National sales manager Denver Kirsten adds CTP acts as a one-stop-shop within the Caxton&CTP Printing and Publishing group, which services common customers among seven packaging divisions.

CTP Flexibles has a very strategic approach to stock holding, in order to safeguard customer commitments it consistently reviews its stock holding policies and also carries adequate safety stock levels to deliver on customer promises.

Raymond notes that another focus area is the proactive maintenance of equipment to ensure downtime and efficiency improvements. ‘There is a massive growth expectation and our team doesn’t have to go through a hierarchical bureaucracy to get things done. Our approach is to remain with the same OEM on chosen technologies to ensure a continuity of technology and a contingency plan to set up and run a job on any press, slitter-rewinder or laminator when one of them needs to be maintained,’ he asserts. ‘We now, for example, have three Bobst CI flexographic presses that are interchangeable and maintained by the competent engineering department and supported by Beswick Machinery’s Cape Town-based technician, Francois Keuler, as part of our ongoing maintenance schedule and CARE contract.’

Besides the investments in new primary and secondary machinery, CTP Flexibles has expanded its auxiliary equipment to support its newly focused customer supply strategy.

In addition to the maintenance package, the team chose the Bobst VISION CI press because of its ergonomic design improvements that make it less strenuous and more user-friendly for the operators and its automated features, which provide greater control over the machine’s performance for all production lengths on a wide range of substrates. ‘Furthermore, investing in leading-edge technology helps improve operator safety, provides new learning opportunities for staff and adds value for our customers,’ Denver notes.

Riaan Hopley, Beswick Machinery’s product manager web fed, agrees that ease of operation has formed a major part of Bobst’s design improvements on the VISION CI press. The ink pipes, for example, have been moved from the CI section to the drive side, which has enabled the placement of double chamber doctor blades that facilitate quicker changeovers.

Additionally, the press is fast to set up and change over thanks to its automated and patented SmartKEY and SmartSET features, which in combination reduce consumables and substrate waste to less than two web lengths to achieve saleable product on job start up. ‘SmartKEY perfectly aligns the printing sleeves to guarantee the best preregister results and fully automatic bearing blocks open and close all eight sleeve shafts simultaneously for the quickest possible sleeve changeover and maximum rigidity. The doctor blade chambers are lightweight and feature quick locking for rapid changing. The intercolour dryers are very light, making them easy to remove for cleaning while the bridge dryer features impingement and floating dryers to achieve the maximum printing speed of 400m/min,’ Riaan explains. ‘Another feature the operators are enjoying is the SmartVIEW, which provides optimal web visibility at the CI directly after printing with easy access print deck controls for making minor adjustments during start up.’

According to Riaan, other noteworthy features purchased by CTP are an ink weighing system to control the ink usage and reduce press ink returns. ‘Less ink in circulation means fewer solvents to wash out of the press with the SmartCLEAN system, which uses four-valve distribution technology to increase efficiencies and reduce costs,’ he remarks. ‘The SmartHEAT system takes heat from the cooling tower and feeds it back into the drying booths to boost drying efficiencies and provide a substantial saving on the heating source.’

Bruce Beswick adds that Bobst started with a blank sheet when it took the best R&D teams from Italy and Germany to design the VISION CI flexo press for converters looking to add a powerful and reliable production tool to their operation. ‘The Smart automation features ensure repeatable process consistency, minimum waste and ease of manufacturing with maximum production speeds of 400m/min, which is especially important now that brand owners are uncertain of demand levels and favour much shorter run lengths,’ Bruce notes.

The VISION CI press was commissioned at CTP Flexibles’ 18 000m2 facility in Ndabeni, Cape Town, in mid-October by two Bobst electrical and mechanical engineers with the assistance of Beswick’s technicians. Denver describes the print results on the first job run as outstanding.

Bruce agrees that the print quality from the Vision CI is the best that the Beswick team has seen in the market. ‘We are confident that the VISION CI will set the benchmark in terms of print and dot quality at maximum speed – a feat that wasn’t easy to achieve previously.’

This tooling rack is especially designed by Rossini to safeguard and optimally store the new printing sleeves that CTP Flexibles has purchased for flexographically printing its numerous jobs. The smart design ensures the ultimate in printing sleeve care, which helps to extend their lifespans.

Packaging growth plans

IN the provisional group results for the year ended June 30, Caxton&CTP Printing and Publishing group’s MD Tim Holden described the group as representing a value-enhancing portfolio of assets it is confident of growing and expanding.

‘Our focus is on proactive management of all the diverse aspects of the business, attention to detail and meeting customers’ expectations,’ Tim stated. ‘We have stable businesses, committed and resourceful management and staff, significant cash resources, creative investment strategies, and above all, excellent facilities that can capitalise on growth opportunities.’

Print quality inspection

Bruce Beswick, MD of Beswick Machinery, the distributor for Bobst presses and AVT automated inline inspection units in southern Africa, explains that this combination enables CTP Flexibles to track and trace the material, take out any scrap where necessary and provide a customer with a quality assurance certificate at the end of each production run.

Riaan Hopley, product manager web fed, adds that the Argus C Turbo HD decreases production time, automates manual processes and provides waste savings through the optional add-on module for AVT 100% automatic inspection platforms, which provide a trusted and reliable connection between the press and rewinder or laminator.

‘Using PrintFlow data from the on-press inspection system, Workflow Link automatically stops the rewinder at the precise location of a defect, so the faulty material can be removed. This helps speed up overall productivity while ensuring high-quality, error-free print jobs,’ Riaan asserts.

Backed by AVT’s pioneering vision technologies and local support from Beswick Machinery, the Argus Turbo HD raises the bar for inline process control and quality assurance by providing high resolution and high performance, he concludes.