A trio of highly automated BOBST MASTER M5X 430 inline flexo presses has greatly expanded productivity at Mal-Pol’s large manufacturing plant in Olesin, near Warsaw, in Poland. Giving the company a 10% uptick in output, the investment is part of a major upgrade instigated to keep this long-time BOBST customer at the forefront of innovation and deliver added value to its customers.
Founded in 1993, originally under the name Limal, Mal-Pol is one of Poland’s premier label manufacturers and innovation leaders serving customers in the food, household, cosmetics and chemical industries with self-adhesive, peel & reveal and wraparound labels, tube laminate material and flexible packaging. Some of the main customers are big brand owners in the meat processing sector, including Sokołów S.A., Tarczyński S.A. and Balcerzak Sp. z o.o.
An 85 million PLN turnover company with 130 employees, Mal-Pol has relied on BOBST flexo printing expertise since the early 2000s, and during this time, developed a close relationship with the local agent, Rotary Sp. z o.o. The three new narrow web flexo presses sold by Rotary join another MASTER M5X 430, which was installed in 2018, to replace a suite of older BOBST printing machines that helped place Mal-Pol at the top.
“The most important challenge today is to keep our place as the industry leader and further expand the company by constantly adding to our printing and converting capabilities and our facilities,” said Adam Malesa, President of the Management Board at Mal-Pol. “Being up to date with new technologies means that we can respond quickly to new trends in the market and meet the needs of even the most demanding customers. Our BOBST printing presses play a vital role in this business model.”
Accelerating production with automation
As a supplier to leading brand owners, Mal-Pol is facing a host of demands that put pressure on the company’s resources. Customers are asking for reduced print runs and lower prices with shorter lead times while demanding higher print quality – a conundrum best solved by implementing more automation and digitalization in the workflow. To this end, the Mal-Pol management team did not hesitate in choosing the BOBST MASTER M5X, buying the 430mm-wide presses to accelerate the production floor, which runs 24/7 production.
The BOBST MASTER M5 inline flexo press is built with high levels of automation to reduce downtime and waste, making production both more efficient and more sustainable. The press offers speeds of up to 200 m/min and is highly flexible: it can print on unlimited substrates, such as self-adhesive materials, including paper, PET, BOPP, and PVC, on glossy paper, on unsupported film (PVC, BOPP, PET, and PA), alu-foil, lami-tubes, and light cartonboard.
The M5X version is a fixed configuration that optimizes BOBST technology to deliver best-in-class, cost-effective label printing without compromising on quality. As standard, it comes with automatic pre-register system, ARC register control, rail system for accessories, combo laminator and cold foil kit on rail, and SnowBall Lite high-speed waste stripping. For the ultimate in digitalization of label making, it is also ready for the implementation of BOBST DigiFlexo automation and oneECG fixed gamut printing.
“The much greater machine efficiency, higher print speed, and wider print format are all factors that have contributed to the 10% increase in production capacity,” said Mr. Malesa. “The BOBST presses have also improved the quality of our products and reduced waste thanks to the auto-register systems, which is very important for our brand owner customers as it helps them reach their sustainability targets.”
Continuing his praise, he added, “Other advantages include the compact footprint of the M5X which allows us to fit more machinery into the production halls, and the ease of operation which brings a lot of comfort and safety for our staff, as well as supporting the very fast changeovers.”
Finding success with BOBST
Mal-Pol’s long history and well-established relationship with BOBST and Rotary go back almost 30 years to the moment when the Polish company set out on its path of continual expansion. Today, with its own in-house design studio and platemaking facilities, it has a total of 12 narrow web presses running in the modern production halls, including two digital machines, along with a host of converting equipment. The strategy of expansion through the investment in the most innovative technology is still the underlying force behind the company’s success.
As the sole agent in Poland, Rotary works closely with customers to leverage the power of BOBST’s unique label printing technology. The company has installed more than 120 BOBST narrow web flexo presses in the country, and customers are very much benefitting from having dedicated local service engineers on hand for technical help and support to ensure they maximize their investments. In addition, Rotary also manufactures a range of tooling including magnetic die-cutting cylinders, printing cylinders, varnishing rollers, gears and embossing rollers, which are sold worldwide.
“We have worked with Mal-Pol right from when the company was first finding its feet in flexo printing and this is a very special relationship built on friendship and trust,” said Leszek Trzaskowski, Rotary. “I’d like to think that Rotary has played a big part in Mal-Pol’s success, and we look forward to many more years of cooperation.”
Mr. Malesa concluded, “We have relied on the support of Rotary and BOBST for a long time and we are very excited about the future. The new BOBST equipment gives us the capacity to meet the needs of our existing customers and to acquire new ones, as we build on this investment to further expand our plant and follow our vision.”
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