Assembly start at Tresu Group in Denmark
Pollard Banknote has signed an agreement to purchase a 22-station Tresu flexo printing and converting line in order to meet a significant increase in demand for gaming solutions.
The line will be installed at the company’s 8361 square metre production facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA, providing a 35% net increase in available print capacity for the global supplier of instant lottery products and services.
Rob Young, executive vice president, operations, commented, ‘With its high speed and fully integrated converting capabilities, the new TRESU line will be the most advanced instant ticket press in the lottery industry. The installation will enable the Ypsilanti site to transition to a flexible and efficient single-pass operation, and assist us in reaching our capacity increase targets, in order to support our global customers’ sales growth.’
Features of the press include inkjet imaging towers to print variable game data, along with integrated drying and curing systems to allow easy switching between aqueous, solvent, and UV-ink sets at several printing stations. Automated colour and registration controls from BST eltromat ensure consistent quality throughout the production run.
The press will have a maximum speed of 426.7 m/min and convert foil and card between 203.2 microns (8 point) and 304.8 microns (12 point) thickness into secure instant scratch tickets.
Each flexo station will include the IMW FlexiPrint E-Line sealed chambered doctor blade systems to ensure a direct, uncontaminated and pressure-controlled transfer of ink or coating agent to the anilox roller cells at maximum speeds. Resulting benefits are a uniform printed layer, optimised drying efficiency, and higher reflective and gloss values. Its long life doctor blades are exchangeable in one minute.
Rob Young commented, ‘When we began researching press options, we looked at a number of different companies. Tresu offered the best combination of technology, support, value, and proven track record in offering a high-volume, robust production platform, to meet Pollard Banknote’s and, more importantly, our clients’ stringent printing requirements in terms of quality and security.’
The announcement of the deal follows Pollard Banknote’s announcement of an 8% increase in sales volumes in 2013 over the previous year.
Doug Pollard, co-chief executive officer of Pollard Banknote, commented, ‘We are proud of the recent expansion of our client base and, more importantly, the support we’ve been able to provide our lottery customers in order to grow their proceeds for good causes. This investment in a new press is significant evidence of our belief in the growth potential of the lottery retail space, particularly when supported by an omni-channel marketing strategy.’
