Packaging & printing feast heads…

EXHIBITION ORGANISER, Montgomery ECO East Africa, anticipates more than 3 000 regional industry leaders to attend Propak East Africa from March 7 to 9, as they seek new suppliers and the latest technologies.

According to exhibition director, Alexander Angus, with over 100 exhibitors already confirmed, there’s less than 10% exhibition space remaining across the two halls at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Convention Centre.

For the first time, both two halls are being used, reflecting the increased interest in the industry and the event. ‘We believe this growth will help bring important buyers to the event and success for exhibitors,’ Alexander says.

Another introduction at this year’s show is Pro-Pharma, providing a platform for suppliers of machinery, bottling and packaging to interact with pharmaceutical manufacturers. ‘We’ve added this feature because the Kenyan market for pharmaceutical products is valued at over $10-billion annually; and 32 of the 53 recognised pharmaceutical manufacturers within Eastern, Central and Southern Africa are based in Kenya, with most multinationals having offices in Nairobi.’

Taking place alongside the show is a three-day conference focusing on trends, challenges and opportunities specific to the East African market. The conference programme – a combination of presentations and panel discussions – is being developed in collaboration with leading public and private sector leaders. The first core theme, FoodPro, presented on March 7, focuses on challenges, opportunities, automation and innovation in the food and beverage sector. On March 8, attention turns to Pro-Pharma and Pro-Plas East Africa, with discussions about compliance, sustainability, brand positioning and the future outlook of the plastics and pharmaceutical packaging sectors.

On March 9, the emphasis moves to the printing sector, under the Print Expo East Africa banner, with discussions on the changing face of the printing sector, new technologies and techniques.’

‘The programme will be completed by a roundtable discussion aimed at consolidating a number of the issues brought up throughout the week and looking at ways of overcoming them,’ Alexander reveals.

Filmatic promotes collaboration 

Introducing a new packaging machinery range and highlighting technological advancements to two existing models, Filmatic Packaging Systems is also sharing its vision for the continent – that collaboratively Africans can lead, innovate and create packaging trends without having to follow international market prescriptions.

‘Working closely with customers, we envision uplifting African-created packaging in a cost-effective and financially-viable way that will see market share growing in years to come,’ explains Filmatic’s Marius Naudé.

‘For the last four decades, we’ve designed and manufactured entry-level and high-end machines and turnkey systems that include installations in most African countries,’ Marius adds. ‘Our focus is on dairy, juice, edible oil, carbonated soft drinks, water, sorghum, peanut butter, margarine, butter, household and cosmetic products; and we believe our continent-wide after-sales support is the key to our success.’

Filmatic is now aligned with the Trepko Group, supporting and servicing all Trepko equipment in the East African market and further afield. Marius emphasises that this partnership gives Filmatic a strategic advantage by extending its product range to meet all dairy industry requirements.

Says Marius: ‘Our commitment to service excellence is only exceeded by the quality of our equipment.

We have further enhanced our customers’ Filmatic experience by introducing service level agreements in 2015. Additionally, working with KEP Services, our East African agent, customers enjoy local support.’

Highlighting new coder technology

Celebrating 40 years in business, J-Pak is exhibiting the new MSSC DailyJet hand-held coder and other machines, such as the Macsa laser Spa with Wi-Fi control, Eagle X-ray, Linx8910, Matthews L-1, UBS UVX and MSSC 16 Dot series at its stand (F9).

According to J-Pak, the low-cost, easy-to-operate MSSC DailyJet HP 1000 hand-held coder is ideal for printing high-quality logos and QR codes on porous and non-porous surfaces.

Guala closes out counterfeiters

Every year, hundreds of millions of bottles of top wine and spirits brands are counterfeited and refilled with dangerous domestic/industrial products, often with dramatic consequences.

According to Ben le Roux, sales manager for Guala Closures SA, this counterfeiting trend is growing at an alarming rate in sub-Saharan Africa – causing irreparable damage to brand images, not to mention loss of revenue.

For 60 years, Guala Closures has been working on cutting-edge research applications for designing and producing safety closures that reduce the risk of counterfeiting to a minimum, by preventing product replacement.

Currently, the South African subsidiary produces closures that incorporate a roll-on tamper-evident system and a tear-off tamper-evident overcap, being showcased at Propak East Africa.

Guala’s automatic internal tamper-evident band isn’t usually visible to consumers until the bottle is opened.

‘When the closure is correctly unscrewed, a coloured band appears around the base of the closure,’ Ben explains. ‘When the bottle is resealed, the coloured band is visible around the circumference of the closure, giving consumers indisputable proof that the bottle has already been opened.’

A Nip cap is a patented plastic closure with a tear-off tamper-evident overcap. The smooth profile can be decorated, foiled and printed. It features a dedicated bottle neck finish and simple snap-on application.

For further information, contact Ben le Roux on +27 (0)21 508 7100 or bleroux@gualaclosures.co.za

A to Z for narrow-web printers

Nilpeter East Africa – headquartered in Kampala, Uganda – is showcasing its complete offering to the narrow-web flexo printing industry. MD, Henrik Wollesen, comments: ‘Although our main product is the Nilpeter narrow-web press, we have several printing process-related agencies. This makes us the only East African company able to offer full spectrum solutions to this sector. ‘This year, we’re exhibiting equipment that helps our customers control their output quality, such as anilox cleaning equipment and anilox rolls,’ he adds.

Improving form-fill-seal capabilities

Hayssen Flexible Systems is exhibiting at Propak East Africa for the first time to showcase its vertical and horizontal form-fill-seal frozen and snack food packaging machinery. ‘Experts will be on hand to discuss and consult on our first-class machinery portfolio,’ says sales & marketing director, Tony Crofts.

Hayssen Flexible Systems has a rich 110-year history as a global supplier of five packaging machinery system brands: Hayssen, Rose-Forgrove, Sandiacre, Schib and Simionato. ‘We’re able to leverage global manufacturing techniques and design with four manufacturing plants in the US, UK and Italy, while providing local sales and service through Pakmatic, our agent in South Africa,’ Tony says.

Partnering on packaging solutions

USS Pactech, a long-serving supplier to some of Africa’s biggest brands, is showcasing its expertise in turnkey supply from sourcing and installation of packaging equipment to after-sales service.

‘Our head office is in Johannesburg, South Africa, and we provide innovative primary and secondary packaging machinery for the food, beverage, milling, bakery, snacks, pharmaceutical, homecare, personal care, cosmetics and allied industries,’ says sales executive, Inge Markgraaff. ‘These include flexible and rigid packaging, robotic packaging solutions, inspection equipment, bottling, canning, kegging, sachets, labelling/sleeving, shrink packing, cartoning, palletising and other final packaging technologies.’

Marketing leading labelling solutions

Skanem Interlabels is showcasing its high-quality BOPP wraparound and in-mould labels and latest embellishment innovations. ‘Our continuous investment in state-of-the-art technologies has seen us rise to be a labelling market leader in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, DRC Congo and Somalia,’ says marketing manager, Doreen Njau.

She goes on to explain that the company’s recently-installed Bobst Revo Digital Flexo printer (with an inline AVT automation unit) has drastically reduced wastage, time taken to print jobs and the resources needed to run the machine. ‘It has also allowed us to remain on the cutting edge of innovation, bring lean production into play and pass the benefits of better quality and more affordable labels on to our customers.’

Ishida’s value-for-money weighers

Weighing solutions that enable African food manufacturers to become more competitive are the highlight of Ishida Europe’s stand. Marketing manager, Torsten Giese, says the accuracy, speed and reliability of Ishida’s value-for-money CHW multihead weigher and

DACS-EL checkweigher help eliminate product giveaway and increase throughput for each production run.

A 14- and 10-head model from the Ishida CHW multihead weigher range – specifically designed for free-flowing dry foods such as snacks, nuts, cereals, rice, pulses, pasta and sugar – is on display. With speeds of up to 80 packs/min and accuracy to within 1% of target this weigher achieves a typical payback on investment of less than a year, the company claims.

Torsten highlights additional benefits as hygienic design, allowing easy cleaning and maintenance; tool-free removal and replacement of contact parts; and a user-friendly keypad operation, minimising downtime.

Ishida Europe has been operating in Africa since 1982. It has a dedicated sales and service support office near Johannesburg, South Africa, and in 2015 appointed Nairobi’s Allwin Packaging International as its official East African distributor.

Investing in multitasking machinery

Meaf Consultants is a Nairobi-based engineering firm specialising in the supply of bottling and packaging systems, industrial process and machinery spare parts and consultancy services to East and Central African manufacturing sectors.

During Propak East Africa, Meaf Consultants is partnering with AVE Technologies, the bottling and packaging division of its principal, the Della Toffola Group – a world leader in technologically-advanced wine- and beverage-making systems.

According to Mercy Keli of Meaf Consultants, AVE consistently researches, designs and manufacturers machinery and complete systems for bottling and packaging. ‘At Propak East Africa we’re highlighting its EFS BLOC system and Swan EP FHP NH counter-pressure technology with multineck support,’ Merci states. ‘The system is built with electro-pneumatic valves to cold and hot fill carbonated soft drinks, juice and water, and features a special neck handling star to combine 28mm, 30mm and 38mm necks.’

A trio of innovations

Polyoak Packaging’s growth in Africa is guided by its strong focus on long-term partnerships, technical support and finding the most effective packaging solution for the challenge at hand. Export sales manager, Keith Dilkes, explains: ‘We offer assistance with pack design, expert technical support and help with machinery for new factories. Furthermore, our manufacturing plants are FSSC 22000 certified, to guarantee top-quality food-grade packaging.’

Polyoak is showcasing three products at Propak East Africa (stand D13) – hot fill PET preforms, PET closures and in-mould labelled (IML) tubs. Supplied with matching 38mm closures, hot-fill PET preforms are ideal for juices, sauces and marinades.

‘Achieving long shelf-life in lightweight packaging, without having to add preservatives to the product, is a great benefit considering supply chain and refrigeration challenges across Africa,’ Keith states.

High-quality 28mm and 38mm PET closures with outstanding three-colour print decoration remain one of Polyoak’s most popular African exports. The company also offers internal laser printing under the cap for promotions. This is completely food safe and smudge-resistant.

Polyoak’s range of high-quality offset printed tubs and award-winning IML tubs increase available branding space and reduce pack weight.

Full spectrum offering

Bosch Packaging Technology is highlighting its one-stop solutions for all line components required in filling and packaging processes. The company’s range of products and services includes filling, process and packaging technology for the pharmaceutical and confectionery sectors, as well as packaging solutions for piece and bulk goods in the food industry and for health and personal care products.

The company has been involved in a number of reference projects with producers of flour, sugar, cereal, tea, coffee, biscuits and confectionery products such as cereal and chocolate bars, candies and chewing gum.

‘We are also a world leader in aseptic filling and packaging processes for long shelf-life dairy products,’ says regional sales director, Marta Rutynowska-Eising. ‘This includes single modules, complete systems and customised all-in-one solutions, all based on a holistic consulting process and project engineering know-how.’

Bosch Packaging Technology operates production facilities in South Africa and a local sales and service office in Nairobi, Kenya.

[ Ed’s note: Propak East Africa is supported by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers and The Institute of Packaging Professionals Kenya. For further information, visit www.propakeastafrica.com]