Packaging printers in North America are increasingly investing in Heidelberg solutions for cost-effective production.
‘Since the onset of Covid-19 in March 2020, packaging and label printers in North America have been very resilient against the downturn of the economy due to increased consumer demand for packaged goods in both grocery stores and pharmacies. Many of these printers have even grown during the crisis and are looking to invest or have recently invested in new machines and workflow from Heidelberg,’ explained Felix Mueller, President of Heidelberg Americas.
Committed to servicing name brands from food to high-end cosmetics and perfumes, McLean Packaging installed a Speedmaster XL 106-8+LYY-1+L with Push to Stop technology at its folding carton facility in Moorestown, New Jersey. Despite not having purchased from Heidelberg in over 50 years, McLean Packaging zeroed in on the Speedmaster XL 106 for three key reasons: advanced automation and technology needed for shorter makereadies, flexibility to handle a wide range of substrates and advanced technology for effortless colour consistency.
In addition to the high quality produced by the Speedmaster XL 106, McLean Packaging has been impressed with the professionalism and level of support from Heidelberg’s SystemService team. The company also signed on for Predictive Monitoring and Saphira consumables when it purchased the press. Predictive Monitoring actively sends alerts should there appear to be something wrong with the machine. However, McLean has not had a need for the service for the last 11 months. Established in 1961, McLean Packaging is still passionate in creating quality packaging and operates within three highly specialised manufacturing facilities with over 200 employees.
With over 80 years of experience in the packaging industry, Bellwyck is a recognised leader in the premium brand and pharma/healthcare markets with a core focus on providing unique, sustainable, turnkey packaging solutions for top global brands. Bellwyck has recently installed a Speedmaster CX 102-8+LY-1+L with Push to Stop technology at its Toronto headquarters – its second Speedmaster CX 102 in the last 18 months. Both presses are powered by the Prinect Workflow and are part of Bellwyck’s larger vision of transitioning into a ‘Smart Factory’. In addition to the new press, Bellwyck recently installed a new Diana Easy folder-gluer at its Owen Sound location.
‘We talked to Heidelberg about the kind of work we are currently running, and the types of jobs our customers want to achieve. Together, we designed the new Speedmaster CX 102 – a truly unique press that prints nine colours and two coatings in one pass and still runs at 16,500 sheets per hour,’ said Jerry Malfara, Director of Technical Services and Innovation. It is the longest press of its kind in Canada. According to Bellwyck’s President John McVeigh, ‘With our new press, we are continuing to make significant investments to help our clients drive their efficiencies as well as stand out on the shelf. It’s a competitive marketplace out there, and our customers are looking for opportunities to be different than their competitors.’
Another benefit that Bellwyck is reaping from the integration with the Prinect workflow is the amount of production data that is available at its fingertips. Using 37 different data points collected from the press, the company uses business intelligence to evaluate each job’s performance. ‘We can then extrapolate that data to help us better manage our environment – from day-to-day tasks to where we have opportunities for improvement in the future,’ said April Burke, Vice President of Operations at Bellwyck.
Digital Color Concepts (DCC), having recently upgraded its sheetfed technology to the Speedmaster XL 106, began seeing bottlenecks in the finishing area of its production after being unable to keep pace with the high speed of its new press. Located in Mountainside, New Jersey, DCC purchased an Easymatrix 106 CS and Diana Easy 115 to increase its overall throughput.
With its largest customers in the pharmaceutical, fashion and food industries, the company uses the new post-press equipment primarily for finishing its commercial work. Since the onset of Covid-19, however, DCC has seen a shift in its business to more packaging jobs. ‘While we decided last year that we needed to address our weaknesses in finishing, the Easymatrix and Diana Easy have really set us up nicely for the transition of work that we have been seeing, and they will help us continue to grow more into the packaging segment moving forward,’ said Jim D’Alessandro, Vice President of Manufacturing.
Installed in August 2020, the Easymatrix 106 CS was added to DCC’s production to complement an older Varimatrix die cutter. DCC is also seeing increases in throughput on the folding gluing side of its finishing department with the new Diana Easy 115 . Installed together with the Easymatrix, the Diana Easy offers a high degree of operator user friendliness.
‘When you deal with Heidelberg, there is just a different level of professionalism that you don’t get with other manufacturers in the industry. From sales to technical support, the level of service is unsurpassed,’ said D’Alessandro.
Heidelberg Graphic Systems Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
+27 (0) 86 142 4756
warren.jones@heidelberg.com
www.heidelberg.com/za
