A new and highly specified flexo printing and rotary die-cutting production line from Bobst is set to give German company Packners additional opportunities in the high-quality corrugated board packaging sector. It is also the 600th Bobst rotary die cutter to be installed.
The Masterline DRO system with six printing units uses every automation option that Bobst offers and can be configured for inside and outside printing in a single pass. The specification includes automatic anilox roll change, fully automatic register settings with the Start & Go system, integrated anilox roll cleaning, a MultiLoader pre-feeder on the die-cutter, SpeedStack stripping unit and bundle stacker, and a SpeedPal palletiser.
Installed at Packners’ new Emsbüren factory in north-west Germany, the press can run at up to 12,000 sheets per hour, while achieving fast job changes, helped by the ability to change plates on idle printing units while a job runs through the rest of the line.
As well as productivity, Packners believes this level of technological sophistication will also deliver sustainability benefits, including a 38% reduction in start-up waste using Start & Go, and 50% less ink loss during wash-ups due to a new inking system.
The MasterLine DRO will be joined at the plant by further new Bobst machines, including an FFG 8.20 ExpertLine inline system with two printing units (to be joined by a four-unit ExpertLine already commissioned in 2021), a 2.3m-wide MasterFold 230 A4 folding box gluer, and a SpeedPack automatic packing system.
Stefan Gausepohl, head of sales and marketing at Packners, said the equipment purchased is ‘the best and fastest currently in the market’. He added, ‘The fact that our MasterLine DRO happens to be the 600th rotary die-cutter installed by Bobst worldwide underscores the wisdom of our investment decision. We are just one of many owners in the global market.’
Indeed, Bobst revealed some of the first DRO rotary die-cutters it sold are still in use today.
