Nampak invests 7m in new kit

The sites have seen the installation of Heidelberg Speedmaster XL105 printing presses, while the Leeds plant has also taken delivery of a Bobst Expertcut 106 PER diecutter.

The Heidelbergs and the Bobst are 3b in format, to reflect changes in run lengths in the carton market, and means that Leeds will be able to provide overflow capacity for Nampak Cartons’ Gillingham plant.

Both presses are six colour with coater units, and both feature Heidelberg Prinect colour systems which integrate press operation, ink delivery and register control.

The Prinect system creates a reference standard for the job and presets many parameters, speeding up makeready.

The system spectrophotometrically scans every part of every sample sheet, adjusting the press, if necessary, without interrupting production. The system also maintains a full audit trail.

Stephen Campbell, site director at Leeds, said: “The decision was purely down to the performance and efficiency of this new Heidelberg model. It has a top speed of 18,000 sheets an hour and that’s the speed we are getting from it, job after job.”

The XL105 at Leeds began full production at the start of October and the press at Hoogerheide will be fully operational by the end of October.

The Leeds site has also taken delivery of a new Bobst Expertcut 106 PER diecutter, the first of this type to be installed in a carton plant in the UK.

The 9,000 sheet per hour machine has a full logistics system to allow quick, automatic, pile entry and removal, something that also features on the Heidelberg presses.

Campbell said: “For us, the most important feature on the Expertcut is its Power Register II system. One of the biggest problems you face on diecutters is when sheets come off the pile slightly crooked.

The Power Register II on the Expertcut takes hold of the sheet and moves it into the correct orientation before delivering it to the grippers. By doing this it cuts machine stops by upwards of 70%, and you get perfect print to cut register every time.”

The Bobst will be in full production by early November.

Popular Articles