Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia • 2 2020 -
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Companies in the Middle East upping folding carton production Economic development in the Middle and Near East is underpinned by oil prices and politics. Both have given rise to a spirit of optimism in recent years. The Shater Al-Ebtekar print shop in Saudi Arabia invested in a new Speedmaster XL 106 six-color press with UV coating.
In addition, societal and current social conditions like a booming young population and growing urbanization have played a significant role in helping to shape the economic upswing in the region. For example, fast food restaurants and the growing number of online food delivery apps are increasingly taking their place alongside the traditional dining options. Quite a number of foodstuffs are produced locally as competitively priced base substrates. The changes are benefiting the food and packaging industries and, of course, also the packaging printers. Folding cartons account for over 80 percent of the printed products in the Middle East, with most produced for the local markets. Competition between printing press manufacturers is stiff in these growth markets. Thanks to its solutions, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is a leader in this flourishing market segment. Its overall offering consisting of machines –both used and new –, software, consumables, consulting, training, service, and spare parts is well received in the markets. Heidelberg is represented locally by dealers with whom it enjoys long-standing relationships. It was this alone that enabled printing presses ordered
before the coronavirus pandemic to be installed at customers’ sites by the dealers’ service experts during the pandemic.
New 2020 generation Speedmaster XL 75 ensuring high flexibility at PrintKraft in Pakistan In fall last year, Pakistan Printing Equipment Co. Pvt. Ltd (PPECL), Heidelberg’s representative in Pakistan, installed a complete production line at the packaging printing company PrintKraft (Private) Limited in Faisalabad, Pakistan. The bundle included the Speedmaster XL 75-6+L UV from the new 2020 generation and a Suprasetter A 106 CtP system .
The new equipment gave the printing companies the productivity boost they needed along with greater flexibility. “In the packaging printing sector we offer our customers in the Middle East machines tailored to their needs,” explains Rainer Hundsdörfer, Chief Executive Officer of Heidelberg. “By installing machines on schedule in compliance with all the safety regulations we also showed that we are a reliable partner in both good times and bad.” Numerous recent customer installations underline this.
The machines are fully integrated via the Prinect workflow and equipped with the Prinect Axis Control color measurement system for stable print color management. The installation is the first of its kind in Pakistan’s Punjab province. PrintKraft moved into a new building specifically for this in a strong strategically location in a special economic zone of Faisalabad, giving it a base in one of Pakistan’s largest cities. The former print shop, which also uses Heidelberg presses for its production needs, will remain at the old location.
Flex Print in Egypt produces with a new Speedmaster CX 102-8+LYYL UV.
