Smart Coastal takes the gap, wink, wink!
Marius Sullwald believes in taking a gap when it appears and it’s appeared often in the last few months. Owner of Coastal Labels, Marius saved and planned for the installation recently of three Wink SmartGap Advance systems worth almost R1-million and supplied by ROTOCON.
Two units were affixed to the company’s existing Mark Andy P3 presses, while the third will be unveiled in April, with the arrival of a second ROTOCON ECOLINE RDF 340, to be installed at the Brackenfell, Cape Town premises. This finishing machine is fitted with additional converting options to meet the increased label volumes digitally printed on the Screen Truepress Jet L350UV press.
‘The P3 installations took place mid-March and our operators could run the system expertly with just a 30-minute training session and a day’s practice,’ states technical manager Andrew Mantell.
SmartGap eliminates problems with deviations between the magnetic and anvil cylinder, which can affect the quality of rotary die-cutting. Offering high-precision adjustment of the cutting depth on both sides, generating less waste and optimising material consumption, the system promises flexible and accurate adjustment of the the cutting depth to customer needs.
SmartGap, ROTOCON director Pascal Aengenvoort maintains, ensures smooth runs without vibration, allowing for trouble-free die-cutting of very sensitive facestock and liner materials, including extremely thin PET liners. It is also intuitive to use, with alignment possible while the machine is running, and requires minimal maintenance.
Making an invisible impression
Coastal Labels had its first taste of SmartGap technology with the ROTOCON ECOLINE RDF-330 converting and finishing machine commissioned two years ago, Andrew reports. The almost total lack of die-cutting issues since swayed the company to continue down this now tried-and-tested road. ‘Every labelling company can expect some die-cutting problems, but the objective is to minimise these as much as possible,’ he elaborates. ’Most problems appear in the customer’s bottling plant. It is usually here where the need to reprint a job becomes apparent because the die-cut reveals itself as too deep. With SmartGap, there is virtually no visible impression on the backing paper, so no production delays for which the label manufacturer has to compensate the customer.
‘At Coastal, we’ve always used the standard mandrels fitted to our presses, but SmartGap is very effective and is easy to install, use and maintain compared to other systems, some of which are quite complex. Since I joined the company in August 2018, I have concentrated on improving the output of our current equipment while motivating new technology investments. The SmartGap investments are particularly exciting.’
Another crucial factor in the buying decision was the local back-up available from ROTOCON, he adds. ‘We are in the same neighbourhood and there are always ROTOCON technicians around should they be needed.’
Coastal Labels’ machine operators are very grateful to Marius for taking the investment plunge. However, given its many benefits, they wish SmartGap had been introduced three years ago. They find the digital display screen particularly useful, Andrew comments. ‘Our team members have also commended the system for its ease of use, reduced set-up times and stored job settings that can be pulled up at a second’s notice. Die durability is also a factor, extending the die life because accurate pressure has been applied. Even dies that we normally would have had to retire due to wear and tear can now be used.’
And, in the tradition of taking the gap, the company dived deeper into FMCG and the industrial markets as Covid-19 took hold, while retaining its core focus on the Cape wine industry. Digital business has grown and there is positivity in the Coastal air, Andrew concludes.
Zipping up new opportunities
Since the beginning of the year, Johannesburg-based Zippy Labels has witnessed an increase in demand for flexible food packaging, and its ISO 9001 certification (see sidebar) has helped meet the industry’s exacting standards and grow this side of the business.
Husband and wife team Kevin and Maryke Thomas are proud to act as a one-stop shop, offering a basket of products spanning shrink sleeves, packets, sachets and numerous label formats, which can be printed flexographically or digitally to meet customers’ needs across the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetics, home care products and chemical sectors.
Kevin reports that the shrink sleeve market is looking promising because customers, who have traditionally only used standard self-adhesive labels, have become more educated about the correct shrink sleeve application process.
He adds that the team has always been impressed by MPS presses since before it invested in the first EF 340 multi-substrate label press in 2017, following a devastating flood at the company’s Eastleigh facility and relocation to Greenhills Industrial Park (PPM March 2018).
Although there is competition with gravure printers in the flexible packaging market, narrow-web flexo offers comparable quality and short-run benefits for customers wanting to introduce new variants, without having to invest heavily in inventory.
Zippy Labels recently installed an MPS EF 410 press to increase capacity and operational flexibility to help customers better navigate the unpredictability of demand levels resulting from Covid-19. Having a second MPS press operating simultaneously with the original one also helps improve service levels when multiple customers require job deliveries on the same day.
Kevin notes that the extra 90mm width on this specialist filmic material model also broadens the offering of chip packet sizes and sleeves for decorating bigger containers.
Doubling flexo capacity
Kevin explains that Zippy Labels first started talking to ROTOCON about a second MPS press investment during Labelexpo 2019. ‘Although we weren’t quite ready then, we wanted to put out our feelers. In October 2020, a press became available from a food packaging converter in Switzerland through ROTOCON’s turnkey project service responsible for sourcing, installing and servicing pre-owned flexographic presses. Director Patrick Aengenvoort connected us to the factory to question the production team about press performance and verify that it was in great condition.’
Patrick takes up the story. ‘We usually fly out a local ROTOCON technician to pack the tooling, dismantle the press and get it pre-freight ready. This wasn’t possible due to strict Covid-19 travel restrictions in Switzerland in December, so we chose a local team recommended by MPS, and they did a very professional job,’ he explains. ‘Our team, headed by Francois de Beer, unpacked, installed and commissioned the press in February.
Kevin adds that the installation went very smoothly. ‘Because of the facility’s compact nature, we had to rearrange a few things to create a dedicated space for the MPS EF 410 – it is now enclosed in a neat, drywalled room, he states. ‘I was impressed by Francois’ technical and printing industry expertise and helpful demeanour, and look forward to him assisting us again when the lamination unit arrives from England.’
Kevin reports that very little training was required because Brendon Diesel, who joined Zippy Labels with the arrival of the MPS EF 340 in 2017, is very experienced and responsible for training and guiding the two MPS press operators.
‘Brendon has been instrumental in helping to grow the business. He’s meticulous in terms of quality and likes to try new things to make the packaging exciting and help customers keep attracting consumer attention in-store.’
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