With a growing installed base of over 1300 narrow-mid web presses, BOBST has expanded its demonstration capabilities and global footprint in this segment with a new state-of-the-art Competence Centre in Florence, Italy.
Following the successful establishment of the Atlanta Competence Centre in the US, BOBST’s new 1200sqm Competence Centre in Italy is dedicated to labels and flexible packaging. Providing access to the company’s full range of printing solutions with six complete production lines (including inline flexo, digital and All-in-One technologies), the new facility is designed to serve customers through proximity and local expertise, as well as being a hub for collaboration and innovation.
During 8–10 October, more than 200 customers attended the grand opening of the new Competence Centre in Florence. They witnessed a complete overview of BOBST’s value proposition for the narrow-mid web market, including pre-press, machinery, a technology area, the cloud-based digital platform BOBST Connect and final applications. The event was supported by industry partners representing the whole ecosystem across the value chain.
‘The major investment in the narrow-mid web printing and converting product line demonstrates BOBST Group’s strong commitment to this segment,’ stated Matteo Cardinotti, Head of narrow-mid web printing and converting product line. ‘BOBST has experienced exceptional growth in labels in recent years and we are supporting that development by opening more local Competence Centres and hiring more staff worldwide. In Italy specifically, we have also expanded our production facilities and reinforced our service organisation to match the needs of our European customers.’
At the event in Florence, guests could experience live demonstrations of the entire ‘Label Solutions by BOBST’ portfolio. BOBST’s All-in-One concept, with inkjet and flexo technology inline, was presented by the DIGITAL MASTER 340 press running pressure-sensitive labels for the beauty segment. For inline flexo, BOBST MASTER M5 demonstrated single-pass production of multi-layer labels featuring oneECG (extended colour gamut) technology and DigiFlexo automation.
The production lines on show included a complete solution for short to medium-run flexible packaging applications – a BOBST MASTER M6 flexo press perfectly integrated with a near-line mid-web laminator, the BOBST NOVALAM MV. This setup, in combination with oneECG printing and DigiFlexo technology, is the perfect solution for flexo converters wanting to produce short to medium run flexible packaging and shrink sleeves; a segment that is not profitably using digital technology. All presses demonstrated live were operating with direct integration to BOBST Connect, the advanced digital platform that offers automation, digitalisation and connectivity to support sustainable, efficient and profitable production.
As a central data centre, BOBST Connect seamlessly integrates every aspect of the workflow, from application management and pre-press setup to printing, converting, and quality control, collecting the production data. The ability to capture these valuable insights allows converters to enhance their business planning and optimise the entire production process. The platform is continually evolving with more functionalities added, such as the new BOBST Certified substrate library, job quality reports and ‘Job and Recipe Management’, which deliver significant cost and waste savings by streamlining machine integration and enabling faster setup.
‘BOBST has brought into reality the idea of the closed-loop workflow, from PDF to twin-PDF concept, addressing the main industry trends with easy-to-use machines, all orchestrated by BOBST Connect,’ commented Cardinotti. ‘Our main focus is to provide customers with complete workflows that help them overcome a multitude of market challenges, allowing them to deliver consistent and high-quality results much quicker and with low waste, without having to rely on highly skilled operators.’
BESWICK MACHINERY – BOBST AUTHORISED AGENT SOUTHERN AFRICA
+27 11 433 2686
bmmarketing@beswick.co.za
www.beswick.co.za
