front and backside. The industrial ABB robot works together with both camera systems, so everything is 100% automated.
What were the initial thoughts about automation?
It’s difficult to hire skilled employees, so when we were at the point of expanding our cutting capacities it was natural to consider automation as well.
We need to be more time-effective and have the machines running for a longer time – and having to load and unload manually is not only uncomfortable for the worker – but also slow compared to robot automation.
We are always on the lookout for automated solutions – not only for our cutters but also for the rest of the production.”
Most important is the Staff!
It’s very important for us to take well care of our staff. They are very skilled, but it’s difficult and uncomfortable to handle large sheets that are 2×3 metres.
We have also been able to cut down from one employee working the cutters stead of two.
We run production from 6 am to 11 pm divided into two shifts and have two workers allocated to printing and cutting on each shift.The cutter operator typically uses most of her time on the manual cutter. The automatized cutter only needs to be checked on from time to time.”
Getting to know the robot
”We are very well satisfied with the running-in time of the robot. Of course, there is a learning curve, and it takes a little getting used to, but the reward on the long term is substantial.
We experience an excellent service from Zund. Claus lives here in Malmö and can be called upon with very short notice. We are also fortunate to be living straight across the road to ABB – so if any mechanical issues were to emerge, these could quickly be resolved.”
