The paper-based packaging industry has faced many challenges in 2019, including fewer orders, shorter run lengths, lower profit levels, environmental and capacity pressures, and increasing paper and labor costs.
To help packaging companies meet these challenges and make the most of their opportunities, BOBST held an Open House at Xiamen Liansheng on November 15th, where a new in-line litho-laminating solution was presented. Attendees at the event included The China Packaging Federation Paper Products Packaging Committee, The China Packaging Federation Electronic Industry Packaging Committee, The Fujian Packaging Association, as well as dozens of large-scale corrugated and folding carton converters and media from all over the country. At the event, BOBST unveiled NOVAFLUTE, its new in-line litho-laminating solution, which will help customers achieve sustainable development in their businesses.
“BOBST China’s ‘Industry 4.0’ strategy is driven by two core factors — Proximity & Performance. We see NOVAFLUTE as an important part of this value proposition,” said Mr. Cyril Ruiz-Moise, General Manager of Bobst Shanghai. “The market requires more reliable equipment, machines that have maximum up-time and shorter set-up times. The latest generation of machinery enables better efficiency, particularly by way of more automation. The new machinery also requires less operator skills, and this is important because labor costs are increasing all the time, again putting pressure on margins. Finally, using the latest generation of equipment ensures a more consistent, high-quality product is manufactured, using a wide range of substrates.”
Graphics sell
The trend of replacing simple protective transport packaging with decorative packaging using high quality graphics continues. However, this brings more problems to the whole production process. Brand owners demand increased quality and more flexibility, yet without premium costs. The answer to this is more automation and increased performance. NOVAFLUTE is a great machine for achieving this, helping customers to obtain all these new capabilities in one solution. NOVAFLUTE inline laminating line is produced in the BOBST facility in China, where we erect most of the line to pre-test, ensuring a smooth installation and start-up at the customer’s premises. This ensures a fast ramp-up of production after commissioning to reach the best performance of the equipment.
“Compared with a traditional sheet-to-sheet machine, an in-line solution is a complete production line, starting with the creation of the single-face, followed by sheet cutting and in-line lamination of the offset-printed sheets and ending with a stack of the final litho-laminated board,” said Udo Lazurka, Area Sales Manager of Bobst Grenchen. “Only three operators are needed for the entire process. An in-line laminator is the first choice when a converter needs high volume of litho-laminated board and when a constant high level of litho-laminated board quality is required in terms of humidity and board warp.”
NOVAFLUTE produces each litho-laminated sheet at a consistently high quality. The in-line process is a stable process, with savings in board basis weight, glue and paper waste. NOVAFLUTE has been designed for the chinese market as an entry-level, in-line solution, targeting the printing format sizes 6 and 3b. The result is a very cost-effective solution, which can help dramatically reduce the running cost of the laminating process. This machine is also available with a pre-print section. With this, it is possible to laminate flexo pre-print or an unprinted top-liner onto single-face web as well. For format sizes up to size 7b, BOBST provides EXPERTFLUTE TOUCH and MASTERFLUTE TOUCH. These high-volume machines can be extended for the production of laminated double wall board, in-line.
Site visit to see machine in action
Having heard about the new product and opportunities to learn about the latest technologies, the attendees of the Open House then went to Xiamen Liansheng Color Printing for a site visit to see the high-speed equipment in a live demonstration. Attendees saw the high quality of the finished product for themselves, as well as demonstrations of machine automation.
NOVAFLUTE in-line laminator at Liansheng runs at 120m/min and 8,000 sheets/hour; it has effectively replaced three sheet-to-sheet laminators and two single-facer/sheeter lines. For this customer, it has been possible to reduce staffing numbers from 15 people to three, allowing Liansheng to divert resources elsewhere in the business. The level of automation and ease of operation results in consistency of quality of the laminated board. Thanks to improved flatness of the finished product, the converter has been able to reduce the weight of paper and board they need to process, as well as reducing the consumption of consumable materials such as glue. This allows Liansheng to deliver cost savings and achieve overall efficiency improvements.
“After careful research, Liansheng Group chose to cooperate with BOBST and purchase the first NOVAFLUTE inline litho-laminator in South China. Durable and user-friendly, it helps us to improve production efficiency and reduce overall cost, providing our customers with more efficient and high-quality products. In addition, the BOBST team always responds quickly. The installation and commissioning were completed successfully, so that it could be put into production on time. The laminated board quality is exceptionally good compared with conventional processes. BOBST organization and product quality are undoubtedly reliable and excellent," said Jack Qiu, Vice President of Liansheng Offset Printing.
At the afternoon session of the Open House, BOBST experts gave presentations on project management — specifically, for the installation and start-up, services, financial leasing and market prospects related to NOVAFLUTE in-line laminator. In the subsequent panel discussion, several topics were discussed, including: the challenges converters are facing today; how BOBST litho-laminating could be the solution for converters; how BOBST can make the solution available throughout China; new trends and opportunities for converters in China, and ways to seize new market opportunities.
With demand for decorative packaging and in-store displays at an all-time high, BOBST puts its thirty-five-year track record in the production of litho-laminating equipment to good use. BOBST is able to provide users with lines that deliver both performance and superb finished product quality. At the leading edge of technology, BOBST invests continuously in R&D for its entire litho-laminating product line, ensuring ‘best in class’ performance and rapid return on investment.
When it comes to delivering the ultimate in litho-laminating equipment, NOVAFLUTE from BOBST offers everything — high speed, precision engineering, versatile configuration and unmatched reliability.
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