Bobst

REDDITCH, UK, June 23, 2020 (Press Release) -UK Corrugated sheet plant, The Cardboard Box Company, has turned to BOBST once again after seeing an upswing in new business and demand for more intricate folding jobs. The company has placed an order for EXPERTFOLD 165 A2 which offers exceptionally smooth and precise folding capabilities. Due to be delivered in September, it will be the ninth BOBST machine to be installed at The Cardboard Box Company’s site in Accrington, Lancashire.

Ken Shackleton, Managing Director of The Cardboard Box Company, said: “BOBST has a proven record within our business, delivering the quality, innovation and expertise that we require to meet our customers’ requirements. When we recognised that we had a need for another folder-gluer, BOBST was the first choice for us.

“The Cardboard Box Company is ideally positioned to meet the high growth home retail sector in addition to the highly resilient FMCG market. Our continued success in the last 12 months, helping key customers grow their sales, has placed additional focus on our multi-point gluing & taping capability.”

Through 2019, the company invested in new taping capability and optimised shift patterns to maintain customer service levels through peak demand. It also commenced a significant site expansion, which will see an additional 42,000sq ft of high bay warehouse space together with enhanced loading capability and an improved material handling layout. The project is expected to be completed in August this year.

“Two years on from our acquisition by the Logson Group, we continue to see positive momentum across the business,” said Mr Shackleton. “Our investment plans are focussed on enhancing our offering to both new and existing customers in what is clearly a dynamic and evolving marketplace.

“2020 to date has been a very positive year for us, clearly Covid-19 has brought great challenges to many of our customers but we still see a core resilience as well as opportunity within our chosen markets,” he added.

“Bringing another EXPERTFOLD into our business was an easy decision. The EXPERTFOLD, which is compatible with both our taping options, is able to handle more intricate jobs better than any other multi-point folder-gluer. The investment will complement our in-house design capability, delivering innovative solutions to meet future market demands.”

EXPERTFOLD 165 A2 enables folding and gluing of up to 3,000 box styles and delivers the consistent accuracy and quality today’s dynamic packaging industry demands. Highly configurable, it provides box makers with total control of the folding and gluing process optimising productivity and quality. The machine incorporates the ACCUFEED, which has recently been upgraded with the introduction of a new pneumatic locking feature for feeding ramps. The new locking reduces set-up times by up to 5 minutes and machine ergonomics are improved significantly. This improvement on ACCUFEED allows up to 50% setting time reduction on this section.

The ACCUEJECT XL is also incorporated. This device automatically ejects boxes which do not meet the quality specifications, operating in conjunction with all commonly used glue application systems. High-quality production is maintained, while waste and costs are simultaneously reduced.

Nick Geary, BOBST Area Sales Manager BU Sheet Fed, added: “The versatile nature and folder-gluing capabilities of EXPERTFOLD have proved to be a winning combination for The Cardboard Box Company. At a time when the business is growing and when the industry is under significant pressure, it’s important that they have the machines in place that meet all their needs in terms of speed, flexibility, quality and ease of handling. We are delighted that Ken and his team have BOBST front of mind when it comes to choosing a new machine and we look forward to seeing it installed in due course.”

MEX, Switzerland, June 9, 2020 (Press Release) -The BOBST vision is shaping a new reality where connectivity, digitalization, automation and sustainability are the cornerstones of packaging production. BOBST continues to deliver best-in-class machines, and is now adding intelligence, software capabilities and cloud-based platforms, to make packaging production better than ever.

Brand Owners, small or large, are under pressure from local and global competitors and changing market expectations. They face many challenges, like shorter time-to-market, smaller lot sizes and the need to build consistency between physical and online sales. The current packaging value chain remains very fragmented where every phase in the process is isolated into silos. The new requirements require all key players to have an "end to end" view. Printers and converters want to remove waste factors and errors from their operations.

Across the whole production workflow, more fact-based and timely decisions will be made. At BOBST we have a vision for the future where the entire packaging production line will be connected. Brand Owners, converters, toolmakers, packers, and retailers will all be part of a seamless supply chain, accessing data across the entire workflow. All the machines and tooling will "talk" to each other, seamlessly transmitting data through a cloud-based platform orchestrating the entire production process with quality control systems.

At the heart of this vision is BOBST Connect, an open architecture cloud-based platform delivering solutions for pre-press, production, process optimization, maintenance and market access. It ensures an efficient dataflow between digital and physical worlds. It will orchestrate the entire production process from the client’s PDF to the finished product.

“The digitalization of printing processes is the most visible element of progress in the packaging industry,” commented Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO Bobst Group. “The coming years will likely see a major acceleration of digital printing and converting. While the solutions are becoming available, the biggest challenge for printers and converters is not the individual printing machines, but rather the entire workflow, encompassing converting.”

The reveal included the very latest generation of laminators, flexo presses, die-cutters, folder-gluers and other innovations, reflecting the company’s drive to transform the industry.

“The new products and BOBST Connect are part of our vision for the future for packaging production, which is anchored in data access and control across the entire workflow, helping packaging manufacturers and converters to become more flexible and agile,” said Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO Bobst Group. “It is vital to provide brand owners, converters and consumers with quality, efficiency, control, proximity and sustainability. It is our responsibility to deliver innovations that fully answer these needs.”

BOBST has set out to shape the future of packaging by actively driving the industry transformation towards a digital world, and from machines to process solutions along the entire workflow. This new vision and the corresponding solutions will benefit all the industries served by BOBST.

The newly announced equipment included:

For the folding carton industry

• MASTERCUT 106 PER

MASTERCUT 106 has always been the most highly automated and ergonomic die-cutter on the market. With the latest generation of the machine, the levels of automation and productivity have gone up a level.

The new MASTERCUT 106 PER has the highest degree of automatic operations available on any die-cutter. In addition to the existing automation functions, BOBST has implemented new features which allow a fully automatic setting of the machine from “feeder to delivery” with minimum operator intervention. The new automation features enable a major setup time reduction of 15 minutes. For example, stripping and blanking tools, as well as the nonstop rack in the delivery section are automatically set. With its high level of automation, the new MASTERCUT 106 PER becomes the most productive equipment for short as well as long runs, meaning packaging manufacturers can accept all types of jobs, irrespective of run length.

• TooLink Connected Tooling for die-cutters

Meanwhile, BOBST announced a new digital recipe management tool for die-cutters. In combination with automated functions, it can save up to 15 minutes per job changeover and simplifies the interaction between converters and die-makers. With TooLink Connected Tooling, chip-equipped tools are automatically detected by the machine and the production-ready recipe is recognized, leading to savings in time and waste, with major sustainability benefits.

• New ACCUCHECK

The new ACCUCHECK is the most advanced inline quality control system. It guarantees complete quality consistency and ensures that brand owners’ requirements are being met. Fully integrated into a folding-gluing line, it carefully checks every package and non-standard boxes are ejected at full production speed, ensuring zero-fault packaging. On the new ACCUCHECK, the inspection can be set according to various criteria, covering all customer needs. It also inspects varnished, metalized and embossed blanks. The system has many other options, such as PDF proofing, providing inspection report and smart text identification using machine learning, which is a world premiere on the market.

• MASTERSTAR

The new MASTERSTAR sheet-to-sheet laminator simply has no equivalent in the market. Highly configurable design and unique options enable a custom-made configuration. It has an unmatched performance of 10,000 sheets per hour, aided by its progressive sheet alignment system – Power Aligner S and SL – which eliminates the need to stop the sheet and makes it possible to significantly reduce the base weight of the printed sheet. It matches printed sheet and substrate sheet with an accuracy never seen before on a sheet-to-sheet laminator. It comes with the option to add a fully automatic single face sheet feeder system and a fully automatic delivery system.

For the flexible packaging industry

• MASTER CI

The new MASTER CI flexo press impresses with the most innovative technologies in CI flexo printing. The combination of exclusive smart technologies, including smartGPS GEN II, and advanced automation, makes all press operations easy and fast, optimizing usability and maximizing press uptime. Productivity is exceptional; up to 7,000 jobs per year or 22 million stand-up pouches in 24 hours with one operator, helped by the smartDROID robotic system that does the entire press setup without human intervention. It features the Job Recipe Management (JRM) System for a digitalized production workflow from file to finished product with creation of a digital twin of the produced reels. The level of automation and connectivity enables dramatic reductions in waste and makes the output 100% consistent in color and quality.

• NOVA D 800 LAMINATOR

The new multi-technology NOVA D 800 LAMINATOR offers best-in-class technical and process performance with all run lengths, types of substrates, adhesives and web combinations. Automation makes job changes simple, fast and without tools for higher machine uptime and fast time-to-market. Features of this compact laminator include the availability of BOBST flexo trolley for high speed coating of solvent-based adhesives with high solid content, along with unique cost saving performance. The optical and functional qualities of the laminated structures are excellent with all the technologies available: water-based, solvent-based, solventless adhesive lamination, and in-register cold seal, lacquering and additional color applications.

• MASTER M6 equipped with IoD/DigiColor

The MASTER M6 inline flexo press has been delivering exceptional flexibility to produce high quality short-to-mid-size runs of labels and packaging production. The machine can now also integrate the breakthrough innovations Ink-on-Demand (IoD) and DigiColor inking and color control. Both systems work on all substrates and are suitable for all run lengths. The MASTER M6 is fully automated with BOBST’s exclusive DigiFlexo automation, and is oneECG technology ready, delivering non-stop production through a centralized, digitalized press operation, and full color consistency with the master reference. The press also features unique technologies for traceability of food packaging applications.

For all industries

• oneECG

oneECG is BOBST’s Extended Color Gamut technology deployed across analogue and digital printing for label, flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated board. ECG refers to a set of inks – typically 6 or 7 – to achieve a color gamut larger than the traditional CMYK, ensuring color repeatability irrespective of the operator’s skill. The technology delivers exceptional color brilliance, repeatability and consistency worldwide, faster time-to-market, saving of substrate and consumables, and high profitability with all run lengths. Its adoption also means huge savings in set-up time, with no more time wasted on changes of inks, washing of print decks, ink mixing and so on.

For web-fed CI and inline flexo printing, oneECG offers end-to-end solutions developed in collaboration with leading industry partners from pre-press to the printed and converted reels. These solutions are tailored to the specific process requirements of the flexo type technology.

• Digital Inspection Table

The new large format version of the Digital Inspection Table (DIT) is a novel technology designed to drive productivity and virtually remove print production errors. It incorporates digital projection for the proofing of printed sheets and die-cut blanks, whilst providing real-time visual representations to match product with digital proofs. It uses HD projectors to illuminate the product sample with quality control imaging, enabling the operator to easily see if quality standards are matched or compromised.

“In the current situation, automation and connectivity are more important than ever, and greater digitalization is helping to drive these,” said Jean-Pascal Bobst. “Meanwhile, achieving greater sustainability is arguably the single most important current goal in all manufacturing. By uniting all of these elements in our products and solutions, we are shaping the future of the packaging world.”

MEX, Switzerland, May 7, 2020 (Press Release) -Digitalization, defined as the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new value-producing opportunities, is transforming entire industries with varying speed and scope.

The retail, media and banking sectors are examples of industries that have been shaken to their core over a relatively short period of time. By and large, digitalization is not just the implementation of digital technologies into existing business architectures; it is about questioning existing business logics in the light of new possibilities offered by the latest digital technologies.

The packaging industry is also undergoing a profound transformation, with brand owners shaking its value chain. They are under pressure from competition, market expectation and new local brands to reduce new product cycle times, from packaging design to arrival on the shelves. The reduction of lot sizes, the continual growth of digital printing and the need for color consistency between physical and online product displays, calls for more efficient workflow tools. Competition from traditional and emerging players is also intensifying within packaging plants around digital products and services.

Digital trends are changing the dynamics in the packaging value chain. All stakeholders, from brand owners and packaging designers, printers and converters, to tool and machine manufacturers, need to adapt, while at the same time spot additional opportunities for growth.

In this article we first have a look at waste factors within the packaging value chain and inside packaging plants that can be tackled by digitalization. In a second step we will look at the vision for digital services from a leading solution manufacturer.

Waste along the packaging value chain

In general, today’s packaging value chain remains segmented and poorly interconnected. Take the example of folding carton: many successive steps are required from the initial packaging strategy of the brand owner, the packaging design, the pre-press operations to prepare the artwork and process the image, the tools preparation, the package printing, embellishment, cutting, folding and gluing, moving on to the subsequent packing and distribution steps.

The know-how of packaging designers, pre-press specialists, printers, converters, tool makers and machine manufacturers is disconnected into silos, each step being performed without an end-to-end view of the constraints in the other segments of the value chain. When designers conceive a new package, they are lacking crucial process information that would allow them to better take into account downstream operations such as tool and job preparation. Worse still, some actors in the value chain take advantage of this entrenched knowledge structure to cover their own inefficiencies.

As a consequence, it takes brand owners between 6 months and 2 years from the initial packaging specification to the delivery of the packaged goods to their customers.

In addition to reducing time-to-market, brand owners are also looking for cost and efficiency gains. The potential to reduce waste is high: up to one third of food product recalls are due to artwork errors, for example because of incorrect or missing allergen information.

Time and again, across many different industries, digitalization has proven to be a powerful engine when it comes to reducing waste in value chains by breaking information silos and providing increased transparency. The packaging industry is poised to follow the same trend.

Waste within printing and converting plants

Turning to packaging plants, printers and converters are facing their share of challenges: increasing price and time-to-delivery pressures, decreasing lot sizes, higher demand for color consistency across many different printing processes, to name just a few. Printers and converters are actively working to reduce spent resources and to avoid customer claims. They need more efficient means to automate plant and job workflows, and they require efficient quality control systems at each process step. At the same time, converters also need to optimize equipment performance, increase productivity and avoid unexpected downtimes.

Most of the above requirements have one thing in common: the need for ubiquitous access to the relevant information. Here again, digitalization is a powerful catalyst for information transparency leading to value creation.

Vision from a leading solution manufacturer

A pioneer in the digitalization, automation and connection of packaging machines, BOBST has the vision to shape the future of the packaging industry. Across labels, flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated board, the company intends to connect stakeholders to a digitalized and automated workflow, accessing information anytime anywhere for a flexible and agile collaborative operation. As explained above, the trend towards greater digitalization will help reduce waste along the packaging value chain and increase efficiency within printing and converting plants. The BOBST vision is translated into three guiding principles:

First, BOBST continues to invest in mastering all key digital and analog processes for printing and converting. In addition, to ensure that produced goods meet converters’ and brand owners’ requirements, all process steps are increasingly equipped with automated closed-loop quality control systems. The optimal combination of processes and embedded quality control systems is a powerful driver for increased efficiency and waste reduction within packaging plants.

Second, the company is striving to offer digital value on top of the physical value. This is made possible in particular through ’Internet of Things’ (IoT)-powered connectivity. As an example, the BOBST Remote Monitoring application is a comprehensive production reporting Software-as-a-Service designed to access remotely detailed machine production, process and technical data in real time. Another service called Helpline Plus, with over 44’000 connections performed in 2019, allows customers to connect with BOBST experts immediately as the need arises, with over 80% of all technical issues resolved remotely within two hours. Or take MyBOBST, a convenient online shop that allows customers to order all the needed services and parts in a seamless way.

Third, BOBST is enabling data sharing across the entire packaging value chain to ensure more efficient operations. Tooling, machine and process knowledge will increasingly be made available during upstream design and pre-press operations, supporting the creation of ‘first time right’ designs and leveraging the full capacities of the downstream processes. Job specifications will be pushed downstream so as to avoid multiple entries into different, error-prone systems. Finally, quality and production data will be pushed along the value chain, for example in the form of custom-made reports, so as to close the loop with brand owners. This feature is already available in ACCUCHECK, an in-line 100% quality control system installed in folder-gluer lines. It creates powerful reports on production quality that converters can automatically upload in their existing workflow management system to share with brand owners.

Through digitalization, the entire production chain will become more transparent, agile and flexible. Across the whole production workflow, timely decisions are made possible. We are entering a period where connected systems will contribute data to the entire production process for faster and precise optimization.

The digital transformation will not only help reduce waste along the packaging value chain from the initial design file to the final produced package, it will also reshape the way production is planned, monitored and optimized.

Inside packaging plants, machines and ancillary equipment from different suppliers are increasingly connected through IoT to the respective cloud environments of the machine manufacturers. Ecosystems of digital applications, like the Connected Services from BOBST, are providing an ever-broader range of digital services for the benefit of printers and converters.

On top of the digital ecosystems provided by the machine manufacturers, generic plant-level platforms will emerge in combination with, or in replacement of, traditional on premise Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). The operational process knowledge currently automated into MES solutions will be complemented by real-time IoT-powered sensor data collection and aggregation. Through digitalization, printers and converters will have the ability to look at real-time data across plant operations, giving them a holistic view of their business and allowing them to take action.

Conclusion

By breaking data silos, offering transparency and enabling data sharing between different systems, digitalization is a strong transformation vector within the packaging industry. It is spurring a wave of innovations that have the potential to drastically improve decades-old printing and packaging manufacturing processes. To shape the future of the packaging industry, BOBST leads the way with value-added digital products and services, helping to eliminate waste in the packaging value chain and within printing and converting plants.