Leading corrugated packaging manufacturer, Manor Packaging, has ordered a new BOBST VISIONCUT flat-bed die-cutter and a new BOBST EXPERTFOLD multipoint folder-gluer from Bobst UK & Ireland - taking their tally of BOBST machinery to three in less than two years.
Just 18 months ago, Peterborough-based Manor Packaging, part of the Fencor Packaging Group, didn’t have a BOBST machine on site. However, the company’s experience when purchasing and installing the UK’s first BOBST FFG 8.20 Discovery, a next-generation flexo folder-gluer, proved so invaluable for the business that the team didn’t look anywhere else when the need came for a new die-cutter.
The BOBST FFG 8.20 Discovery was installed in February 2020 and chosen for its minimal set-up time of just two minutes, impressive productivity rate and ability to maintain accuracy at high speed, across a broad range of corrugated flute sizes. A new VISIONCUT 1.6 die-cutter was installed on site last month, this will be followed by an EXPERTFOLD 165 A2 multipoint folder-gluer in August.
David Orr, Group Managing Director of Fencor Packaging Group, said: “When we had those initial discussions with BOBST about bringing the FFG 8.20 Discovery to Manor Packaging, they were like no other that we have ever had before with other suppliers.
“The BOBST team worked with us to map out the configuration and the detail in the preparation was so reassuring and impressive. We felt fully supported at every stage of the purchasing process; it was at a level that can only come with having BOBST specialist engineers on hand to provide knowledge, guidance and answer questions about the machine and its capabilities. In the past, we have purchased machines manufactured mainly in the Far East that are then installed by UK agents. The experience with BOBST was completely new to us but fantastic and very professional.”
The timing of the installation coincided with a huge uplift in work for Manor Packaging and the BOBST FFG 8.20 Discovery has demonstrated strong return on investment in the months since it was installed. Added to this organic increase in volume, driven in part by the move away from plastic packaging, has been the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The growth hasn’t gone away,” said David. “We have experienced a paradigm shift where online retail has seen five years growth in just 12 months. Demand for printed, die-cut, often taped, and multi-point glued work has increased dramatically. We were putting most of our online retail jobs through our existing flatbed die-cutter but in spite of regular maintenance, we were very exposed to the risk of a breakdown and we needed additional capacity in order to meet the turnaround times demanded by our customers. We spoke to the BOBST team and they recommended the BOBST VISIONCUT. Such was the customer experience when we installed the BOBST FFG 8.20 Discovery, that we really didn’t look anywhere else.”
BOBST VISIONCUT 1.6 offers first-class, precise die-cutting. It has been designed to enhance efficiency and sustainability along the complete production line, thanks to built-in machine performance analysis which allows uptime and productivity to be monitored in real-time. A robust and compact machine, it is able to handle a wide range of substrates providing flexibility and versatility to customers. The clever workflow design of the BOBST VISIONCUT 1.6 minimises downtime and enables job changeovers in less than 10 minutes – critical to customers like Manor Packaging that have to deliver right first time packaging within tighter timeframes than ever before.
David added: “Of course, improving one area of the production often leads to challenges arising elsewhere or highlights where further improvements can be made; that’s exactly what happened for us. We quickly realised that we needed to back-up our existing multi-point folder-gluer, as well as be able to offer greater variety and capabilities to our customers.
“Once again, BOBST was able to offer a perfect solution in the EXPERTFOLD 165 A2, set to be installed later this year. While a little more expensive than other manufacturers, the fact that BOBST has UK-based engineers was a crucial factor in our decision-making process. We are very happy to pay a small premium for the reassurance of having engineers close at hand, who know the machines inside out, especially when we are in the business of providing products to customers on very short lead times.”
BOBST EXPERTFOLD 165 A2 offers a superb combination of speed and accuracy to deliver the consistently high-quality boxes and packaging demanded by the industry today. With simple setting and retrieval of job data, make-ready times are reduced significantly, along with job errors and waste, for BOBST customers. The folder-gluer is highly configurable, providing operatives with complete control of the folding and gluing process to optimise productivity and quality.
Stuart Alvey-Taylor, BOBST Sales Manager Business Unit Printing and Converting, said: “These are exciting times for Manor Packaging. We have worked closely with the team to determine the business’ needs and objectives, now and into the future and deliver a complementary range of machines that will provide a real competitive edge in today’s packaging industry.”
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