Going for Gallus

Leading Irish narrow web flexo converter Multiprint Labels has installed the new hybrid Gallus EM 410 S press at its facility in Swords, near Dublin. The latest 10 colour UV flexo machine, which complements an earlier EM 410 installed in 2001, brings the number of presses supplied to Multiprint by the Swiss manufacturer to six.

The new machine will add around 40 per cent to Multiprint's capacity when fully on-line, and allow the company to develop both its existing client base in the food, beverage, and personal care markets - and move into pharmaceutical labels, for which the servo driven Gallus is said to be ideally suited.

The Irish company currently exports some 80 per cent of its output, a figure operations director Paul Young is looking to reduce by utilizing the greater flexibility and improved output of the new machine, which he describes as “a significant step forward”. He says the new press is an ideal partner for the earlier Gallus EM 410. “It has the same web width, and both are fitted with Rotascreen, hotfoil, and full UV curing capability,” he notes. He sees the sleeve technology and servo drive of the hybrid press as a means to exploit the market for filmic substrates.

“Our aim now is to spread the word to a wider market and establish Multiprint as an internationally recognized supplier of value added labels - the latest Gallus technology will play a key part in this,” he affirms.

“Waste is a killer in companies these days,” he continues, “so we're looking at cutting material consumption by at least 10 per cent and downtime on the presses by half. Standardizing on roll widths, product types and the transference of more jobs onto the wider 410mm web width all help in this. We are aiming to reduce lead times from 10 to five days during 2006, and build surplus capacity of 20 per cent to cope with urgent unscheduled demand.”

The facility to test ink and substrate performance in-house is also seen as a valuable sales aid, according to Paul Young, who states that Multiprint's accelerated light test allows customers to assess the on-shelf performance of the company's package printing quality. As testimony to the effectiveness of this, Multiprint is said to be the only approved testing centre in Europe for Gillette.

Another recent Gallus installation is the EM 510 flexo line supplied to Kimoha Entrepreneurs, in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, near Dubai. According to managing director Vinesh Bhimani, the new eight colour Gallus, which joins a fleet of American presses, makes the company one of the largest label converters in The Gulf. It was chosen for its ability to handle filmic substrates, which are enjoying a rise in demand in the region as packaging companies move into wraps and shrinksleeves.

Designed to run with both water based and UV inks, Kimoha's highly specified EM 510 is fitted with a corona treater and web cleaning, chill drums, three die cutting stations (including the sheeter), a laminating station, web tension control, and auto register. Initially intended as a 410mm press, Vinesh Bhimani changed the specification at the last minute to allow greater productivity.

Installed by engineers from Heidelberg Middle East, which now represents Gallus in The Gulf, the press is already attracting new work in the OPP sleeve and foil markets. It joins a label division that now represents a considerable proportion of Kimoha's output. The company's customers include major international clients in lube oil, FMCG, edible oil, speciality, and custom made products. With the present 4,000m² production facilities at full stretch, an additional 2,000m² is about to be added, and a new site is planned for paper conversion.

At Kimoha, the growth in demand for filmic substrates is growing rapidly, albeit from a lower base figure. The new Gallus will enable the company to tackle areas of the flexible packaging market, and produce high quality labels with added value elements. Vinesh Bhimani is looking initially to grow his business by offering a wider range of premium products to existing customers, of whom 70 per cent are in the UAE, and most of the remainder elsewhere in The Gulf.

“The Gallus offers us a new level of flexibility by generating a wider product range. This will allow us to develop business in the emerging markets in Africa, as well as Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and India,” he explains.