Wall-to-wall digital solutions Olbrich is a market leader in the design and manufacture of cutting edge machinery for the manufacture of wall and floor coverings, and coated and laminated film products. Today 45 per cent of its production is focused on the automotive industry and the balance for the converting equipment sector. Philip Yorke reports on the latest developments of this ambitious and dynamic innovator. Olbrich provides manufacturing solutions for electrical products, insulating materials, metal foils, membranes and foam. In January 2013, Olbrich recorded another significant milestone in its rich history when it announced the takeover of the Hamburg-based Sam Sungan Pagendarm company. A leader in its sector, the company supplies innovative machinery for the flexible packaging industry for the production of labels, tapes and in-line coating solutions. Today Olbrich remains a familyowned business and in 2017 recorded sales of more than €120 million.
Customised digital technology
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he Olbrich Group is headquartered in Bocholt, Germany and has around 1000 employees worldwide. Its operations are conducted from four key European locations. The company was founded in 1949 and started out with the manufacture of printing, coating and drying equipment for wall covering applications and R2R products. The parent company, Borgers, was founded in 1866, and specialised in serving the automotive industry from the outset. In the automotive sector, Olbrich is specialised in the production of tools and trimming machines, as well as water jet equipment. It offers a comprehensive range of equipment for the production of automotive and trucking interior parts, including dashboards, ceilings and arm rests. Within the converting business, Olbrich offers a broad range of machines and equipment for the manufacture of a variety of self-adhesive films and papers on the same coating line. In addition, there are product lines available for decorative, and medical items, as well as for pharmaceutical products, including sophisticated trans-dermal systems, oral films, and lines for wound-care among many others. 168 Industry Europe
As an innovation leader, Olbrich is always searching for new cutting edge solutions to keep its customers one step ahead of the competition. In this context it offers its clients the highest levels of precision, efficiency and added value. At the international trade fair, Heimtextil, held in Frankfurt, Olbrich introduced its latest digital printing solutions for the wall-coverings industry. The new digital printing technology features an oil-based ink system which is specially tailored to meet the requirements of PVC-based wall covering producers. The printed items on display by Olbrich have been produced in its corporate Technical Centre in Bocholt, Germany. The printing widths of 550mm enable a trimmed standard product width of 530mm. Printing speeds can be as fast as 70m/min in single-pass production featuring CMYK colours with 600 dpi.
Expanding technology For many years, Olbrich has been offering virtually all technologies required for laminating, coating, printing and refining rolled goods, which customers from the floor covering and foil industries rely on for their production purposes.
