CEO Ralf Weissbaum (right) and Production Manager Carmine Grossi (left) from Staffel Druck AG, with Richard Hofer of Muller Martini, in front of the new BravoPlus T saddle stitcher. In the background is the new VACS cabinet from Becker.

Staffel Druck AG is located on Staffelstrasse street in downtown Zurich, a hub for graphic arts production in Switzerland and an area with an eventful recent history.At the start of the 1990’s, Jean Frey AG settled in downtown Zurich.As part of a merger with Winterthur printing company in 1991, John Frey AG decided to give up its Staffelstrasse location and to close its Zurich sheetfed, offset and security printing divisions. Plans were to downsize 38 workers.

Then, Albert Weissbaum decided – in a combination of anger over the scheduled layoffs and with pioneering entrepreneurial spirit – to enact a management buy-out. On June 1, 1991, he started his new company: Staffel Druck AG, a printer focusing on the small and mid-sized offset segment, with more than 30 employees and with outdated production machinery.

"Relay Handoff" to Ralf Weissbaum
Much has happened since that time. Production was completed on "Project Staffel Druck" with iron discipline, and profits were continuously reinvested. Today, the company employs about 30 people, for whom "Team Spirit" is part of the corporate mission. Staffel Druck has a modern, high-performance pre-press department (Agfa) and has worked with the computer-to-plate process since 1998. In the area of printing presses, the company has four offset presses (Heidelberg) and two digital printing systems (Xerox). All print finishing services are completed in-house – regardless of whether the job calls for trimming, folding, adhesive binding, saddle stitching, punching, perforating, letter personalizing, addressing or automatic enveloping. Staffel Druck even handles shipment-ready forwarding – both nationally and internationally.

As with a well-run "relay race" (Staffel Druck = Relay Printing), hand-off of the baton has also been performed to perfection. Ralf Weissbaum took over operative management on January 1, 2000."Our mission has remained the same, however," stresses Ralf Weissbaum, "Because the success of the company depends on the team efforts of each individual, just like in a relay race."

BravoPlus T Replaces 42-Year Old Saddle Stitcher
Staffel Druck’s product line is widely diversified, from the smallest format to high-gloss brochures in DIN A3 with oversized format...both with normal stitching and eyelet stitching."The word 'impossible' is not part of our vocabulary," smiles Ralf Weissbaum, "and, of course, we have become even more powerful with the new BravoPlus T saddle stitcher from Muller Martini, with eight feeder stations plus cover feeder. We can now make many more and better products than we could before installation of the BravoPlus T – such as loop stitching, for example, for which we didn’t previously have the appropriate stitching heads, or landscape format products. That just wasn’t all that easy with the old saddle stitcher, [which] was getting on in years."

"Getting on in years" means 42 years old. For such a long time, the BravoPlus T’s predecessor provided its services to its owner's fullest satisfaction."The good experiences we had with this Muller Martini saddle stitcher were certainly an important reason why we chose Muller Martini once again," Ralf Weissbaum emphasizes."What impressed us to a colossal degree was the continued availability of spare parts. The fact that you can still buy and replace parts for a 40-year old machine speaks volumes for Muller Martini. It’s remarkable that a company is willing to maintain this service for such a long time.And that is precisely why we feel in very good hands for the long term with Muller Martini."

Mr. Weissbaum also has great praise for the Muller Martini sales agency in Switzerland: "It was just fantastic that we received a layout in almost no time after purchasing the machine, which allowed us to see precisely how the BravoPlus T would later fit in our building. And the entire installation and support was simply first-class."

Carmine Grossi: Impressed by the Quality
Production Manager Carmine Grossi also reports thoroughly positive experiences with the new saddle stitcher: "We have become much more flexible with the BravoPlus T. We are much faster during changeovers, have far less waste and fantastic quality in stitching and trimming. What’s more, we now have the capability to make many more products ourselves with the different stitching heads, and a lot of manual work has been eliminated. That saves time and money."

Mr. Grossifurther highlights the flexibility that he now has with the eight stations. And he is also downright excited about the cover feeder: "We can now score, fold and feed in one operation. And particularly in the case of thicker covers that are somewhat heavier and break easily, it is an enormous advantage that we can score first and then fold directly."

He has also found that the motivation of the employees working on the new saddle stitcher has risen: "That is certainly connected with the dead-easy touchscreen controls. Controlling and monitoring the entire system by just tapping your finger – that's fun!" He reports that four employees, from the department head to the apprentice, have already learned to control the BravoPlus T, in the shortest possible time.

High Quality of the Workstation
"The BravoPlus T is precisely the right machine for us," Ralf Weissbaum is certain."Because this machine type covers so many products, including some products that we used to have to outsource, for who knows how many thousands of Francs. With this saddle stitcher, we are happy all around. We have a highly modern machine, which puts us on a considerably better standing, both qualitatively and financially."

Also worth mentioning is the installation of a special VACS cabinet from Becker for the compressed air and vacuum supply at Staffel Druck AG. This installation provides for less noise and fewer emissions, and even the pumps are protected. In addition, it also underscores the family company’s philosophy that the quality of the workstation takes a high priority, and teamwork is more than just an empty phrase."This investment has also brought us a lot," stresses Ralf Weissbaum, "and we are glad to reinvest our money into the company, because we believe in Staffel Druck and want to create an environment for ourselves in which we can be successful and happy!"