One on One — Ulrik Nygaard on Finishing

What is the actual labor reduction that’s possible? Three people to one?

It depends on what kind of product you are talking about. In a larger operation where they have several folders, they may have one skilled operator in charge of multiple folders and supplement the labor requirements with unskilled or semi-skilled labor to handle the output. The addition of automatic pressing, stacking and banding devices on the exit end, and adding some degree of automation to the folder, can help reduce the labor to one person per folder for some applications.