Greater flexibility and enhanced capabilities are central to the latest folder-gluing investment by shelf-ready packaging specialists, East Lancashire Box Company.
The family-run business will take delivery of a new BOBST EXPERTFOLD 165 A2 at its site in Clayton-le-Moors, Accrington, in November this year. The new asset is set to replace one of three machines at the dedicated gluing facility. The new folder-gluer will enable the processing of wider boxes, opening doors to new business opportunities with both customers and trade.
“Being only able to glue to 1,200 mm has limited us to some degree in the work we can say yes to. As retailers have moved away from plastic in recent years, demand for corrugated shelf-ready packaging (SRP) has increased massively,” said Peter Ingham, Sales Director at East Lancashire Box Company. “SRP is what we do, and we want to be the very best at it. Investing in the latest cutting-edge technologies is important for us to be able to meet demand and deliver the quality our customers expect, on time, every time.”
While the investment was already in the planning prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the offer of a UK Government loan incentivised the East Lancashire Box Company team to purchase now, rather than later. “Even though the economy is currently in recession, grocery retail is buoyant and 85% of our business is for food and drink applications,” added Mr Ingham. “We truly believe that by investing now, we will be stronger for it and are essentially future-proofing the company by expanding the variety of boxes we can run on our lines.”
The business, which celebrates its 40th anniversary next year, is a long-standing BOBST customer, having already purchased two VISIONCUT die-cutters in 2006 and 2012 and a folder-gluer in 2011.
EXPERTFOLD 165 A2 delivers exceptionally precise, accurate and smooth folding at high speeds, supporting East Lancashire Box Company’s ambitions for increased efficiency and productivity. Reduced make-ready times enhance this further; the changeover time from 4 corner to crash-lock boxes has been reduced by 50%.
Simple setting and retrieval of job data makes EXPERTFOLD easy to use and improves accuracy, helping to minimise waste and improve overall quality.
Nick Geary, Area Sales Manager, Business Unit Sheet-Fed at BOBST, said: “East Lancashire Box Company is a leader in the field of SRP. By choosing EXPERTFOLD, the team will enjoy greater versatility and unrivalled quality, while demonstrating a firm commitment to continuous improvement and ensuring competitiveness in the market. We are delighted that they once again chose BOBST for their folding-gluing needs.”
East Lancashire Box Company offers an end-to-end packaging service, from concept to production, and has 60 employees. The site in Accrington is in addition to the company’s print and die-cutting head office in Rishton, Blackburn.
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