Muller Martini  trimming  appointments 
Muller Martini has been manufacturing three-knife trimmers for the perfect binding industry for a quarter of a century at its Felben factory in Eastern Switzerland. They all have one thing in common: they stand for exceptional product quality and long knife service life. The company recently dispatched its 2000th three-knife trimmer, namely a "Merit S" automatic model, to the Lachenmaier company in Reutlingen, Baden Württemberg.

Muller Martini held a small celebration in Felben in honor of the 2000th three-knife trimmer. To mark this occasion, as well as the official handing over of the Merit three-knife trimmer, Kurt Göschl of Lachenmaier was presented with a typical Swiss cow bell. Muller Martini Director, Peter Hofer, announced "For us in Switzerland, this cow bell stands for tradition, quality and durability. And precisely the same values link our customers with the name of Muller Martini".

He also took the opportunity to thank the Lachenmaier company for the long-standing good business relationship the two companies have enjoyed over the years. Lachenmaier’s main business is the production of high-quality hardcover books. The new Merit S three-knife trimmer is to be used in a Diamant book line, supplied by Muller Martini/VBF.

Over a period of 25 years, Muller Martini has developed efficient solutions aimed at providing perfect trim quality with three-knife trimmer models 3670, Merit, Zenith and the Frontero face-cut trimmer.

The first ever cutter that Muller Martini itself developed in Felben, using the principle of cutting against a bar, was delivered to the Klett company in Stuttgart in 1978. This was based on the invention by company founder, Hans Müller, of a knife mechanism with an offset shaft. A patent application was made for this mechanism in 1977. One year later, the invention of the book transport was patented - yet another development by Hans Müller.

In the meantime, there have been a great number of further developments and inventions, in order to arrive at the quality standards people have come to expect from a Muller Martini three-knife trimmer today. One of these improvements is the invention of the hinged knife (no book = no trim). This brought with it a considerable extension of knife service life. Further developments have significantly improved the quality of the book spine.

Irrespective of whether hardcover or softcover books have to be produced, nowadays Muller Martini can supply exactly the right three-knife trimmer for every operation.

The product range extends from the Esprit three-knife trimmer, with a speed of 2000 cycles per hour for the lower performance range, via the heavy duty Merit S three-knife trimmer, which is used at a trimming speed of 4000 cycles per hour for handling extremely thick products up to 80 mm in either hardcover or softcover production, right up to the 7000 cycle Zenith S three-knife trimmer, capable of neatly trimming everything from thin signatures only 1.5 mm thick to 70 mm thick book blocks.

This modular system is neatly rounded off by the new Frontero face-cut trimmer for the efficient production of brochures with gate-folded covers in a single operation.