Model AG moves its BOBST MASTERFLEX to Croatia
Perfection in logistics: Model AG is a Swiss folding carton and corrugated board manufacturer serving international markets. They have recently moved their BOBST MASTERFLEX, a five-color flexo printing machine, from Moudon near Lake Geneva to their plant in Croatia. The machine was successfully dismantled and overhauled before installed and recommissioned in Croatia.
”Of course, before we started, we deliberated our options: Would it be more prudent to obtain a new machine or to move a machine already available within the Model Group to make more efficient use of it in another location?” explains Edoardo Finotti, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Platform Model Excellence and Model Group Executive. Edoardo Finotti has been with the company for twenty years and his knowledge of the group’s printing machines and their technical capacities is unmatched. “Machines built in 1996 have proven themselves,” he states. “So, it would have been a real shame to scrap or sell a top-notch piece of equipment which, while an older model, has been retrofitted to state-of-the-art condition.”
The MASTERFLEX is a five-color flexo printing machine supplied by BOBST for the corrugated board market. The model has been performing well for the past 23 years at the Model Group’s site in Moudon. BOBST manufactured this series of machines from 1996 to 2005 and it has later replaced the MASTERFLEX A with the MASTERFLEX L series. As prototype 4, the MASTERFLEX in Moudon had been one of the first of its kind on the market. It is designed to process 10,000 sheets per hour and features automatic sheet feed as well as nonstop stacking. Over the years, BOBST has continuously upgraded and optimized the machine. What is more, the machine has been retrofitted to include an IQ300 and Registron quality control system, putting it on par with today’s models. This allows Model to manufacture high-quality flexographic prints in CMYK.
Demand for High-Quality Packaging in Croatia
The MASTERFLEX produces high-quality results which ultimately cemented the Model Group’s decision to move the machine from Moudon to Zagreb. Due to the rapid growth of the Croatian packaging market, the demand for high-quality packaging is also increasing. The requirements for multi- and full-color packaging products in particular have increased substantially. By moving its machine to Zagreb, the Model Group is now capable of meeting these requirements.
“The market for corrugated board and corrugated board packaging is of rather regional character. This is why we are manufacturing directly where our products are needed. The cost for long-distance transport would simply be prohibitive,” declares Edoardo Finotti. However, the offline solution MASTERFLEX has reached its limits in Moudon. Labor costs in Switzerland are quite high which is why the Model Group has adopted a different strategy in this country. In the future, a high degree of automation will be applied to its manufacturing processes there.
Retrofitting and Customs Red Tape
The move began in March 2019 and was completed two months later in May when the machine was recommissioned. The project involved four companies: Model AG (owner and project manager), BOBST (main contractor), PERIT (assembly service provider), and Alvisa (professional cleaning of machine components). As a first step, the machine was dismantled, disassembled and cleaned before it was subjected to a general overhaul and retrofit. Its components were then packed and a convoy of 11 trucks transported them step by step to Zagreb where the machine was reassembled.
“Moving machines is quite common within the Model Group. However, this particular case included a retrofit, i.e. the modernization of the machine. And we believe that without the BOBST production site in Lausanne – which is right on our doorstep – this endeavor would never have played out as well as it did. All replacements and accessories were easy to obtain. Another very important aspect was that BOBST’s technicians spoke the same language and shared our mindset,” praises Edoardo Finotti. These are the very foundation for such a huge project to succeed.
However, the biggest challenge in getting the machine from Switzerland to Croatia through Italy was customs red tape. “We had to spend a lot of time explaining to the customs authorities that this transport did not constitute any sort of tax offense,” Edoardo Finotti recalls with a smile.
In early July, however, everyone involved was able to celebrate the official completion of the project. No problems occurred during the start-up of the machine which, for now, is operating in single shift mode to primarily manufacture high quality food packaging for the Croatian market. However, the Model Group plans to step up to a minimum of two-shift operation in the future. Eight Croatian Model employees have been thoroughly trained by BOBST and are now in charge of operating and maintaining the MASTERFLEX in Zagreb. “This successful move is a showcase project for Model. The cooperation with BOBST, the machine’s manufacturer, has worked out to everyone’s complete satisfaction. I could only wish that all projects will be carried out just as smoothly and successfully as this one,” concludes Edoardo Finotti.
About the Model Group
No future without history: It’s the motto of the Model Group (modelgroup.com) which was founded in 1882 and has now been family-owned for four generations. Daniel and Elisabeth Model are the current managers of the company. Model Holding AG serves as umbrella and management company of the Model Group. Manufacturing innovative and tailor-made packaging and display solutions from folding carton and corrugated board is its core business. In addition to the company headquarters in Weinfelden (CH) the Model Group is operating a network of production sites and sales locations throughout all of Europe. The group currently has a staff of around 4,300 employees working in its core markets: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Benelux, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia. The consolidated turnover in 2018 amounted to about CHF 990 million.
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