Currently celebrating its 125th anniversary, an important milestone marked by a year of events headlined ‘125 years: for the next generation’, Bobst has been at every drupa since 1951, and this year’s exhibition has allowed the company to restate its innovation leadership in all the industries it serves.
Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of Bobst said, ‘Bobst has always looked forward, identifying new trends and future needs, while simultaneously developing ways of carrying out existing processes more effectively. With our six world premieres, our many equipment enhancements and the extension of our portfolio of support services, we are continuing to show our innovation leadership in the packaging and labels sectors. This drupa our focus is on new, quality printing capabilities, featuring better flexo performance and the optimisation of the gravure process, along with digital flexo and digital printing solutions. As always, we will also reveal major enhancements to our range of converting equipment. Our presence here at drupa is more than just about innovation for today, it is also a way that we can show brand owners, packaging designers, carton makers and label manufacturers what the future could hold for them.’
Leading innovation in sheet-fed die-cutting and folding and gluing processes respectively are the completely new MASTERCUT 106 PER and MASTERFOLD 110 A3, both of which offer higher running speeds, much faster make-readies, less waste, increased uptime and technology that makes ‘zero-fault’ production achievable. These attributes also appear on the MASTERFOIL 106 PR hot foil stamping press on show, which features a new module, FOIL UNWINDER+, that is making its drupa debut.
Drupa has also seen three web-fed world premieres from BOBST, confirming its focus on printing and converting and on displays, with a wide range of technologies designed to appeal to several market segments within the packaging industry. The M6 UV flexo press gives users access to the disruptive technology of Digital Flexo printing onto folding cartons and flexible packaging, the CL 750D compact laminator offers a way for converters to access new markets such as that for ultra-short run laminating, and the MW 85F and MW 125F CI flexo presses offer new levels of flexible packaging print productivity.
New production equipment is only half the story when it comes to Bobst, because the company plays a leading role in providing technical and advice services to its customers. The importance to the company of its service provision is reflected in the prime position it has been allocated at the very heart of the BOBST drupa 2016 booth. The services Bobst offers help customers protect their investments, keep up with legislative changes, ensure safety and improve their Overall Equipment Effectiveness.
Alongside enhancements to existing maintenance and helpline services, and the introduction of new, synthetic food grade oils that proudly bear the NSF label, drupa has also seen the launch of a range of other new Bobst service innovations. These include Impact CAD tooling software for the production of high-performance die-cutting forms, a new generation Pick&Pay solution which reduces downtime by making parts available next to the machine 24/7, and the MyBobst.com portal, which gives users access to a documentation and parts-ordering website that is personalised for their installed machines and which features interactive 3-D parts identification. A new Service Navigator has also been launched to help customers identify the service solutions that will help them best improve the productivity, quality, safety and profitability of their equipment.
