Berkshire Labels has installed Europe’s first 430mm Mark Andy Performance Series P9E at its manufacturing facility in Hungerford.
The P9E is the latest model in Mark Andy’s range of Performance Series of flexo presses and is designed for specialist film applications as well as traditional label converting. It joins four other Mark Andy presses at the site.
‘First of all, we decided that 430mm is the best fit for our work, and once we had fully loaded our P7 it was clear we had urgent need for a second press,’ explained Berkshire Label’s managing director Paul Roscoe. ‘The P9E moves the game on though, with its independent servo driven anilox roll, which is double the size, so moves at half the speed, and gives us more flexibility and higher production speeds across all substrates.’
Chosen initially for its ability to grow Berkshire’s shrink sleeve business the P9E, which is almost 30% faster than the P7, is in fact handling a mix of work. Although well equipped with digital print and converting technology, Berkshire Labels still estimates that flexo production accounts for 60% of its business.
Berkshire Labels’ new P9E is a highly specified model, featuring eight UV flexo print stations, Corona treatment and web cleaning, a crossover facility for peel/reseal, and the full ‘Filmic Pack’, which includes chilled impression drums and lightweight tension control. It also has Mark Andy’s QCDC unit and the web advance waste rewind, known colloquially as ‘snowball’. Since installation it has allowed the company to switch from 24/7 working on the P7 to double day shifts on both machines, with capacity to spare.
‘We saw the benefits of having two P Series immediately,’ Mr Roscoe continued. ‘In fact, a fleet of P9Es would be ideal for us and our customers! It gives us better control of scheduling and shift planning as well as making routine maintenance easier.’
