La Rochette Dakar, a packaging company in Senegal, recently installed a Discovery FFG 8.20 gluer at its Dakar plant.
This machine allows four-colour flexographic printing and in-line folding-gluing. The equipment is especially suited to the company’s needs, because of its ease of use and very high performance (its production can reach 18,000 boxes per hour). It assembles American boxes in one pass, using corrugated cardboard sheets.
Adel Salhab, CEO at La Rochette Dakar said, ‘African countries produce food commodities, and Senegal wants to export to the European and American markets. But the hygiene standards and sanitary demands imposed at the borders require suitable packaging. Acquiring high-technology package machines allows La Rochette Dakar to offer packaging solutions that meet international standards. Our plant has already been ISO 9001 certified for 17 years and also meets international safety and environmental requirements (4-pillar Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit [SMETA] certification). Since 2007, we have also worked as an approved supplier for large multinationals, like Philip Morris, and have several contracts at a global level.’
‘Our new investments in ultramodern equipment allow us to give our clients products of a strength and printing quality equivalent to those provided by packaging producers anywhere in the world. Moreover, we will be able to deliver to most of our customers within 48 hours, thanks to a 35% to 40% increase in our machines’ uptime, which considerably increases our production capacity. We are already making cigarette packs and cartons for all of Africa. This new stage in our industrial strategy strengthens our position in Senegal and will increase our market share in West Africa.’
BOBST’s advanced packaging solutions are transforming La Rochette’s site into an industrial unit that meets Western requirements. The company’s printing and trimming meet international quality standards. They have almost no returns of defective merchandise or complaints from customers.
‘Compared to our old equipment, these new machines operate at an impressive speed. The time spent on certain operations is a third of what it was before, for much better quality. The modern production lines’ simplicity and ease of use have also surprised our operators. But it’s not enough to have high-performance equipment, you have to master it and use it correctly. This is another of BOBST’s strengths. When the machines were commissioned, technicians gave our teams very detailed training on the programmes. Moreover, our operators are regularly informed of the latest technical developments. This lets them continue to optimise our machines’ output to give our customers ever-improving quality with regard to delivery time and competitive prices,’ Salhab concluded.
