Packaging MEA - August 2014

flexible | cartons | labels | plastics | digital | metal | corrugated | reports | events

vol 3, issue 3

w w w. p a c k a g i n g m e a . c o m

july-august 2014

Africa packaging:

primed for growth ‘It is time now for the Kenyan investors to invest in localised production’ Eric Pavone, business director, Webfed Business Unit, Bobst

Bobst Roadshow in Nairobi underscores the opportunities for African packagers to meet demand in-country as the continent embraces flexibles.. Page 46

Interpack sees a flurry of announcements and launches as the expo proves its global status by drawing two thirds of its 175,000 visitors from abroad. Page 59

Pacman-CCL and APP form a Karachi-based joint venture that aims to install its second Gallus press next year and to move soon into its own bespoke premises. Page 20

Positive Packaging is poised to become part of Finnish firm Huhtamaki, which is keen to develop its business in the fast-growing markets of the MEA. Page 7

“Lots of companies are doing ‘me too’ designs to play with consumers’ minds” Christel Morival: page 50

1st Middle East & Africa Packaging Forum

A unique training and networking platform for brand owners, printers, converters, manufacturers and suppliers.

Dubai : 11-12 November 2014

For more information: usha@packagingmea.com or +971 4 387 3575/+971 5 5519 6063

COMMENT Editorial

Focus: African packaging Africa’s packaging industry has a host of tremendous opportunities. That was the main lesson for me from an informative and stimulating visit to Kenya.

But if it is to flourish, the sector in East Africa must also clear from its path a similarly imposing stack of hurdles.

Foremost among these is the attitude of authorities. Africa still presents a clear contrast with the Middle East in how governments regard packaging.

In this issue, for instance, we cover the Interpack tradeshow. Dubai Exports invested to take companies and even helped them make useful business contacts. Mohammad Ali Kamali, Director of Export Markets Development in Dubai Exports, said participants gained a “better understanding of the innovative technologies and concerns in the global packaging industry, especially those relating to safety, quality and sustainability”.

But Joseph Nyongesa, CEO of Kenya’s Institute of Packaging Professionals, tells us in an interview this issue he is convinced his government also now sees the wider economic benefits of nurturing the sector.

For Africa, in fact, the gains could be substantial. At Bobst’s recent roadshow in Nairobi, Eric Pavone, business director for its webfed business unit, told me he sees Africa as one of the world’s top three growth areas for packaging.

“This is because flexible packaging is very much linked to the population growth and to the rise of the middle class population,” he said.

“If you follow the big international brands, they already have their manufacturing bases in Africa… It is now up to the government, politicians and the financial institutions to help, support and develop local manufacturing.”

Our coverage of Kenya’s packaging sector in this issue includes some insights from managers at firms such as Manipal that are already helping develop local production and looks at areas – such as tea – where tempting opportunities may remain.

Of course, for some regional converters, the rise of Africa packaging is a mixed blessing.

The Middle East is one of the regions that currently benefit from the continent’s lack of indigenous production.

However, given the overall growth trends for packaging consumption – and great potential for expansion even in the Middle East – the market should be large enough for everyone.

Benjamin Daniel Chief Editor

Published by JJ Media Fz LLC BIZ, Fuj Creative City, PO Box 391186 The Iridium, Al Barsha, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Phone +971-4-387 3575 Chief Editor Benjamin Daniel ben@packagingmea.com Editor Piers Grimley Evans piers@packagingmea.com Technology Editor Deb Debabrata Contributing Editors Dr George Simonian, Nick Coombes Wayne Peachey Marketing & Events Manager Piers Grimley Evans Usha Benjamin Editor usha@packagingmea.com +971-55-519 6063 Graphic Design Manager Jill Smith jill@packagingmea.com Advertising Enquiries & Subscriptions usha@packagingmea.com +971-55-519 6063 United Arab Emirates & rest of GCC AED 100/year Rest of the world: USD 30/year

Benjamin Daniel

Piers Grimley Evans

Deb Debabrata

Dr George Simonian

Chief Editor

Editor

Technology Editor

Technology Editor

printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai, UAE

Nick Coombes

Wayne Peachey

Usha Benjamin

Contributing Editor

Contributing Editor

Marketing & Events Manager

“

UshaJill Benjamin Smith Graphic Publisher Design Manager

Star quote: The package is no longer a logistics medium. The package causes a brand awareness and attraction Page 55

”

© copyright 2014 PMEA All rights reserved. While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

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july-august 2014

3

CONTENTS

NEWS

Flexible

Cartons

Eltromat, ERA, Goss Positive Packaging Bielloni, PepsiCo, Uteco Greif, Hexxa, Saudia Comexi, Kodak, Titan GPL, MAPflex

6 7 8 10 12 13

Labels

Heidelberg ME Delta Printing Press MarquipWard, Mondi, Vinsak Kizad, Al Khat GAW, Packages Ltd, Tetra Pak Kodak, Mpact, Nampak

14 15 16 17 18 19

50

Prepress

Flint, Mark Andy, Pacman, YESS Delta Printing Press DIPA Avery, Digital Labels, MPS Workz Edale, Gidue, Omet Heidelberg Color-Logic, Nilpeter, SPGPrints UPM Gulf Scan

20 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Color-Logic, ThermoflexX Esko, Hybrid X-Rite Kodak

31 32 33 34

Digital Gallus, AB Graphic Landa Epson, FFEI, Xeikon Screen, EFI FFEI Fefco

35 36 37 38 39 40

15 46

53 African Packaging

Plastics

Q&A: Joseph Nyongesa Kenya business report Tea packing Bobst Roadshow

41 42 44 46

Design World Cup Q&A: Christel Morival

4

48 50

Addivant, Boehringer, Sabic Bosch, Technovaa Albis, Sabic, Sidel KraussMaffei, Sidel DIC, Milliken tna

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52 53 54 55 56 58

41 Events Interpack Metpack Drupa

Tips from the top 59 66 67

Muna Shakour

70

Is life imitating art?

If image changes, shorter runs and quicker turnarounds are becoming your new reality, it’s time to consider Goss Vpak™ web offset.

www.gossinternational.com

News FLEXIBLE

eltromat has become a

100% member of the BST Group from 1 July, the two quality assurance specialists have announced. Enhanced product development will now respond faster to the market, they added. The combined companies cover print applications such as web guiding, register control, web viewing, print inspection, colour measurement, workflow solutions and automation technology for gravure, flexo, reel-to-reel offset and digital printing. In web applications they offer web guiding, register control, automation technology, surface inspection, thickness measurement, web width measurement, sensor technology and workflow solutions for processes such as nonwoven production and film extrusion.

ERA co-hosts Tehran gravure event

European association hopes seminar will help revive market links Iran The European Rotogravure Association (ERA) supported what it describes as Iran’s first international gravure seminar on 29 May in Tehran.

Organised by the Iranian Toranj Group in co-operation with ERA, the event attracted about 150 participants, who included professionals from the Iranian gravure industry as well as students from the graphic faculty of Tehran University and colleges.

The Toranj Group, which invited the ERA delegation, conducts seminars and educational training courses for the Iranian printing industry.

Headed by secretary general James Siever, the ERA delegation included experts from member firms such as Wind-

Tehran’s ‘first international gravure seminar’ attracted 150 participants

möller & Hölscher, Janoschka, Heimann, GMG and Daetwyler, who gave technical lectures at the conference.

The delegation also visited the Permanent Gallery of Printing and Packaging and some packaging gravure printers in the outskirts of Tehran.

ERA said the visits demonstrated the great technical skills of the Iranian gravure industry.

Despite longstanding sanctions against Iran, the sector has

maintained and developed its capability to produce all types of modern packaging material to a competitive standard.

The sanctions have triggered the Iranian printing industry’s recent shift towards East Asian technology suppliers from the Far East. However, ERA said Iranian printers would be interested in reviving their strong traditional ties with European – and particularly German – technology if Iran’s external relations thaw.

Goss to spotlight label and packaging applications Sunday Vpak offset technology to be showcased for short runs at Labelexpo Americas USA At Lapelexpo Americas on 9–11 September Goss will continue to put the case for its Sunday Vpak’s flexible configurations in label and flexible packaging, the firm announced on 3 July.

Peter Walczak, Goss International’s director of product management for packaging presses, said the space for offset in labelling and flexible packaging is bolstered by “the rise in SKUs” with “print runs that are too long for digital, but too short for profitability”.

“Our web offset solution can turn marginal short-run jobs into sustainable, profitable ones, with the advantage of plate and imaging costs that are a fraction of those associated with flexo and gravure. Web offset also ensures far greater flexibility and control, and allows converters to offer their customers later artwork deadlines.”

Goss also claims its web offset approach offers premium print quality, greater colour control and the standardised, repeatable web offset process, as well as the ability to handle 6

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Vpak: makes ‘marginal’ jobs ‘sustainable’ and ‘profitable’

a wide variety of substrates, including films as low as nine microns, at high speeds.

Goss’s commitment to packaging and labels was underlined with the launch in April of its Packaging Technology Center at the company headquarters. Featuring a Sunday Vpak 500 with seven web offset units, EB and UV curing, and flexo coating, the centre provides demonstrations, testing and educational programmes. It has been used on substrates for in-mould and shrink labels as well as cutand-stack labels and stand-up pouches.

Precision Press (USA) installed the first Vpak 500 for label and flexible packaging last year and Goss has since shipped the wider format Vpak 3000 for board printing.

Goss Vpak 500 and Vpak 3000 web offset press models for folding carton, flexible packaging, preprint and label applications are available in web widths from 520mm to 1,905mm (20.5” to 75”) and print at speeds of up to 457m/min. Key features include quickchange sleeve adapter technology for efficient, cost-effective size changes, and advanced offset inking, tension and control systems.

“With options for integrating flexo, gravure and digital stations into a Vpak press configuration to form a hybrid production line, this technology delivers flexibility without compromise,” said Walczak.

“Any converters or brand owners feeling the pressure on lead times and price for short to medium run lengths should come and see us at Labelexpo Americas to find out more about the game-changing capabilities of Sunday Vpak technology.”

FLEXIBLE News

Positive Packaging takeover by Huhtamaki is agreed

Finland-based Huhtamaki seeks to expand in fast-growing emerging MEA markets

Huhtamaki plans to incorporate Positive Packaging into its Flexible Packaging division and to double its sales in Africa

Finland Finland-based packaging conglomerate Huhtamaki announced on 8 July that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Positive Packaging, a privately owned flexible packaging company with nine plants in India and the UAE as well as significant business in Africa and other export markets.

With the acquisition Huhtamaki is aiming to strengthen its position in fast-growing emerging markets, said its CEO Jukka Moisio.

“It further enhances our position in India and provides us with much improved access to the fast-growing markets of Africa and Middle East,” he said.

“Many of our global customers are investing heavily to grow in these markets, and now we are even better resourced to help them grow.”

Positive Packaging has annual net sales of about EUR220m ($300m) and it employs about 2,500 people in India and the UAE as well as in sales offices in seven countries.

Huhtamaki will acquire Positive Packaging for a debt-free purchase price of EUR247m.

The business will become part of Huhtamaki’s Flexible Packaging business segment.

“Together with Positive Packaging Huhtamaki will become a leading flexible

packaging provider in the fastgrowing emerging markets,” said Shashank Sinha, executive vice-president of the Flexible Packaging unit.

“With the acquisition we expand our flexibles manufacturing into Middle East and double our sales in Africa with an unmatched footprint.

In addition, Positive Packaging’s expertise in high-quality printing and cylinder making, as well as their strong focus on innovations are a perfect fit for Huhtamaki’s growth strategy.”

Huhtamaki Group is a leading manufacturer of consumer and specialty packaging. The group’s core business areas are

foodservice disposables, flexible and moulded fibre packaging as well as films with 2013 net sales totalling EUR2.3bn.

Foodservice and consumer goods markets are served by about 14,400 people in 61 manufacturing units and several sales offices in 30 countries. The firm’s parent company, Huhtamaki Oyj, has its head office in Espoo, Finland.

Positive Packaging defines itself as a one-stop source for printed and laminated barriergrade quality flexible packaging materials. The firm provides packaging solutions through a robust international marketing network and caters to sectors including food and beverages, FMCG, pharmaceutical, and industrial and agro.

Positive Packaging has been part of the Enpee Group, an international conglomerate founded in Nigeria in 1961 with diversified business interests in flexible and metal packaging, CPP films, rotogravure printing cylinders, adhesives and printing inks, cement, roofing sheets, construction, electrical cables, and solar EVA encapsulant and backsheet.

The flexible packaging business, with manufacturing facilities in India, Nigeria and the UAE and offices in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, UK, USA as well as representations in other countries, contributes around half of the group’s turnover.

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News FLEXIBLE

Nairobi packager picks Bielloni press Polyflex installs Bielloni Converting SLV CI flexo 10-colour press

PepsiCo South Africa has opened a third Simba plant, the company announced on 10 June. The plant in Prospecton in Durban will help meet rising demand for Lay’s and Simba potato chip products. Simba’s two other plants are in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

“We have seen demand for our products grow for a number of years now and our new facility will help us meet this demand and better serve the needs of our valued retail partners,” said Andrew Havinga, Simba’s manufacturing director.

Kenya Nairobi-based Polyflex Industries Ltd, which produces flexible packaging and blown films, has continued its relationship with Italy-based Bielloni Converting with the purchase of a 10-colour SLV central impression (CI) press, says director Pritesh Shah.

“The specialty about this state-of-the-art machine from Italy is that it comprises a fully integrated gearless technology,” he told Packaging MEA. “It can print 1.2m flexible stock with an automatic viscosity control system. We went for all our machines recently with Bielloni Converting because of our excellent business relationship.

“We have no local service support but since we have a very good relationship with the presi-

Polyflex’s new Bielloni SLV CI flexo 10-colour press continues a longstanding relationship

dent of Bielloni Converting, we preferred to buy from him.

“If there are any spare requirements or anything it is dispatched immediately. At the moment, with the technology coming in, internet support can be downloaded from anywhere.”

The firm started off with a 2-colour Polygraph press from

India, followed by a similar 4-colour press and then a 6-colour press from Taiwan.

“In 2000 we got our first 6-colour CI flexo press and later four years ago we got out first 8-colour Axsa 8 SLV CI flexo press from Bielloni,” added Shah.

Production started this year on the new 10-colour press, he said.

Queen gets Uteco Diamond demo at Welsh plant Manufacturer is poised to open its third big Italian plant as it celebrates its 30th anniversary UK As Uteco prepares to celebrate the opening of its third major plant in Italy as well as the expansion of its ConverDrome centre, its CEO met with the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II at the anniversary of an International Greeting Group plant in Wales.

Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the factory on 30 April to mark the plant’s 35th birthday, at which its second Uteco Diamond HP flexo press line was also officially launched.

The International Greetings Group is a world leader in the gift paper sector with plants all over the world. Uteco machines are installed in its plants in the UK and the Netherlands and feature in its worldwide investment plans.

8

Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the International Greetings Group plant in Wales in the UK

Meanwhile, Uteco is preparing to mark its 30th anniversary by inviting its main customers to help celebrate the opening of a third major Uteco plant in Italy as well as the enlargement of the company’s ConverDrome, an R&D and technological excellence centre.

A series of initiatives are planned for the anniversary of

july-august 2014

the company’s foundation in 1985, including an open house and demonstrations focused on the latest technological advances in printing and converting.

The Uteco Group aims to continue in 2014 the growth trends that in 2013 resulted in a 30% rise in sales volume and an even greater improvement in financial and economical assets over the previous year.

A continuing expansion would enable the group to ramp up its large ongoing investments, not only in new production and R&D sites, but also in a strategic strengthening in human resources, starting with the hiring of mechatronic engineers across engineering, lean manufacturing and service both in Italy and the rest of the world, said Uteco.

During the royal visit to the International Greeting Group plant Peretti illustrated the plant’s new Diamond press to the Queen and also introduced the Uteco Group to the Duke of Edinburgh.

The royal couple were also able to view the machine in production and to see some of the plant’s products. During their visit they unveiled a plaque to commemorate the event that also mentions the inauguration of the Uteco machine.

More than 80 of the Uteco Group’s 2,700 installed machines were sold in the UK to multinational groups and to small and medium-sized converters for advanced technological applications in fields such as film, paper and cardboard packaging and also banknote security.

FLEXIBLE News

Commitment to the innovation

Commitment the innovation Our mission is to offerto global solutions for a world with greater needs regarding flexibility and efficiency, as well as make a huge effort in providing the best services

Our for mission is to offer solutions for world with greater needs regarding accessibility and global easy maintenance of a our products. flexibility and efficiency, as well as make a huge effort in providing the best services for accessibility and easy maintenance of our products.and technological developOur commitment to innovation, based on research ment, allows us to offer cutting-edge, reliable and high-level performance

Our products. commitment to innovation, based on research and technological development, allows us to offer cutting-edge, reliable and high-level performance Our commitment is also to knowledge. The Manel Xifra Boada Technological products.

Centre has the objective of being the benchmark in the flexible packaging industry a key driver knowledge.

Opened 2013 as an independent body, it is Our as commitment is of also to knowledge.

Thein Manel Xifra Boada Technological focused on objective training and consultancy and innovation Centre has the of academic being the activities, benchmark in the flexible packagingdevelopindustry ment. as a key driver of knowledge. Opened in 2013 as an independent body, it is focused on training and academic activities, consultancy and innovation developwww.comexigroup.com ment.

www.comexigroup.com

PolĂ­gon industrial de Girona - Avinguda Mas Pins, 135 17457 Riudellots de la Selva. GIRONA (Spain) Tel. +34 972 477 744 Fax +34 972 477 384 comexi@comexigroup.com

july-august 2014

9

News FLEXIBLE

Hexxa Flexible Packaging expands

RAK-based company extends factory space to house new kit

Greif, an industrial packaging products and services firm, announced on 25 June that it will cease operations at its flexible products and services (FPS) plant in Saudi Arabia by August 31 and reallocate equipment from the factory to other Greif FPS facilities.

Greif FPS was developed in 2010 as a joint venture between Greif and National Scientific Company Limited (NSC). This joint venture represents the leading integrated global network for FIBCs, technical textiles, shipping sacks, container liners, PackH2OT and more.

“The Flexible Products and Services business is a strategic component to Greif ’s overall business strategy,” said Dano Lister, division president, Greif FPS. “As our business grows and diversifies, we carefully assess market dynamics and the existing and future needs of current and prospective customers. As part of this strategic assessment we are taking steps to end operations at the plant in Saudi Arabia and shift those resources to other Greif FPS facilities. “The decision to shift operations is part of a normal restructuring that will advance the joint venture’s long-term business goals and better serve our target markets and needs of strategic customers.”

The plant in Saudi Arabia represents a small portion of the joint venture’s overall fabric production capacity.

The company provides products and services across a wide range of industries.

10

UAE Ras Al Khaimah-based Hexxa Flexible Packaging LLC is expanding its infrastructure and machinery to meet growing demand within its flexible packaging markets.

Managing director Raja Kumar Gandhi told Packaging MEA that the company’s business has doubled over the last three years so the company has outgrown its initial 1,860m2 facility on its 9,300 m2 site.

“As we are growing, the shortage of space has forced us to expand,” he said.

“From 20,000 sq ft [1,860m2], we are now extending our factory to have a total built area of 70,000 sq ft in the next couple of months and then we will install the new machinery we have invested in.”

Raja Kumar Gandhi: Hexxa Flexibles MD

The company has invested in printing, converting and allied machinery, he added.

“The larger segment of our business is a range of flexible packaging products specialising in OPP label, shrink sleeves, standup zippers, pouches and retort packaging,

whilst we also do converting of OPP tapes,” he explained.

“Our current machines include an 8-colour press from LongNew Taiwan, Shiavi Eco-Convert solvent-less lamination machines, slitting, pouching and bag machine, PVC shrink-sleeving machine, OPP and masking tape converting machines.”

Hexxa has invested in a solvent-less/solvent-based combination lamination machine for packaging that requires better shelf life and better bond strength, he added.

“Although there are a whole lot of applications that we can cater to, we believe in specialising into niches and this is and will be our success,” he said. The company will soon release more details of its recent investments, he added.

Saudia extends its range of feta tubs

Cheese is now also available in 250g and 500g consumer packs KSA Saudia Dairy and Foodstuffs Company (Sadafco) has added to its bulk 10kg and 16kg Saudia Feta Cheese range by launching 250g and 500g consumer packs in the Middle East.

Manufactured at Sadafco’s ISO 22000:2005-certified factory in Dammam, Saudia Feta Cheese is packed in attractive and convenient plastic tubs to protect the product’s taste and nutritional values whenever it is served as part of a meal or a salad.

“Feta cheese is a popular ingredient in many regional and international dishes and is preferred by consumers of all age groups,” said marketing manager Ahmed Zainul Abedine.

“The newly introduced cheese is made following the same Saudia recipe that has been favoured by consumers for almost two

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Saudia feta cheese is now in smaller tubs

decades and which until now has only been offered at deli counters at supermarkets across the Kingdom. It offers a subtle texture and lightness that is a hallmark of all cheese products.

“New product development is at the core of Sadafco’s business strategy and we are always exploring exciting product

options for our valued consumers in Saudi Arabia and across the region.”

Saudia feta cheese, available at a competitive price in 250g and 500g packaging, should remain refrigerated between +2 to +5°C to ensure the best quality product reaches the consumer, said the company.

Sadafco recently received the recognition of high quality standards maintained across its manufacturing facilities when its Dammam Factory was awarded the globally recognised ISO 22000:2005 food safety management certification from Intertek-Moody International.

This standard defines the requirements of a food safety management system from “farm to fork”, to which packaging is considered key.

News FLEXIBLE

Comexi launches its PROSLIT S1 DT Updated slitter-rewinder can raise plant productivity ‘by 30%’

Kodak launched its

Trendsetter Q800 at Algeria’s 4th International Printing and Packaging Technology Exhibition on 6–8 April.

Kodak’s newly appointed Algerian partner BCZ showcased Kodak’s offset printing and prepress solutions at the three-day event. “Algeria represents a fantastic business opportunity for us and events like the exhibition enable us to showcase our products and underline our investment of supporting customers on their journey in adopting digital prepress technology,” said Komal Sharma, managing director for the Middle East Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe at Kodak. “The country ranks among Africa’s top four importers of packaging and printing technology and for us this is the space that we want to be in.”

Mahmoud Benamar, owner and managing director of BCZ, said: “Thanks to the event we were able to keep our good relationship with valuable customers and create networking opportunities that allowed us to specifically speak to the needs of potential customers while emphasising on the latest technology and best business opportunities for all of them.” The International Printing and Packaging Technology Exhibition featured some of the latest innovations in the printing industry in order to promote state-of-the-art printing and packaging technology and to foster partnerships with leading suppliers of the industry, said Kodak.

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Spain Comexi Group, a leading specialist in machinery solutions for the flexible packaging industry, announced on 30 June that it has developed the PROSLIT S1 DT, a double turret slitter-rewinder that can increase productivity and energy efficiency.

Plants can boost their production by 30% by replacing a Comexi PROSLIT Eikon with the new machine, said Comexi.

The PROSLIT S1 DT runs at up to 800m/min with new and shorter acceleration ramps as well as improved and faster turret-change. In addition, the machine offers an energy saving of 4–6% over the previous model, said its maker.

Comexi’s R&D department developed the new slitter-

Comexi PROSLIT S1 DT

rewinder starting from the Comexi PROSLIT Eikon machine, which has more than 100 installations.

The machine’s tension range has been extended for a wider gamut of materials. It also has a new support arm system for turret changeover rotation standardised in all widths.

The PROSLIT S1 DT arm allows rotating in both sides: top and bottom. The shaft end in cantilever arrangement is supported during the turret’s rotation on a base that keeps it level and fixed. These arm improvements increase shaft life and simplify operations, according to Comexi.

In addition, the PROSLIT S1 DT offers users the option of adding fully automated download and palletising.

Comexi claims that the PROSLIT S1 DT is getting wide acceptance in the market. As of June 2014, and from the sale of the first unit in late 2013, the Catalan company has sold 12 units to customers in Scandinavia, Spain, Mexico, Peru, India, Iran and Turkey.

Nampak invests in two Titan ER610s Slitter-rewinders installed at its Durban and Cape Town plants South Africa Nampak has installed two 1350mm-wide Titan ER610 compact slitterrewinders: one at its flexible division in Pinetown, Durban, and a second at Cape Town.

Anand Padayachee, general manager at Nampak Flexible in Pinetown, said that the company has been a longstanding customer of Titan technology for flexible packaging.

“We already had seven Titan slitter-rewinders at our plants in South Africa including the SR6, SR7 and TS350 models from 1994 through to 2001,” he said.

“Good control of web tension is critical in producing the highest quality rewind reels for our customers and the ER610 slitters provide this, as well as faster acceleration and higher running speeds giving us much

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Titan ER610 compact slitter-rewinder installed at Nampak, Durban, SA

improved levels of productivity.”

In Pinetown, Nampak has several slitters served by a common materials-handling system, so the more compact ER610 has improved the working space without modifications to the handling system, said Titan.

Available in two widths – 1350mm and 1650mm – the

ER610 has been a great success for Titan with more than 100 machines now installed.

It features a pneumatically controlled braking system and a digital edge-guide system controls lateral movement of the unwind reel to +/- 2” (50mm).

Slitting systems available include shear knives, rotary razor (burst) or razor slitting in air or groove. The two ER610 slitters installed at Nampak Flexible include an edge trim extraction system, laser core positioning, and shaftless unwind roll pick-up from floor.

The two ER610s were commissioned in February. “Both Titan slitters were operating at the expected running speeds from the first day in production, so all our expectations have been met,” said Padayachee.

FLEXIBLE News

Kenyan joint venture aims to extend fruit shelf life

GPL and MAPflex team up to pioneer in advanced modified atmosphere packaging Kenya General Printers Ltd (GPL) Flexibles, a leader in Kenya’s flexible packaging sector, has tied up with Afripack to apply the technical expertise of the South Africa-based group’s East African offshoot MAPflex in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).

Ketul Tanna, managing director of Nairobi-based GPL, told Packaging MEA that the company has established a joint venture with Afripack-MAPflex to apply MAP technology in a new way to more than double the shelf lives of fruit and vegetables.

“It is a standard material but the difference is in what we do to the material, which allows for the breathability of the vegetables and fruits to be enhanced such that it increases their shelf life,” he said.

“If the normal shelf life of the fruits or vegetables available in the supermarket is three days, we can extend that to seven to eight days.”

MAP technology involves packing products using a mix of gases that delays their decay.

The ideal blend of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide varies with each product. With fruit, for instance, the specific level of oxygen can determine ripening.

MAPflex packaging: specialised packing for transport both to packers and supermarkets is tailored to each day’s climatic conditions

Afripack Chief Financial Officer James Hynd told Packaging MEA that the collaboration involves a new patented approach to MAP. “We’ve had this product for almost three years now,” he said.

“The first two years were spent in doing research and development. We are now actually supplying packaging to certain packers.

“We have already got approvals from the major supermarkets in Europe from companies like Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer’s.

They have already approved this technology.”

He added that Afripack has exclusive regional rights to the specialist technology, which it

has already introduced in subSaharan Africa.

“How the process works is every fruit and vegetable breathes at different rates depending on different climatic conditions at that particular time,” he said.

“We have got a unit that we will place at the packer or at the farm where the rate of breathing of the fruit or vegetable is captured. This information is sent to us directly through a database over the internet. It is stored in our machines.

“We are then able to make a bag with that breathing characteristic of that fruit or vegetable and we design the packaging for that particular moment.”

In this approach to MAP, the company will replace generic packaging for fruit and vegetables with packs tailored for the weather conditions prevailing on a specific day.

“For example, today it is cold and the temperatures are cold and the breathing changes for the fruit or the vegetable,” said Hynd.

“The minute the temperature changes to hot or humid the breathing completely changes.

So you cannot use the same packaging today for a condition that is going to be tomorrow.

“All the packaging that is imported currently is for a generic weather condition, so it doesn’t really help.”

Tanna added that the joint venture would apply new technology both for transporting produce to packers and to supermarkets.

“We pack in specialised bags to extend the shelf life of the fruit or vegetable until it gets to the packer,” he said.

“The packer then takes the fruit or vegetable, cuts it and packs it. We also provide that specialised packaging. So we are increasing the shelf life throughout the chain.”

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13

News CARTONS

Heidelberg nudges regional clients towards export

Boss aims for Middle East customers to keep growing through finding new markets

Heidelberg pulled out of the red in its latest financial year

UAE Mazen Wafic El-Tibi, deputy general manager and sales and marketing director for Heidelberg Middle East (ME), told Packaging MEA that the firm is now looking to extend its growth by helping its customers serve overseas markets.

Over its 2013/14 financial year, Heidelberg had strong sales in the region through providing “the right solution to the customer’s requirement coupled with good service organisation”, he said.

“We had a good year, with the CD102 and the Gallus in narrow web,” he said.

But maintaining this momentum in areas such as packaging now also hinges on helping customers expand their markets abroad, he added.

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“Our growth sustainability relies on our customers’ adaptability to the market needs and opening the horizon to address the potential of overseas customers and print buyers,” he said.

“Printing techniques in the region have reached a good level of innovation and quality. Do not limit yourselves to the local market. Invest in your people and educate and train them to keep up with the innovations.”

He added that packaging remains on “a steady growth path in our region”.

“As we have a strong presence, we will capitalise, sustain and enhance our services,” he added.

“Looking into our clear status and presence in the Middle East

july-august 2014

El-Tibi: ‘good year’ in 2013/14

market, I can say that we have the largest installed base with regard to heatset offset presses as per the fiscal year 2013/14.

“As for the narrow web sector, with our Gallus and allied products, we have grown as much as the market has grown here in the region. We have concluded several deals in this fiscal year that leave us in a leading position in the flexo narrow web sector of packaging and converting business – not to forget the major flexo folding carton narrow web installations done recently.”

Meanwhile, Heidelberg announced with its 2013/14 results that it has bounced back from five straight years of losses, achieving a slim net profit of EUR4m ($5.4m).

The group now aims to improve its earnings with an EBITDA margin of at least 8% for 2014/15.

“In returning to profitability, we have reached a first important milestone,” said Heidelberg CEO Gerold Linzbach.

“We are now starting the next stage of the group’s reorganisation so as to achieve a sustained increase in corporate value. This involves making acquisitions in growth segments, scaling down areas of business with weak margins, and cutting structural costs in order to further improve profitability.”

Heidelberg is developing its digital portfolio with the complete takeover of Gallus. In autumn the two firms will unveil a digital printing system for labels based on Fujifilm technology.

“Our aim in acquiring Gallus is to achieve fast and profitable growth in the digital label sector,” said Linzbach.

The print giant also spots opportunities in expanding in services and consumables, which offer strong margins. Following the successful takeover of a coating manufacturer, discussions on a further acquisition are currently under way.

As part of the collaboration with Fujfilm, an OEM agreement to supply platesetters (CtP) has also been concluded. Fujifilm will market Heidelberg platesetters under its own name in future, while Heidelberg has taken over some European sales activities for Fujifilm printing plates.

CARTONS News

Delta Printing Press spends $4m to build capacity Purchases include a Heidelberg CD 104 5-colour press and a Bobst Novacut 106 UAE Dubai-based Delta Printing Press has given details of a $4m investment in new machines so far this year to meet growing demand.

CEO Sujit Vaidya told Packaging MEA that the company has bought an array of equipment including a Heidelberg press, Bobst converting kit, a Kodak imaging system and a Zünd cutter to keep pace with its rising sales.

“We have made regular investments even in the toughest times when printers were fighting for mere survival after increasing their capacities,” said Vaidya.

“In 2014 alone we have invested $4m to enhance our facility. Seeing market trends and the way business is growing, we have increased our capacity in packaging as well as commercial print by installing a Heidelberg

CD 104 5-colour sheetfed offset press with inline coating, Kodak thermal CtP system with allied inline Kodak plate processor, a reel-to-sheet sheeter, corrugation laminator, Bobst Novacut 106 Autoplaten die-cutter, Bobst Ambition 106 folder-gluer, Handy pack, Multibend die maker, Zünd G3 L2500 digital cutter for packaging samplemaking applications, and two large-format manual die-cutting machines,” he said.

To maintain profits and margins in the competitive carton market the company is focusing on niche markets and exports, he added.

“The local market is very competitive and congested with existing players and new printers entering the packaging industry,” he said.

“Our packaging strategy is export oriented and working

with niche markets where the margins are good.”

Delta sees its success as based upon offering its clients both innovation and quality, he said.

“Only Delta can deliver the confidence that we create in our clients,” he said.

“The growth Delta has achieved in these nine years [since its establishment in 2005] can be attributed to the sheer hard and smart work of the team working in tandem under the leadership of Jalal Kabeer, our chairman and managing director.

“We still consider ourselves young compared to giants in the industry, but surely aim to be one among them in the near future.”

Delta Group includes Delta Printing Press LLC, Brandscape Advertising LLC, Magic Screen LLC, Print Outs, Sahebson Printing Material Trading LLC, La Vora Book Binding LLC, Pulp

The Delta team with the company’s newly installed Bobst Novacut 106 die-cutter

Advertising LLC, PrintOuts Printing Press (Tanzania) Ltd, Delta Printing Press FZ LLC. Since its inception in May 2005, the Delta Group has emerged as one of the industry’s leading names in the arena of printing, designing and corporate branding.

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News CARTONS

MarquipWard picks up Körber brands BW Papersystems now includes five leading names

Mondi Group on

1 July announced that the industrial bags and kraft paper businesses of Graphic Packaging International has joined the group. The $105m deal comprises an integrated kraft paper mill in Pine Bluff Arkansas and nine bags plants across the United States, with sales of about $437m in the 12 months ended 31 March 2014. Mondi Group announced the intention to acquire this business on 3 June 2014. “The combination of these plants with Mondi’s existing network will create a leading bags player in North America and expand our growing global footprint in this market. We look forward to offering innovative solutions to our enlarged customer base,” said David Hathorn, CEO Mondi Group. Allen Ennis, previously senior vice-president for the flexible division of Graphic Packaging, will lead the combined business as president Industrial Bags, Mondi North America.

In addition, Thomas Ott, COO Mondi Industrial Bags, will move to the US to oversee the integration.

The headquarters for Mondi Group in North America will be in Atlanta, Georgia.

Customer requirements will be prioritised throughout the integration phase of the business, according to the Mondi Group.

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USA MarquipWardUnited, a Barry-Wehmiller company, announced on 2 June that it has completed the acquisition of the operations of Körber AG’s Papersystems companies: E.C.H. Will, Pemco and Kugler-Womako.

The companies become part of the newly formed BW Papersystems, now the leading global supplier of sheeting and sheet packaging machinery, with solutions for the widest range of applications for the paper converting, manufacturing and packaging industries.

BW Papersystems employs nearly 1,500 staff worldwide and is expected to generate revenue in excess of $370m in its 2014 financial year. “With almost $100m in revenue, 250,000 sq ft

[23,000m2] of additional capacity and over 340 new associates, the acquisition of the Körber Papersystems businesses opens up a whole new beginning for our organisation,” said Tim Sullivan, Barry-Wehmiller group president.

“We look forward to the exciting opportunities our new platform creates for our customers, suppliers and all of our team members worldwide.”

As the frontrunner in technology for cut-size, foliosize and digital-size sheeting and sheet packaging, BW Papersystems offers innovative solutions for the most complex mill to the smallest converter.

As part of the integration, E.C.H. Will and Pemco have been rebranded as Will-Pemco.

The combined Will-Pemco entity

Körber AG’s Papersystems HQ

assures seamless delivery and enhanced service levels.

BW Papersystems now incorporates five leading brands: Will-Pemco, MarquipWardUnited, SHM, Wrapmatic and Kugler Womako.

Creed takes flatbed die-cutter to MEA

Vinsak LDF350 already launched in Indian market at end of 2013 GCC Indian print and packaging equipment manufacturer Creed Engineers has launched its LFD350 flatbed die-cutter under its Vinsak brand now also in the MEA market.

The firm launched the product in India in November 2013.

Managing director Ranesh Bajaj said the machine’s “USP” is combining “the cost-effectiveness and the quality of a flatbed with great speed.”

“The Vinsak LFD350 offers exceptional return on investment, low setup cost, fast implementation, high-speed and -quality label production, prompt support and an easy-to-handle die-cutting system,” he said.

Creed Engineers are marketing the machine for film laminating, hot stamping, die cutting, punching, waste-off (or slitting)

july-august 2014

at one go. It can run offline for flexo presses, web screen presses and intermittent rotary presses.

It can also cut labels from a 350mm wide roll at 180 pieces per minute with a maximum die-cutting area of 340x340mm, said Creed.

“The LFD350 offers a wide range of applications, including die-cutting, creasing, perforating, kiss-cutting as well as hot foil stamping, combined embossing

and hot foil, and hologram stamping,” said Bajaj. “The diecutter uses servo motors rather than traditional mechanisms to start and stop the feed allowing the platen mechanism to create high-quality cut-offs.”

The electric control system’s main control unit adopts components for accurate feeding and easy operation. Two lateral and one longitudinal registration sensor ensure accuracy.

Vinsak LDF 350: designed for ‘a wide range of applications’

CARTONS News

Kizad welcomes first Al Khat plant outside Kuwait McDonald’s packager to set up an AED80m plant in Abu Dhabi zone UAE Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) announced on 1 July an agreement with the region’s exclusive provider of packaging for McDonald’s.

Gulf Printing and Packaging – a new subsidiary of Kuwait’s Al Khat Packaging – is to build an AED80m ($22m) plant under a 50-year land-lease deal.

Al Khat is one of Kuwait’s largest producers of printing and packaging materials and the only approved provider of packaging materials for McDonalds in the entire Middle East, said Kizad.

The new facility, which is set to operate from 2016, will be Al Khat’s first production plant outside Kuwait.

Located in Kizad’s ‘Mixed Use’ cluster, the plant will cover a 22,000m2 plot of land and

produce folding paper packaging and printing products, especially for the UAE, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

Kizad CEO Khaled Salmeen said Gulf Printing and Packaging will “considerably add to Kizad’s industrial landscape”.

“We are delighted to welcome our Kuwaiti business partners, who will significantly benefit from Kizad’s strategic location with market access to 4.5bn people worldwide, its multimodal transportation network, which includes our flagship deepwater Khalifa Port, as well as its business friendly environment and competitive operating costs,” said Salmeen.

“Al Khat Packaging’s choice of settling in Kizad is another indicator that our efforts to

Kizad announces 50-year deal with offshoot of Kuwaiti producer

establish the industrial zone regionally and globally have come to fruition.

“The growing number of foreign investors shows that we are moving in the right direction in diversifying the economy and developing Kizad into one of the world’s largest industrial zones.”

Al Khat General Manager Mohamed Abou Khalid said settling in Kizad is “the answer to our growing international customer base and, consequently,

to the increasing demand for our products”.

“Our plant in Kizad offers us the opportunity to be closer to our international clients and to serve them more efficiently, especially through Khalifa Port,” he said.

“Kizad’s excellent infrastructure and business environment will help us to maintain our high production standards and further develop our capacities on a global scale.”

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News CARTONS

Tetra Pak embraces bio-based plastic LDPE in its Brazilian packaging now entirely sugar cane-based

GAW technologies announced in May that it has received its first order from Saudi Arabia. Middle East Paper Co. (Mepco) has ordered a working station (modernisation of filtration to the SpeedSizer and for the Warmwater Supply for filter flushing) at the PM3 of the paper mill in Jeddah.

Mepco, the largest producer of paperboard in MENA, is located in Jeddah. Mepco will increase its production and improve paper quality through the upgrade of its paper machines and has a strong commitment to environmental conservation.

The upgraded PM3 will produce testliner/fluting and will have a width of 5,2000mm and speed of 900m/min. The GAW scope of delivery includes engineering, delivery of key parts as well as mechanical supervision and startup and training. The delivery is scheduled for autumn 2014; the startup will take place by year-end. It will be the first order for GAW in Saudi Arabia and the Austriabased supplier of process plants is proud to support this new customer with expertise and experience gathered over more than six decades. GAW is a globally preferred supplier, wherever value-creating solutions in processing plant for the manufacture of refined paper and cardboard are required by customers.

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Brazil Tetra Pak on 28 April announced that all the packages it produces in Brazil are now using bio-based low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

Combined with paperboard, the use of bio-based LDPE made from sugar cane increases renewable content in a Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000ml Base package to as high as 82%.

In February Coca-Cola Brazil became the first company to use the new packages for its Del Valle juice beverages. The scheme is now being extended to all 150 customers that source from Tetra Pak Brazil, which use a total of more than 13bn packs each year.

“We are particularly proud to be the first in the industry to use biobased LDPE in carton packages,”

Bio-based LDPE plus paperboard enables 82% renewable packaging

said Charles Brand, Tetra Pak’s vice-president for marketing and product management.

“We believe that the best way to protect the sustainable future of the packaging industry and meet the global challenge of a growing scarcity of fossil-fuel based raw materials is to further increase the use of renewable resources.

“We have set an ambition to develop a 100% renewable

package, building from an average of 70% today. This launch is an important step in that direction.”

Produced by Braskem, bio-based LDPE in Tetra Pak cartons has the same physical and chemical properties as fossil-fuel derived polyethylene. No modification of the machine is needed to switch to the new materials. Tetra Pak aims to also introduce the bio-based material in other markets.

Packages Ltd starts up KBA Rapida 106 Lahore-based printer hails entry into ‘new era in sheetfed offset’ Pakistan A KBA Rapida with six inking units, coater and delivery extension went live in March this year at Packages Limited in Lahore.

This press marks the beginning of a new era in sheetfed offset for the prominent packaging printer, said KBA. The KBA Rapida 106, raised by 450mm for producing packaging, is equipped with a board-handling package. Features include automatic plate changing and CleanTronic washing units as well as coating feed and cleaning systems for aqueous coating plus KBA VariDry-IR/TA dryers.

Press presetting data from the prepress is sent to the ErgoTronic console with wall screen via LogoTronic CIPLinkX. Packages Limited sees itself as a trendsetter in developing

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new forms of packaging such as wheat straw as a raw material for board.

Packages Limited was founded in 1956 through a joint venture between the Pakistani Ali Group and Akerlund & Rausing from Sweden.

Within the field of premium packaging the company covers the entire process chain and offers value-added solutions to regional and international firms.

Customers include Unilever and Pakistan Tobacco Company, which has now worked with Packages Limited for more than 50 years.

Packages Limited employs about 1,500 staff and generates annual sales of about $141m.

Listed on all three stock exchanges in Pakistan, Packages Limited has maintained a longstanding credit rating of AA, said the company.

Packages Ltd: serving international customers such as Unilever

CARTONS News

Kodak forecasts digital shift in Egypt Cairo roadshow reveals nation’s interest in innovative solutions Egypt Egypt’s growing appetite for printing solutions will see the country shift to the latest technology in printing and packaging within a few years, according to Kodak.

A recent Kodak roadshow in Cairo organised by the company’s distribution partner, Sidhom Company, showed the market’s potential for digital solutions, according to Komal Sharma, regional managing director for EAMER. “The roadshow enabled us to discuss the latest in printing technology and its benefits for the Egyptian market,” he said.

“It allowed us to speak directly to our customers’ specific needs and requirements as we launched products and discussed the future of the

Kodak: Egypt poised to ‘enter fully into the digital printing age’

printing landscape in Egypt. We discovered that over the next few years the Egyptian market will enter fully into the digital printing age.

“At the moment we are seeing a migration towards newer technology, along with the adoption of the latest printing solutions on the market.”

Kodak launched its Sonora XP Process Free Plates at the show as well as the new features of its Nexpress Gold Solution, which include gold printing for both commercial as well as carton packaging print applications.

In Egypt Kodak supports digital printing, prepress technology and digital plates.

Mpact’s Port Elizabeth plant in South Africa has benefited from considerable recent investment in new case-making equipment, said the company on 4 June.

Mpact’s prime customers in the Eastern Cape are in the agriculture and manufacturing industry sectors. The investment is part of Mpact’s group-wide investment programme in plant and equipment. “We have developed our leading market position by focusing on investments in equipment and technology,” said Ralph von Veh of Mpact’s corrugated division. “Being close to our customers in this province is essential because we are better able to understand their needs and deliver on these.”

Nampak plans further expansion across Africa

Nampak eyes Nigeria, Ethiopia and Ghana as growth stalls in South African market South Africa Nampak plans to expand in Nigeria through acquisitions that may exceed its largest takeover deals to counter slowing growth in its main South African market, its CEO, Andre de Ruyter, told Bloomberg in an interview on 9 July.

Ethiopia is also a target for expansion in East Africa while Ghana is the most prominent untapped market in the west, he said.

Although South Africa provides 70% of sales, here Nampak is aiming to protect its dominant market share and reduce costs, he said.

“The growth opportunity to take us to the next level of size can only come from Africa,” he told Bloomberg.

Nampak, which supplies firms from Coca-Cola to SABMiller Plc, is boosting its sub-Saharan production to supply 900m consumers that spend at least 20% of their earnings on food and beverages, he said.

The Johannesburg-based company agreed to buy Alucan, a Nigerian packaging company, for ZAR3.3bn ($307m) in its biggest ever deal last year and is studying an option to buy a

ADVERTISEMENT Nampak: aiming to offset slowdown in home market

plastics manufacturer in Nigeria. Nampak overcomes the unreliable power in the country by generating all its own electricity.

Nampak already has operations from Angola and Botswana to Kenya and Zimbabwe but will avoid unstable regions such as Niger and the Central African Republic and is unlikely to enter North Africa or former French colonies, he said.

De Ruyter took over as Nampak’s CEO at the beginning of March. The company

reported first-half sales growth of 12% in May, which reflected a 9% increase in South Africa and a 24% rise in the rest of the continent.

Similarly, in Nampak’s home market its profit margin slipped to 8.5%, from 9.1% a year earlier, while the overall margin was 11%.

In South Africa, Nampak is aiming for modest growth in its profit margins in fiscal 2015, said de Ruyter. The firm aims to prune less profitable product lines and “unlock cash” that can be used to fund growth, he said.

About 10–15% of Nampak’s 7,500 workers in South Africa are taking part in the metalworkers strike that has affected about 12,000 employers in the country since 1 July, said Bloomberg.

Under the system of collective bargaining, Nampak must wait while employer groups negotiate with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa to end the walkout. “Obviously we had anticipated that the strike would be coming,” said de Ruyter.

“So we had our contingency plans in place.

But they only take you so far.” july-august 2014

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News LABELS

Flint Group Narrow

Web has launched a range of opaque white inks in the EkoCure series, which it describes as the latest development in UV LED free radical technology for shrink sleeves. Providing excellent flexibility, adhesion and printability, EkoCure Shrink Whites provide more than 70% shrink, said Flint.

The inks are designed for a wide range of films, such as PVC, OPS, OPP, PLA and PETG. They have excellent printability combined with very good flow out, excellent opacity and whiteness, said Flint. These whites are provided in a range of coefficient of friction (COF) values. As UV LED curing generates no IR heat, it is a perfect match for printing on shrink film, said Flint.

Mark Andy has

Joint venture with APP starts its production with a Gallus press UAE Pacman-CCL, a specialist in pressure-sensitive label and packaging solutions, has formed a joint venture (JV) with the owners of its long-term agent in Pakistan, APP (Pvt) Ltd. The Merchant Family, the owners of APP, will help manage the new venture, which will operate under the trading name Pacman-CCL Pakistan.

John Dawson, the managing director of Pacman-CCL, said: “This is an exciting venture in a country with so much potential. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Merchant family for their hard work, determination and co-operation during the time of formulating the structure of this new company.”

The new firm is due to operate a second Gallus press from next year

The firm will operate initially at APP’s premises but a move to a state-of-the-art plant in Karachi is envisioned in a couple of years.

Khurram Merchant, managing director of Pacman-CCL Pakistan, said: “The market in Pakistan remains largely untapped today. The JV has already installed a brand new

Gallus combination press in our plant and the second one is booked for next year.”

Pacman-CCL is a joint venture between Albwardy Investment, a UAE-based holding company, and CCL Industries. CCL Industries employs about 10,000 people and operates 89 plants in 25 countries.

YESS Packaging expands with Prati

received Esko Full HD Flexo Certification, the company announced on 28 April. This achievement, in addition to that of Mark Andy Performance Series becoming the first HD certified flexo press line in 2011, make Mark Andy’s level of print quality and production consistency unique across its range of in-line flexo equipment.

Certification is awarded after Esko specialists check several print samples against published Full HD Flexo parameters. The Full HD Certified quality seal enables Mark Andy equipment to produce consistent, highquality print jobs with sharper images, bright impactful solids, and a wider color gamut. “Mark Andy is very proud to be the first fully certified Full HD Flexo manufacturer,” said Kevin Wilken, president and CEO.

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Pacman-CCL creates Pakistan offshoot

Saturn machine for label converting bought from Printech ME UAE Jebel Ali-based YESS Packaging has invested in a Prati Saturn machine for label converting purchased from Prati’s regional dealer Printech Middle East.

The purchase complements an investment last year in a Gallus EM 280 8-colour flexo press with inline coldfoil, lamination and other allied state-of-the-art accessories.

YESS Packaging managing partners Shankar M and Sandeep Kumar told Packaging MEA that the company is “focusing towards labels for cosmetic, lube, retail as well as industrial applications”.

Although a new entrant in labels, facing “stiff competition” in the segment, the company is aiming for 15–20% growth in 2014, they said.

“We see that the 2020 [Dubai World] Expo is yet to have any

july-august 2014

YESS: aiming for ‘consistent good finished product’ with Prati

impact in the packaging sector but the sentiments are high,” they added.

The installation and startup of the new Prati Saturn had been facilitated by assistance from the distributor Printech ME, they said.

“I am happy with the machine and as well the service from Printech,” said Shankar. “I had couple of small issues, the technicians were in my place in hours to sort the issue.”

He added that he would be happy to recommend the machine to other label manufacturers.

“I am already doing so – but my concern on the lighter side is that I do not want to fuel my competition also to fight with me,” he added. “My expectation out of this machine is to offer consistent good finished product to my customers, and I certainly believe that it is doing the job so far.”

LABELS News

july-august 2014

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News LABELS

Delta quits Delta JV and embarks in label printing Labelling offshoot gets under way with $1.5m kit including a 9-colour Gallus 340 press

Delta Labels has its ‘main focus’ on the African market, with a ‘good response’ from Tanzania

UAE Delta Printing Press has ended its joint venture with India’s Kumar Labels to set up Delta Labels, its own label printing arm, the Dubai-based printer has revealed.

Group CEO Sujit Vaidya told Packaging MEA that Delta had invested in two presses and has plans to buy two more.

“Initially we tried testing ourselves by investing in a 10-colour narrow web, which did build our confidence for going in for further investment in a 9-colour Gallus ECS 340 narrow web flexo press with screen print along with Grafotronic SR series inspection, slitter-rewinder applications designed to produce commodity label manufactuing,” he said.

“Entering in a new industry we have taken a conscious

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approach by investing about $1.5m to begin with, with an expansion plan of increasing our capacity by another two machines by next year.”

He added that Delta is embarking on the venture after diversifying into packaging following the downturn in commercial print. “The successful switch over to packaging along with commercial during the tough times has prompted us at trying our hand even in the label industry,” said Vaidya.

Amid intensifying competition in the label sector, he highlighted Africa as the venture’s key market. “The label business is highly competitive but there is still room for label printers who are able to deliver quality and are ready to experiment,” he said.

july-august 2014

“Our existing packaging clients have bolstered our confidence of getting business and the main focus lies on the African market. Our Tanzania marketing office has received a good response from the local clients and customers from the neighbouring countries.”

He said that Delta’s “prime USP” is an “aggressive approach towards business”.

“Quality and service has been the topmost priority for Delta,” he said. “Impossible deadlines is something which we love working with. We love the pressure as it really brings out the character in us.”

Delta sets up its new labelling wing after pulling out of a joint venture with Kumar Labels announced in August 2013.

Under its agreement with the New Delhi-based narrow label printer, Delta Printing Press was to have set up label production facilities in Dubai with a narrow web flexo printer with inline coldfoil and die-cutting capabilities with allied slitting and other converting machinery.

Kumar Labels’ owner, Anuj Bhargava, told Packaging MEA that “a difference in ideologies” had led the two companies “to part ways”. But he added that he wished Delta Group “all success” with its new unit.

He added that the MEA label market is very lucrative and that his company aims to re-establish a presence “in the near future”.

Bhargava has also ventured into specialty label stock and converting machinery with his new business HassleFree Technologies, which he also plans to launch in the MEA region.

Earlier, when discussing the joint venture with Packaging MEA last year, Bhargava said his firm had seen the UAE labelling market as lacking in innovation.

“Although the market here in Dubai and the GCC is very mature with state-of-the-art machinery, we found that the products produced were very monotonous and mediocre in innovation,” he said.

“For example, we could not find any printer with different inline effects whilst no one was doing anything offline. Innovation was limited and so was the price range as well.”

LABELS News

DIPA picks out the MEA region’s finest printers Dubai International Print Awards presents its first flexo trophies at this year’s event UAE At Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah on 28 April Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum received the Dubai International Print Awards (DIPA) ‘Personality of the Year’ and presided at this year’s awards presentation.

Under the Patronage of H.H. Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and organised by the Printing and Publishing Group under the Dubai Chamber, the Dubai International Print Awards (DIPA) selected winners across 23 categories.

Hundreds of entries were submitted from printers across the GCC, the Levant, South Africa, India and the UAE. Sheikh Hasher Bin Maktoum 1 PackagingMEA_half_Feb2014.pdf

Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum: DIPA personality of the year

Al Maktoum, Director General of Dubai Information Department, was guest of honour for this year’s event and was also recognised as the DIPA 2014 ‘Personality of the Year’.

“We congratulate all the winners of the DIPA 2014, and we continue to be amazed at the quality of 1:23 submissions that we 2/21/14 PM

receive,” said Mr Mohammed Al Hashimi, chairman of the Printing and Publishing Group.

“The printing industry is seeing significant growth, and the winners and participants are those who will drive this growth.

We also sincerely thank our patrons, sponsors, and partners for their unfailing support.”

Among the winners across a broad gamut of print sectors, this year’s event recognised outstanding quality in the new category of flexographic printing.

The gold award in this new section went to Raqam International Labels & Ribbons Factory, Riyadhi, KSA. Silver was taken by Dubai’s Kimoha Entrepreneurs Ltd, while bronze was awarded to Gulf Scan, based in Sharjah.

Under the vision of the leadership of the UAE to make the country one of the most technically advanced in printing and publishing, the Printing and Publishing Group aims to encourage the UAE printing industry to flourish and grow beyond the Middle East to Africa, Europe and further afield.

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News LABELS

Digital Labels switches to ‘digital flexo’ Gidue’s REVO M5 Excellence is installed at the Jordanian printer

MPS reported a positive reception for its new EB and EF flexo presses during an MPS Open House on 14–16 May at the company headquarters in Didam, the Netherlands. Live demonstrations of the new EB flexo and EF multisubstrate presses were held to show how the two presses can enhance label printing.

During the three-day event, MPS hosted more than 120 existing and potential customers, partners, suppliers and media representatives from Europe in addition to South Africa, India, Pakistan, Turkey and Zimbabwe.

Demonstrations and presentations were aimed at showing that the EB press is ideal for short and long label print runs with: Crisp.

Dot Light, which ensures a consistent print quality; iSet, a new MPS technology which features intelligent pressure settings; and iStop Technology providing zero waste at roll change. The EB was developed to deliver a high-performance, costeffective press solution to print self-adhesive label jobs and includes MPS highquality print standards. The EF was showcased as being able to convert a vast variety of different substrates and designs and as equipped with all possible converting options, including gravure and screen. During the live demonstrations, visitors were able to witness first-hand the ease of how job and material changes were completed, with minimum waste in material.

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Jordan Amman-based Digital Labels has decided to introduce REVO Digital Flexo in its printing facilities through investing in a new Gidue REVO M5 Excellence machine.

REVO Digital Flexo Revolution is a project team of leading flexo companies to promote a new manufacturing method to “digitise” the flexo process, making it more consistent and cost effective and strengthening its leadership in labels and packaging.

Amer Sabha, who heads Digital Labels, said: “Colour matching for a converter is the greatest problem in real-life production.

REVO will allow us to achieve repeatable and predictable PMS shades. The Gidue digitally automated press makes the rest in terms of fast turnaround.”

Digital Labels: looking for ‘repeatable and predictable PMS shades’

REVO uses new software, hardware, UV flexo inks, digital plates, new-generation anilox rollers, seven colours separation, standardised substrates and digital automation on press exclusively provided by REVO Members: AVT, Adare, DuPont, Apex, Esko, Gidue, UPM Raflatac, Flint Group.

REVO team members provide together an off-the-shelf solution to labels and packaging converters, with a defined pro-

tocol of consumables, software and hardware technologies.

Founded in 2004, Digital Labels specialises in self-adhesive labels and flexible packaging for the food, beverage and automotive markets.

Digital Labels invested in 2004 in its first Gidue press, with film kit for tackling a wide range of substrates. It later purchased a second press for labels then in 2010 bought another for flexible packaging.

Avery Dennison updates FreshMarx New 9417 model features wireless, barcode and QR printing USA Avery Dennison Retail Branding and Information Solutions (RBIS), a global leader in integrated identification solutions for the hospitality industry, released its FreshMarx 9417 Printer at the NRA Show in Chicago on 17–20 May. Marketed as the latest in automated food safety labelling technology, the FreshMarx 9714’s capabilities for contemporary food service operations include wireless functionality, multilingual capabilities, and barcode and QR (Quick Response) code printing.

Avery Dennison claims to have revolutionised the automation of date code labelling technology in the food service industry with the introduction in 2010 of the first FreshMarx automated printer, which can now be found in nearly 8,000 installations globally.

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Avery Dennison’s automated food labelling solutions can help increase consumer safety, improve margins, protect and elevate restaurant brands and accelerate the performance of kitchen labelling operations, according to the company.

Matthew Combs, executive chef of Malone’s Lansdowne restaurant, a multi-brand restaurant chain based in Lexington, Kentucky, said the 9417 printer had performed well

in an early installation across multiple locations.

“We have used the Avery Dennison 9417 printer for eight months and have nothing but positive comments,” said the executive chef.

“The 9417 has standardised our labels, which is a tremendous help to our multilingual staff. With the 9417, there is no guess work or confusion over misspelled words due to language differences.”

Avery Dennison FreshMarx 9417: ‘latest in food safety labelling’

LABELS News

Workz opens its new scratch card printing facility

High-security Dubai plant is designed to deliver up to 10bn PINs per year Dubai Workz, the secure printing and services provider, has launched a scratch card printing facility in Dubai featuring a custom-built 16-station flexographic printing press.

Able to convert blank paper to finished cards in just two and a half minutes, the new plant offers considerably shorter timeframes for producing and delivering printed cards such as telecom operators’ recharge cards than traditional sheet-fed, multi-step printing processes, said Workz.

In addition, the new high-security 5,600m2 facility at Dubai’s International Media Production Zone (IMPZ) securely manages variable data with an advanced hi-tech “triple” QC verification system consisting of 40-plus

The new plant features a 16-station flexo printing press

security cameras, OCR camera verifications, barcode scanning capabilities and in-house custom IT solutions to track each product throughout the entire production process, said the company.

The specialised state-of-theart printing, tracking, packing and remake system allows the secure management of large volumes of data in addition to multiple inline high-speed camera verification systems that check artwork, scratch panel and data integrity.

Workz Director Brad Taylor said that the new facility offers the company’s clients “three significant advantages from their existing options”.

“First is the large volumes we can produce with our annual capacity of over a billion printed PINs,” he said.

“Second is security and sequencing of products which are tracked through our ‘Big Brother’ IT system and, thirdly, is our location in Dubai, which

acts as a regional hub to clients in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and parts of Asia giving them a supplier closer to market.”

He added that becoming a manufacturer is for Workz “the important final step in managing the full supply chain for our clients as we transition from being a fulfilment house and service provider”.

“Nevertheless, our plans don’t end here as we see this opening as just the first phase in a comprehensive strategy to build regional manufacturing facilities in the Middle East,” he explained.

Workz is part of the Workz International Group of Companies, which was established in 1997 in Dubai.

Manufactured in the UK

Changing colour is as easy as this Designed and engineered for maximum productivity with minimum downtime

www.edale.com

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News LABELS

Edale hosts print quality training day

Course trains supervisors and prepress personnel on FL-3 press

Gidue announced on

1 April that it has installed another flexo press in Algeria.

Following the installation of a Gidue M5 servo press at Imprimerie Harani, Gidue has sold a new press to the Algerian converter Concept Emballage. Led by Faycal Akouche, the Algiers-based company has been working in the labels and packaging industry for many years and has become specialised in the production of selfadhesive labels. The firm’s new MX press is in a fixed configuration of 370mm width with eight flexo print units, eight UV lamps, a die-cutting station, cold foil and full set of printing tools.

General director Akouche said: “The Gidue MX press has been the best solution for a company like ours. We were looking for a press able to print high-quality labels with short setup times and waste and Gidue provided us exactly what we were looking for.” Gidue’s distributor, Saverio Monopoli, said: “Since its launch, the Gidue MX press has demonstrated to be a top entry-level press, that provides high-quality results and that needs no great investment in terms of price. It is a press dedicated to the production of labels and, thanks to its short webpath, it minimises the setup waste while high precision drive-belts guarantee a perfect printing register over time. The press requires no maintenance, no operator intervention and no specific greasing.

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UK Edale hosted a training day on 17 June that received a strong response, with all its spaces filled within 48 hours of invitations being issued.

Held at Edale’s head office in Hampshire, the course included presentations and practical training from supporting firms Fujifilm, Cheshire, Lohmann’s, Reproflex3 and Alphasonics.

The aim of this course was to train supervisors, prepress personnel and operators in the variables that can improve print quality.

Companies who attended were split into smaller groups to allow more one-on-one interaction.

Half the day was spent listening to presentations and participating in interactive discussions and the rest took place in Edale’s show-

Edale and its suppliers gave attendees practical advice on the firm’s flexo technology

room alongside Edale’s FL-3 flexo printing machine for a hands-on press experience.

Edale account manager Louise Bailey said: “It was great to see so many people getting involved, engaging not only with the suppliers but also each other in group discussions and on the press. As the day concluded the positive feedback was exciting to hear.”

Edale quoted an attendee as commenting: “What a great day,

the interaction was consistent, the atmosphere relaxed and I gained a good insight to improving our print quality.”

Edale will be holding its next training day in October on ‘How to improve productivity’.

Edale is a UK-based manufacturer of webfed printing presses and converting machinery known for its specialisation across flexo printing, digital printing, commercial security and converting solutions.

Omet debuts double unwinder system

X6 with flat-bed hot foil also unveiled at firm’s ‘open doors’ event Italy At a recent ‘open doors’ event Omet presented a double unwinding system along with a Rhino flat-bed hot foil unit integrated on an XFlex X6, the company announced on 16 May. Omet described the double rewinder as “a simple yet effective innovation” to save time and material during job changeovers.

With the insertion in line of a double unwinder, operators need only switch from one material roll to another – having previously uploaded on the second shaft of the double unwinder – then cut, splice and start printing.

At 120m/min, with 2,000m material rolls and two eight-hour job shifts a day, operators can save 321 hours of production over 230 days of machine output a year, and about 1,090 rolls of raw material, said Omet.

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Omet claims its new unwinding system saves time and materials during changeovers

In addition, a job change can be performed by a single operator as roll replacement is carried out during production. The double unwinding system changes subtly the machine layout without affecting the work of the operators, said the manufacturer.

The event also featured an XFlex X6 with flexo/offset combination with an inline Rhino flat-bed hot foil unit from the Swiss company Pantec.

Omet said the setup delivered a high-end performance in printing a wine label that set challenges in register as well as quality and consistency. It is the first time such quality has been reached on a flatbed hot foil unit on a rotary machine, according to Omet.

Pantec technicians were astonished by the short time needed to tune the unit on the XFlex X6 and start foiling/embossing with optimum results, said Omet.

LABELS News

Heidelberg diversifies with a 100% stake in Gallus

Tie-up aimed at propelling the print giant’s growth in the expanding packaging sector

Heidelberg has also revealed that the combined firm is now poised to launch a digital solution in labelling this autumn

Germany Heidelberg has bolstered its position in flexo and digital with the purchase of 100% of Gallus under a deal that makes Gallus owner Ferdinand Rüesch a key investor in the German offset giant.

As Heidelberg had already held a 30% stake in Gallus, the companies have developed an extremely close co-operation in business and in research and development and this acquisition has further strengthened Heidelberg’s clear commitment to and strategy in the print for packaging industry, said Heidelberg.

With its knowledge and expertise in both offset and flexo, Heidelberg is strongly placed in the labelling and folding carton industries, added the company.

Gallus is a leading supplier in the packaging industry for labels and folding boxes. In 2013, the group generated a turnover of CHF188m ($210m) with about 500 employees.

The complete takeover of Gallus Holding AG accelerates the development and use of Heidelberg’s digital products in the growing labels sector, said Heidelberg.

This autumn, Heidelberg and Gallus will be unveiling a new digital printing system for the label market that incorporates Fujifilm technology.

By acquiring about 9% of Heidelberg shares for the Gallus stake, Ferdinand Rüesch will also become a new strategic investor. At the same time,

Heidelberg is strengthening its capital structure, which will support its reorientation.

“We are very proud to have won Ferdinand Rüesch as anchor investor with longstanding sector knowledge,” said Heidelberg CEO Gerold Linzbach.

“The full acquisition of Gallus will further enhance the cooperation of the two companies.

Together, we will continue to foster the development in the growing market for digital label production.”

Heidelberg said that it undertakes, in consideration for the holding in Gallus that will be contributed by Ferd. Rüesch AG, to issue up to 23,000,000 new shares and make a cash payment of a single-digit euro million sum.

The amount of the consideration depends, inter alia, on the further performance of the price of the Heidelberg share until the capital increase is notified.

The face value of the new shares will amount to at least EUR2.70 per new share of the company.

The registration of the capital increase against contribution in kind is, subject to approval by the antitrust authorities, expected to take place in July this year.

Ferd. Rüesch AG undertakes to hold the acquired shares until 31 July 2015.

Through the capital increase against contribution in kind from authorised capital, the share capital of the company will be increased by up to EUR58,9bn to EUR659bn with partial utilisation of the authorised capital, said Heidelberg.

“Both the enhanced capital structure and the operative synergies will create the room required to further enhance the product and service range of both companies,” said Dirk Kaliebe, chief financial officer at Heidelberg.

“This is the starting signal for the profit-focused alignment of our portfolio and the steps required in this context.”

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News LABELS

Investcorp, a global

provider and manager of alternative investment products, has announced its agreement to acquire SPGPrints Group B.V. from funds managed by Bencis Capital Partners for an enterprise value of EUR240m ($330m). Established in 1947, SPGPrints is the leading global provider of integrated solutions for rotary screen and digital printing for textiles and graphic applications, and the leading manufacturer of precision metal components for a broad range of applications. Headquartered in Boxmeer, the Netherlands, the company is represented in more than 100 countries worldwide and in 2013 generated revenue of EUR214m, a large share of which was from emerging markets.

Nilpeter ME holds technical seminar Flexo talks draw over 70 professionals from across the region GCC Nilpeter Middle East hosted more than 70 participants from all over the region at its recent ‘Flexo Process & Solutions’ seminar.

The event was designed to provide a forum for an open discussion with leading industrial experts on advances in flexo printing technology, said Nilpeter Middle East director Shyam Babu.

Attendees gained insights into flexographic solutions and processes from seven panelists drawn from Nilpeter partners such as Alphasonics, Pamarco and AB Graphic.

Discussions covered recent technical developments in press technology, prepress software, finishing equipment and anilox solutions.

Nilpeter technical seminar featured seven expert panelists from the firm’s partners

Plant manager Wisam M Afana, who attended with two colleagues from Label Art, Saudi Arabia, said the seminar provided practical solutions.

“We are very pleased that we made the journey to Dubai,” he said. “We were thrilled with the combination of experts gath-

ered. We found that they all had focus on converter issues and we were actually given solutions to current technical matters in our production.”

Executive director Wolfram Gruening of Dubai-based Kimoha Enterprises said he would welcome more such events.

Color-Logic claims breakthrough in metallic costs Firm’s system cuts the number of plates required in metallic labels and packaging USA Color-Logic is marketing its metallic ink system as making metallic labels and packaging cheaper and faster to produce by cutting the number of plates required.

Using the example of labels printed by its licensee Model Graphics, the firm claims a job that would otherwise require 11 plates plus one for the special effect in each SKU was performed with only five.

In its recent marketing the company features four-SKU labels printed from a single file

by Model Graphics. The images were created using the Color-Logic Design Suite, which is a plug-in for the Adobe Creative Suite.

The four labels were printed using just five inks – silver, cyan, magenta, yellow and black – but Color-Logic software enabled the following effects: in addition to a spot silver and CMYK, each SKU label includes two metallic colours found only on that label; in addition to the above unique colours, a metallic purple appears on each SKU in the word ‘Color’ in ‘Color Essence’, and three more metallic colours are found in the Color-Logic logo.

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Color-Logic: economics of metallic

Using its system eliminated three press runs, together with the related make-readies, wash-ups, and startup substrate waste, said Color-Logic.

In addition, the label designer could add special effects such as Color-Logic Dimensional-FX, which changes colour from light to dark and adds a dimensional effect, within Illustrator.

Color-Logic Gradation-FX, which vignettes one metallic colour into another, cannot be done using conventional label printing techniques using spot metallic inks, said the firm.

Reduced design time through using the Color-Logic Design Suite adds to the system’s appeal, said Color-Logic. For example, with just a click of the mouse in common design programs such as Illustrator or InDesign, the Color-Logic software creates the metallic ink plate. If the printing is to be done on metallic substrate, the software just as quickly creates the required white ink plate.

Watermarking or dimensional effects require only a single mouse click, whereas blending multiple metallic colours together, or vignetting metallic colours into process colours, can be done in a couple of clicks.

Press time is another area where ColorLogic claims major gains, while ink costs are brought down by using only five inks, rather than 15 inks plus CMYK to run this job conventionally.

LABELS News

UPM Raflatac appoints Gimpex as Gulf distributor Self-adhesive label business is looking to reach small and medium-sized companies GCC UPM has extended its relationship with Gimpex by picking it as a distributor for its self-adhesive label business, the company announced recently.

Cem Karabayir, area sales manager for UPM Raflatac, told Packaging MEA that the new agreement is part of a strategy to develop a distribution centre and to target small and medium-sized printers.

“Gimpex has been a UPM partner for a long time, having the best network of paper distribution in the Gulf market and Middle East,” he said.

“When we started to think of a new business model for UPM Raflatac, the selfadhesive label business of the UPM Group, we focused on having a distribution centre. Our main target was to reach small and mediumsize printers and extend our service options for existing customers in the Middle East.

“The long successful partnership with Gimpex and our common values provided a solid basis upon which to develop our

Elie Wadi, general manager, Gimpex

partnership by adding self-adhesive label products as a new segment.

“We believe that UPM Raflatac’s expertise and innovative approach in the label industry allied with Gimpex’s service quality and customer-oriented approach will create new synergies and possibilities in the Middle East label market.”

Gimpex already stocks some Raflatec fast moving products and will be addding more according to customer requests.

UPM Raflatac is known as a leading global supplier of pressure-sensitive labelling solutions. Its films and papers are used for product and information labelling across a wide range of end uses ranging from pharmaceuticals and security to food and beverage applications.

UPM Raflatac paper and film laminates are delivered in rolls and sheets. The firm’s customers include large and small label printers focused on roll-to-roll printing as well as packaging providers.

The company also provides sheet products for offset and screen printers in the graphics industry, which are distributed by paper merchants in Europe.

UPM Raflatac employs 2,900 people and generates annual sales of EUR1.2bn ($1.6bn).

The company manages 13 factories and has a wide network of sales offices and distribution terminals on five continents.

The firm’s parent company is UPM – The Biofore Company.

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Business report LABELS

Gulf Scan plans for new opportunities in labelling Imaging and prepress house aims to establish a lead in advanced label technology UAE Sharjah-based imaging and prepress solutions specialist Gulf Scan sees the increasingly exacting demands of labelling brand owners as a chance to gain market share, says general manager Manoj Garg.

Gulf Scan expects emerging technologies to shift the role of print providers towards that of “service providers, consultants and project managers”, opening opportunities for printers who embrace this change, he told Packaging MEA. “Apart from successfully meeting the demand of local regions and fast-growing neighbouring countries, the real challenge lies in understanding the rapidly changing requirements of brand owners,” he said.

While printed packaging material continues to be based on unique creative design, fresh and innovative ideas, and maximum shelf life with highest recall value, printing firms must now offer added functionality, he explained.

“In addition, they can offer personalisation, a wide gamut of colours printed digitally for short runs, variations, multi-versions, serialisation, QR codes, and interactive and smart labels,” he said.

These technologies will also drive a deeper change in the industry, he added.

“As the label and package printing industries learn how to better provide these new marketing opportunities, the role of print providers will move even further toward that of service providers, consultants and project managers,” he said.

“Those printing companies that embrace this new and exciting future will undoubtedly become the dominant providers of the future.”

Gulf Scan was established in Sharjah in 1992 and is now regarded as one of the Middle East’s largest providers of imaging and prepress solutions.

Having established itself as a supplier of rotogravure cylinders, the company added sheetfed offset printing (both conventional

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Garg: printers must also offer ‘added functionality’

“The role of print providers will move even further toward that of service providers, consultants and project managers” and UV), binding and finishing facilities, and narrow web flexo (both UV and water-based) label printing: “We are focusing our efforts in processing rotogravure cylinders – digitally and with laser etching – printing with UV offset on laminated and non-laminated substrates, and UV flexo for labels on paper and filmic material,” said Garg.

Gulf Scan offers exceptional experience and expertise in prepress as a key selling point, he added.

“We have been involved in prepress for more than 50 years in India and 21 years in the UAE,” he said. “Our knowledge, experience and exposure give us an edge over the competition in providing value-added imaging for every printing process.

“Even in a technology-driven industry, a lot still depends on the human element and the overall package, which includes consistent quality, addition of value perceived by customer, and fast turnaround times with less or zero failures.”

In his view, Gulf Scan enjoys a “unique standing in the print industry” through providing “end-to-end solutions for customers’ requirements across any printing process, including printing tool making”.

“We are also in a position to advise customers regarding solutions that are most suitable for their requirements,” he said.

In the regional market, growth in the print sectors such as labelling is underpinned by several market trends, he added.

“A consistently expanding population base, a younger population, and growing urbanisation make the demographics of GCC attractive to retailers of both essential and discretionary products,” he said. “The region’s population growth rate has accelerated over the last three years and is expected to sustain this acceleration going forward.”

Developments in retail and government initiatives to diversify from oil further brighten the outlook for labels and flexible packaging, in his view.

“A real increase in demand in the food, beverage, cosmetics, and personal care areas has fuelled the requirement for high-quality labels and thus exponential growth in labeling,” he said. “Indeed, the fast-growing food industry needs speed with high quality to meet its requirements.”

The regional expansion in label consumption has plenty of room to run, he added.

“With disposable income increasing and packaged goods becoming necessities, the growth in per capita consumption of labels, to approximately 1m2 per head will continue toward that of developed countries’ consumption, which is 8–10m2 per head.”

PREMEDIA News

ThermoFlexX 80 gets enhancements

Dual-head imaging has created the ‘world’s fastest flexo imager’

ThermoflexX is also poised to introduce version 4.0 of its Multiplate software, which will incorporate a new ‘very intuitive’ interface

Belgium Xeikon’s flexo offshoot ThermoFlexX is offering a dualhead imaging feature from August on its ThermoFlexX 80, enabling output speeds of 12m2/hour at 2,400dpi, making it the fastest flexo imager in the world, the company announced on 7 July.

This latest model, equipped with a state-of-the-art imaging concept, consists of three independent modules: the motor, laser and optics. The flexible design allows straightforward replacement of any module, simplifying service and future hardware upgrades, while providing the possibility for remote optical fine-tuning, said ThermoFlexX. A newly designed optical system has improved imaging quality, while the maximum resolution of 5,080dpi is the highest on the market, according to the company.

“Our engineers and development teams have incorporated a high degree of automation into the ThermoFlexX 80, from the automatic calibration system that guarantees jobs are always imaged under optimum conditions, to the ability for the operator to load and unload plates at the touch of a button,” said Christophe Lievens, director of sales and marketing for basysPrint and ThermoFlexX.

“We have examined how to keep wastage to a minimum at all times and this latest imager is fitted with a sensor that will automatically check that the thickness and size of the plate on the drum is correct for the job about to be exposed.

“To overcome the need to handle plates manually, one of the main causes of plate damage, we have created the Flextray. This mobile table can be adjusted easily to transport and feed plates into the innovative guiding system, which ensures that even plates as thick as 6.35mm can be seamlessly mounted on the drum.”

ThermoFlexX has also developed “a host of features” within its Multiplate software to make processing digital data easy, he added.

“Towards the end of 2014 we will launch Multiplate 4.0 software, which will incorporate a new, and very intuitive, user interface,” he said.

“Features will include the ability to support multiple imposition sheets plus different resolutions on the same sheet, while the new database will provide job tracking, filter, search and improved archive functions.

“There will be the ability to integrate with workflows and ERP systems as well as external

equipment such as cutting tables and mounting devices.”

New features are also being introduced across all six ThermoFlexX imagers, which range in plate handling capacity from 508x420mm up to 1,270x2,032mm.

A vacuum slider facility – automated on the ThermoFlexX – lets operators cut off vacuum to areas of the drum not mounted, simply by moving a slider to the edge of the plate.

ThermoFlexX also provides five resolution options on one machine: 2,400, 2,540, 4,000, 4,800 and 5,080dpi. The latter resolution allows halftone screens of 250lpi, suitable for intricate, high quality printing.

Depending upon the job sent by the workflow the ThermoFlexX 80 will automatically select the correct resolution and alter the optics accordingly – another feature unique to this imager.

A hybrid drum enables plates to be held by either vacuum or magnets so customers can expose standard polymer flexo plates or steel-backed letterpress plates.

An advanced automatic clamping system, combined with the slow drum rotation feature, makes plate mounting straightforward and accurate, said the firm.

Color-Logic has announced that the ColorLogic file format for printing the Process Metallic Color System is now supported

by Esko visualisation software. Brand managers and designers can now see Color-Logic special effects and metallic colours on their monitor as they will appear on the product. The Color-Logic format changes are part of Esko Studio Suite 14, which includes Visualizer 14. Color-Logic Chief Technical Officer Richard Ainge said: “Color-Logic products now get to market faster and at lower cost, because designers can see the effects of metallic inks or substrates on their monitors at the concept stage and can create the white ink masks necessary for holographic and metallic substrates. Esko users can utilise the entire Color-Logic Design Suite tool set, including changing substrates for visualisation when printing on metallic substrates with white ink or with metallic ink on regular stock in a fraction of the time required by traditional methods. The upgraded Esko Studio software is particularly useful for visualising the effect of Color-Logic BEST Offset Silver Ink when conventional lithographic packaging is being designed, plus Esko Studio can now import and recognise ColorLogic spot colours.” Designers can view the effect in threedimensional models, adding layers such as varnish or embossing, he added.

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News PREMEDIA

Suite 14 software modules released Esko focuses on objectives such as automation and quality MacDermid on 8 July was awarded millions of dollars by a federal US court over litigation that the platform specialty products corporation brought against Cortron in 2008. MacDermid alleged Cortron, which had been its sole supplier of its LAVA thermal processing system, had entered into a conspiracy with DuPont that injured MacDermid and portions of the flexographic printing market. The jury awarded $3,941,325 in anti-trust damages, along with $7,903,909 for breach of contract, $3,790,939 and additional punitive damages for the misappropriation of trade secrets, and $11,875,204 plus punitive damages for the violation of a statute prohibiting unfair and deceitful trade practices. The jury rejected all of the counterclaims filed

by Cortron. MacDermid accused Cortron of turning over extensive proprietary information to a competitor, and violating anti-trust laws. Although Cortron itself closed its doors in late 2008, the investigation surrounding the lawsuit found that DuPont had agreed to indemnify Cortron for the lawsuit filed by MacDermid and has paid for Cortron’s litigation costs. The court must also separately address Cortron’s attempted assignment of patent and intellectual property rights.

MacDermid has sought a declaratory judgment that it owns the disputed intellectual property.

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Belgium Esko has released from the start of July its Esko Suite 14 – a collection of 14 modules featuring new and updated preproduction software.

Esko President and CEO Carsten Knudsen said Suite 14 reflects the company’s focus on five key objectives: greater workflow automation; using smart templates to handle package variations; quality as the most important driver; a more task-focused software user interface; integration of the supply chain and data-sharing via the cloud.

“To be successful today, packaging service providers and brands owners are required to perform exceptionally well in all areas of packaging preproduction,” he said.

“Brand owners must create packaging designs that resonate with consumers and that are designed, developed and produced with the utmost accuracy. Converters must execute perfectly and efficiently to remain profitable.

“There is also a need to ensure regulatory compliance and to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner within the entire ecosystem.

“Above all, everyone throughout the entire packaging supply chain must be able to work together effectively to achieve these goals.”

Esko Suite 14 builds on Esko’s years of packaging preproduction expertise and features breakthrough developments as a result

Esko: built on five key targets

of ongoing investment in innovation, and based on feedback received from brand owners, packaging converters and industry thought leaders, said the company.

Hybrid tailors plates to printed areas Patchplanner finds the ideal layout then cuts and arranges parts Belgium Hybrid Software in July is launching Patchplanner, a flexo plate-mounting workflow for AV Flexologic mounters.

Patchplanner takes a PDF and optimises the layout of the printed areas as separate elements so a much smaller plate than the actual size of the job can be used.

The software can then control automatic cutting of the plate and the repositioning of its parts onto a plastic carrier.

“Flexo plates are very expensive and anyone operating in a prepress department will immediately see the attraction of Patchplanner,” said Jan Ruysschaert, managing director of Hybrid Software NV. “When producing something like a corrugated box, it is not unusual for only a tiny area to need to be printed even though the box itself may be large. Until now

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Hybrid’s Patchplanner: designed to save on the use of ‘very expensive’ flexo plates

a great deal of manual work has generally been required in order to avoid using large flexo plates.

“What Patchplanner does is to separate those printed elements in the design file and re-lay them so they take up the least amount of space. This data is then used to expose the smallest plate possible using an imager such as a ThermoFlexX. “We can then send the information to a cutting table, for example, a Zünd machine.

Patchplanner software will control the cutting pattern, resulting in fast and accurate cutting.

“Using an AV Flexologic system the plate would then be reassembled onto a plastic carrier ready for the printing press. The high level of automation offered by these systems, combined with their speed and precision, makes this an extremely cost-effective method of producing flexo plates for this sort of job.”

PREMEDIA News

X-Rite extends eXact spectrophotometer platform eXact Scan adds ‘unmatched speed’ as well as flexibility and quality control tools USA X-Rite on 21 May announced enhancements to its colour measurement instruments that it claims will extend the lives of older press without inline colour measurement capacity.

The new eXact Scan option extends the function of the eXact spectrophotometer platform by adding “unmatched speed” along with flexibility and new quality control tools, said the firm.

When combined with X-Rite’s InkKeyControl software, eXact Scan enables colour management at a low cost of entry, so printers can extend the useful lives of their presses, said X-Rite.

InkKeyControl allows printers to achieve faster make-ready and improve quality control through control of ink keys. It displays real-time measurement results in

a graphical red/yellow/green “traffic light” report, which enables press operators to quickly manage changes as they print.

Warren Werbitt, CEO of Pazazz Printing in Montreal, which covers offset up to 56”, digital printing, flexo and digital labels, packaging, wide format and mobile solutions, said: “We first migrated to the eXact to make the transition from using print density in quality control to the more accurate spectral readings.

“In addition, with the Scan Option, we have more capability to deliver the higher quality our customers expect. eXact Scan adds value to the eXact platform far beyond its incremental cost.

“With eXact Scan, we can now comfortably hold on to an older press that we were not ready to

X-Rite: ‘even more value’

update or retire.” Pazazz gained experience with the tool as a beta test site for eXact Scan.

The eXact Scan Option extends the instrument’s ability to accurately read conventional and non-continuous strips for quality

assurance applications, such as flexo printing for packaging.

In addition, it is the ideal solution for offset litho printers with large capital investments in older presses without inline colour measurement capabilities.

Dan Magnia, print and packaging market manager for X-Rite, said: “We developed eXact Scan in response to suggestions from our customers about how to add even more value to the instrument.

“With expected high product demand, X-Rite is proud to offer a loyalty programme to current eXact owners so they can be the first to take advantage of upgrading their equipment to include this new capability. With a few simple steps, pressroom personnel can install the new eXact Scan chassis and software.”

“Where Innovation meets Customer intimacy”

ThermoFlexX 80

Unique combination of Cost Efficiency, Quality and Productivity www.thermoflexx.com

Xeikon International BV - T. +31 (0)117 37 50 20 - F. +31 (0)117 37 50 21 Brieversstraat 70 - 4529 GZ Eede - Netherlands - www.xeikon.com - info@xeikon.com

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News PREMEDIA

Flexcel NX extends into corrugated applications Wide 5080 system enables plate making in formats of up to 50x80” (127x203cm) Switzerland Kodak commercially released on 25 June extensions to its Flexcel NX system for post-print and preprint corrugated markets.

Users can expect “significant print quality improvements” as well as “increased print stability and pressroom efficiencies” from the new Flexcel NX Wide 5080 system and new range of Flexcel NX plate, according to Kodak.

With a proven track record in labels, flexibles, cartons, shrink sleeves and bags, the Flexcel NX System allows prepress providers and printers to maintain a competitive edge by delivering highly impactful packaging of exceptional quality while streamlining production costs, claimed Kodak.

Through technologies such as Kodak’s SQUAREspot imaging technology and Digicap NX Patterning corrugated producers will benefit from expanded tonal range, higher line screens, more efficient ink transfer, and improved print quality on lowergrade boards, said the company.

Flexcel NX: bringing ‘significant print quality improvements’

“We are excited to deliver on our customers’ requests for a Kodak Flexcel NX System that focuses on corrugated packaging,” said Doug Edwards, president, digital printing and enterprise.

“We know that there are always strong cost pressures in this segment and have worked hard to deliver a solution that focuses on both quality and total delivered cost.

“Whether customers are focused on achieving high-quality results in preprint and post-print or impactful, cost-effective post-print results on lower grade liners, we are confident that Kodak now has an innovative solution to meet those needs.

Commercial print trials have already yielded an overwhelmingly positive response from both printers and their brand clients alike.”

The Flexcel NX Wide 5080 System includes a new imaging platform and laminator that enables plate making in formats up to 50x80” (127x203cm).

New Flexcel NXC plates are formulated for post-print applications delivering superior ink coverage, reduced fluting, improved highlight reproduction and cost-effective onpress performance, said Kodak.

Flexcel NXH plates, now available in 50x80”, are ideal for high quality preprint applications, enabling efficient on-press performance, long plate life, and photorealistic print reproduction.

John likes business growth.

He’s kept his flexo print operation at the leading edge by making wise investments in technologies that are guaranteed to improve both his top and bottom line, right out of the gate.

Now John is doing it again.

©Kodak, 2014. Kodak and Flexcel are trademarks of Kodak.

He saw that Kodak Flexcel NX Plates enable him to do more with less. With a step change in print performance that he can rely on every single day, John can exceed the quality expectations of more clients, with fewer plates, fewer spot color inks, and less press downtime.

John made the shift to Flexcel NX Plates and can rest assured that his business is going to stay at the leading edge, now and in the future.

Learn more at kodak.com/go/flexcelnx

more shelf impact with less total delivered cost

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DIGITAL News

AB Graphic International will launch its Digicon Series 3 label converting line at Labelexpo America on 9–11 September.

Digicon 3 – part of the Omega Digicon range – will be unveiled equipped with features including flatbed hot foiling, flexo printing, over laminating and a newly designed flat-bed UV screen printing unit offering much higher operating parameters capable of delivering outstanding production speeds. The new machine is available in a versatile left-to-right or right-to-left format. The maximum web width has been increased to 350mm (13.75”) and the maximum size of unwind and rewind rolls has been raised to 800mm (31.5”).

Gallus announces digital label debut Press developed with Fujifilm and Heidelberg due September

Dusseldorf To mark the world premiere of a new generation of presses with digital inkjet printing technology for label printing, Gallus is issuing a global invitation to the ‘Gallus Innovation Days 2014’ in S. Gallen, Switzerland, on 23–25 September 2014.

The new digital label press system was developed in a joint project with Heidelberg and Fujifilm, its technology partner for inkjet printing.

True to Gallus’s “no more compromise” motto, this new in-line label press combines the latest digital printing technology with all the benefits of conventional printing and finishing technology, said the manufacturer.

Gallus claims the hybrid machine system makes no

compromises in print and register quality, process flexibility and productivity – and therefore sets new standards in the quality of print results, short-run efficiency and effective personalisation.

Gallus Innovation Days, held at the firm’s exhibition halls, will also include live demonstrations of tried-and-tested Gallus label machine systems.

A Gallus RCS 330 will be showcased in combination with the new QuadTech colour control system, along with a Gallus ECS 340 with further enhanced

productivity that can handle complex die-cutting with ease, even at top speeds, according to the firm.

Innovations from Gallus’s parts and services divisions will also be presented at the event as well as the latest technologies in the screen printing and folding carton divisions.

To round off the three-day event, Gallus partners will be demonstrating their latest products and services to visitors. In the Gallus expert forum, top specialists will be revealing the latest trends and technical developments in narrow-web label printing.

Anyone interested in attending the ‘Innovation Days’ can register online at www.gallusgroup.com.

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News DIGITAL

Chemical group buys into Landa Digital Printing Altana takes a $135m minority stake to help develop Nanographic printing technology

Germany The specialty chemicals Group Altana and Landa Corporation on 25 June announced that they have concluded an equity financing agreement under which Altana will invest €100m ($135m) for a minority stake in Landa Digital Printing.

Both companies said they see the agreement not only as a financial investment but also as a starting point for a long-term strategic partnership to bring digital printing solutions to the commercial, packaging and publishing markets. Other units of the Landa Group, such as Landa Labs and Landa Ventures are not included in the transaction.

The proceeds will be used for completing the development of Nanography, Landa’s water-based digital printing process, including the engineering and production ramp-up of Landa Nanographic Printing presses and the construction of manufacturing plants for Landa NanoInk colourants.

Altana is set to be an active partner, drawing on printing expertise from its divisions such as BYK Additives & Instruments, ECKART Effect Pigments, and ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants.

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Landa claims Nanographic printing uses half the material required in rival processes

“We are extremely excited to be partnering with an industry visionary like Benny Landa,” said Dr Matthias L Wolfgruber, Altana’s CEO. “We speak the same language in terms of innovation. I am confident that we are investing in a game-changing technology that can enable the printing industry to thrive in the 21st century and help our customers position themselves well for the future.”

Benny Landa, chairman and CEO of Landa Corporation, said that Landa sees the new alliance as “a key milestone for our company and a strong vote of confidence in our mission to bring digital printing to main-

july-august 2014

stream commercial, packaging and publishing markets”.

“Altana brings a wealth of relevant industry as well as worldwide manufacturing expertise, which will be of great value as we expand our presence globally,” he said.

The Nanographic printing process ejects billions of Landa NanoInk droplets onto a heated transfer blanket to form a 500nm-thick image. The dry image can be laminated onto the surface of any off-the-shelf substrate or paper without penetrating it.

The image uses less than half the material of other processes to produce, which means lower cost, according to Landa.

Landa Digital Printing (www. landanano.com) is part of the Landa Group. The company sees its Nanographic printing technology as bridging the industry’s “profitability gap” by enabling cost-effective production of short-to-medium run lengths.

Landa Nanographic printing presses yield the lowest cost per digitally printed page in the industry and combine the versatility of digital with the qualities and speed of offset, according to the company.

Furthermore, the technology allows customers to develop new business models such as bringing personalisation to packaging and also takes complexity out of their current analogue workflows.

Founded by Benny Landa, the Landa Group also includes Landa Labs, its innovation arm that explores nanotechnology for use in alternative energy, drug delivery and other fields; Landa Ventures, which invests in related technology firms; and the Landa Fund, which helps underprivileged youth pursue higher education. Benny Landa continues to add to his portfolio of more than 800 patents worldwide with a solid intellectual property base.

DIGITAL News

Xeikon spotights folding carton suites ‘Café’ offers digital solutions to challenges such as rise in SKUs Belgium Xeikon and its Aura Partners presented its digital production technologies for folding cartons such as its Folding Carton Suite at the Xeikon Café on Packaging Innovations, held on 20–22 May. While folding cartons can maximise a product’s selling power and help build and protect a brand image, they can pose challenges for printers and converters, particularly due to ever-shorter runs, a much broader variety of SKUs, and faster turnaround times, said Xeikon.

Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s director of segment marketing for labels and packaging, said: “The perceived value of a quality full-colour carton box is just so much higher than that of any other type of packaging. Folding

Xeikon Café put the case for digital

carton is therefore ideal to grow and nurture that all-important customer loyalty.”

In offset, however, shorter runs and more versions mean more frequent make-readies, which adds to the cost and does not improve turnaround times, said Xeikon.

Digital printing’s minimal setup and make-ready costs mean small runs can be produced cost-effectively. Moreover, every print can be different, last-minute changes are no problem, and updates can be made in short turnaround times. Xeikon also claims advantages in format flexibility, cost, print quality, colour accuracy and consistency, lightfastness, food safety and brand protection with its solutions.

The Folding Carton Suite is based around the Xeikon 3000 Series press, standard equipped with the four process colours CMYK and orange or Durable Clear toner, and complemented with four supporting components: (1) software, (2) print media, (3) consumables and (4) pre-and post-printing equipment.

Epson celebrates 100 SurePress sales

Positive customer evaluations drive steady rise in market share Japan Epson on 28 May announced that sales of its SurePress inkjet digital label press had reached 100 worldwide. The 100th unit was installed by Kanae Co Ltd, based in Nagano, Japan.

Epson launched the SurePress L-4033A in October 2010 and has steadily raised the product’s performance on the basis of ongoing discussions with customers and built a strong sales and service network worldwide.

In December 2012, Epson gained further sales by launching the SurePress L-4033AW with white ink. Steadily rising sales have given Epson a market share of about 10%.

SurePress achieves magnificent colour reproduction on a wide variety of label substrates thanks to Epson’s original Micro Piezo inkjet technology and original

Epson’s Tsuyoshi Kitahara with the president of Kanae

soluble inks, according to Epson.

It has also been praised by customers for its usability and easy maintenance and its stable printing quality. As many as 20% of SurePress customers have purchased two or more units, said the manufacturer.

“We are committed to contributing to the profitability

of our customers’ businesses,” said Eisuke Shimoyama, general manager responsible for sales and marketing of industrial solutions at Epson.

“We will launch a new model that includes a printhead using our cutting-edge PrecisionCore technology. Going forward, our aim is to expand our market share and lead the digitalisation of the printing industry.”

Shihab Zubair, business development manager, Epson Middle East told Packaging MEA that the sales landmark demonstrates that the SurePress is a proven technology with great potential in the MEA. Last year Epson Middle East installed the first Epson SurePress in the region at NDigitec, a leading Dubai-based premedia and prepress service provider.

FFEI will unveil

significant enhancements to its Graphium hybrid digital UV inkjet press at the Fujifilm stand at Labelexpo Americas on 9–11 September. Graphium’s new over white capability extends applications and also dramatically increases potential opacity when used with the Graphium under white. Andy Cook, FFEI’s managing director, said: “Having the ability to print a second high opacity white as a final digital colour has several benefits for a variety of applications from decals to window stickers.

The use of over white can also significantly enhance text. For example, when a coloured background with white knockout text is required it often suffers a lack of clarity. In these cases small text in an opaque white may be overprinted or a combination of a knockout with overprinted white used to clean up and provide clarity. Additionally, over white provides enhanced definition and clarity and brings the highest levels of flatness in pure white areas of a label. This is achieved by printing a second white as a mask of the visual effect of the under white.”

Now supporting under and over white, along with six flexo stations, Graphium lets converters integrate optional flexo and finishing stations inline, said the manufacturer.

july-august 2014

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News DIGITAL

Screen partners up with Rotocon Rotocon to resell Truepress Jet press in Southern Africa South Africa Screen announced on 19 May the appointment of Rotocon as a specialist reseller for the Screen Truepress Jet L350UV digital label press across Southern Africa and Mauritius.

With more than 30 years of experience, Rotocon is a leading regional supplier of a broad range of equipment and services to narrow-web printers and converters. The Screen Truepress Jet L350UV press adds digital label printing to the Rotocon portfolio and the company will provide full sales and support for the new press.

The Truepress Jet L350UV is a digital label press designed to deliver flexibility, low cost of ownership, and a swift return on investment. The press prints at up to 50m/min on a 350mm web and uses Screen’s high-definition CMYK+W UV inks.

Rotocon Director Michael Aengenvoort said: “There is a strong demand for highproductivity digital label printing technology in Southern Africa. Screen is a well-known

Mark Sherman, area director of Screen Europe, and Michael Aengenvoort, director of Rotocon

and well-respected brand for the quality of its engineering and we are very pleased to add this superb digital press to our portfolio.”

Mark Sherman, area director for Screen Europe, said: “We are looking forward to a successful partnership with Rotocon, whose considerable reputation and expertise within the converting industry make them an excellent partner.”

Did you know?

Eye tracking is emerging as a powerful tool for assessing and improving packaging systems and POP materials. It provides valuable insights at all stages of the design development process from strategy and concept testing to design validation and campaign effect research.

Eye trackers measure eye position and eye movement. The most common approaches are video-based. A camera focuses on one or both eyes and records movements as the viewer looks at some kind of stimulus. Most modern systems use the centre of the pupil and infrared/nearinfrared light to create reflections on the cornea to track the eye.

EFI claims a surge in its packaging installations

Radius ERP software customer acquisition rate doubles in 2013 from previous year USA EFI announced on 30 June continued momentum among customers in packaging, led by a significant increase in EFI Radius ERP software installations and new UV and LED inkjet printer sales that will give customers digital converting opportunities in corrugated, folding carton and flexible packaging markets.

The number of net new Radius customers doubled yearover-year between 2012 and 2013, according to EFI. New Radius systems customers last year included Distinct Packabilities, Shepherdsville, Kentucky, USA; Hub Labels, Hagerstown, Maryland, USA; K-1 Packaging Group, City of Industry, California, USA; and Netpak Packaging, Montreal, Canada.

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EFI claims accelerating sales in products for packagers

EFI claims continuing Radius sales this year to converters looking to build efficiencies and reduce costs using its ERP platform.

Customers include converters of all size and types, from smaller, single-plant implementations to large-scale, multi-plant and multinational deployments, said EFI. Alex Elezaj, chief operating officer of Michigan-based Whitlam Label, said the ERP advantages with Radius reflect an overall positive experience with EFI. “Not only has the company provided us inkjet digital printing capabilities with an EFI Jetrion press, the company’s EFI Radius ERP has been just a spectacular program for us as well,” he said.

DIGITAL News

FFEI Graphium takes on label converting challenges FFEI Managing Director Andy Cook discusses what the firm is aiming to bring to label converting with its recently launched digital UV inkjet Graphium press

L

abel converting is currently undergoing revolutionary changes. Digital printing has reset the expectations of print buyers in terms of quality, quantity and speed of delivery.

Understanding this brave new world is difficult for label converters faced with shorter runs, more SKUs, reduced lead times and the same demands for high-quality printing and finishing. Some converters see the growing role of digital printing as a challenge rather than an opportunity.

However, handling reduced lead times and short runs digitally can be done profitably, and many leading converters are successfully integrating digital operations into their conventional production.

To be truly effective, the digital press ideally needs to be able to print to the same colour and quality standards, and on the same substrates, as the analogue jobs. With this flexibility, decisions on which jobs should be run conventionally or digitally can be made on the basis of production requirements, not just run length.

What costs are involved in digital UV curable inkjet printing?

Andy Cook: Digital label printing has been shown to be cost-effective. The advantages of printing what you want, when you want it –

Did you know?

Global food loss has yet to be conclusively measured, but the Food and Agriculture Organisation told the Save Food congress that its initial studies suggest a figure of 1.3 billion tonnes. This total would mean a third of all food is wasted. Packaging solutions are expected to play a major role in reducing the total, particularly in developing countries.

by the suppliers of the ink used in the FFEI Graphium press on very low-migration inks for direct food contact use.

There are also many opportunities for print service providers to use UV-curable inks for foodstuff packaging where the materials and substrates provide barriers to migration, as well as for applications where this is not an issue.

Andy Cook, managing director, FFEI

“Some converters see the growing role of digital printing as a challenge rather than an opportunity”

Is digital printing the future for labels?

Andy Cook: Digital printing offers print service providers and brand managers another way of addressing their requirements.

There will always be mass-market products which are very high volume and price sensitive for which conventional production will remain the best option.

Digital production adds value whether through the speed of deliveries possible or the use of variable data to drive sales, short runs etc. These advantages are being developed by brands to add value to their products. It’s not going to be a case of either/ or in the near or mid-term.

along with the significant waste reductions, reduced warehousing and logistics costs – reduce the significance of any difference between different digital technologies.

At this stage of the transition from conventional to digital printing, the baseline continues to be the profitability of printing conventionally.

Falling run lengths make digital not only an affordable option, but a profitable one.

In terms of digital technologies, UV printing does not require varnish or primer, so the cost savings are significant compared to toner. UV printing is also more resistant to scratches, wear and tear, and sun exposure than its traditional printing counterparts.

What future developments do you see for the Graphium press?

Andy Cook: In recent years, FFEI has invested millions of pounds into the development of its inkjet technologies... Along with this investment, we have seen the creation of significant and valuable partnerships with Fujifilm, Xaar and, more recently, Edale. The combined know-how of these four companies give us one of the most powerful collaborative teams in the industry today... We are on a mission to really change the way people view and use the technology. We see many new opportunities for converting traditionally printed applications to inkjet digital.

The potential in this technology to evolve is huge and inkjet technology in a narrowweb format is really just starting to push the boundaries of what’s possible to print...

How welcome are UV inks with food?

Andy Cook: With regard to UV ink and food packaging and labelling, UV ink is highly stable and much work is being done

What are the disadvantages of digital inkjet printing?

Andy Cook: The main disadvantage is the cost of ink for very long print runs. july-august 2014

39

News DIGITAL

Fefco hails high-volume digital printing on board Technology turns corrugated board into a ‘new marketing medium’, says federation

Xanté’s Excelagraphix 4200: one of the new technologies sparking a ‘revolution in packaging’

Belgium Fefco – the European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers – announced on 23 June that its recent workshop has confirmed that high-volume digital printing on corrugated board is now becoming a reality.

This technology opens up new possibilities for maximising the use of packaging as a platform for communicating directly to consumers, according to the federation. With digital printing, corrugated board is being transformed from packaging and protection to a new marketing communications medium, thanks to striking print quality, and the possibilities for customisation and creativity in design, said secretary general Angelika Christ.

“It is a real revolution,” she said. “Now, with corrugated packaging, the medium really can become the message.”

At the same time, digital printing allows fuller use of new technologies such as QR codes and augmented reality (AR), enhancing the customer experience by making the packaging interactive. For example, prospective customers for Lego can scan the box and AR will bring the contents of the box to life on a screen. Along fragmented supply chains, unique QR codes printed on packaging are also helping to share data.

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Until now, the technology for digital printing on corrugated board has been mainly used for display POS and short-run samples.

But Fefco’s one-day seminar on 18 June – ‘High Volume Digital Printing on Corrugated Board’ – presented how leading printer manufacturers can now produce high-volume, high-quality and competitively priced digital printing on corrugated board.

New digital printing equipment at the seminar from Bobst, Esko, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Automation, Barberan and Xanté is all able to transform corrugated board into customised and customer-oriented packaging and displays, said Fefco.

The demand for digital printing mainly comes from the customers, packers and fillers as well as retailers. The need for versioning and personalisation, regional marketing, lastminute changes, rapid response to customer

“Digital printing on corrugated board is no hype – it is a solution ready for everyday production”

demand and accelerated time to market are the principal factors pushing the industry to move from analogue to digital printing.

Angelika Christ said the number of companies participating at the workshop demonstrated that Fefco continues to offer a useful service to its members. Once more, Fefco has shown its ability to share knowledge and facilitate the spreading of information at European level, she said.

This workshop demonstrated clearly that the digital printing market will provide huge opportunities for adding value to corrugated packaging and competitiveness.

Now is the right time for Fefco members to take advantage of these opportunities, said the federation.

The challenges this technology is overcoming include ensuring brand colour consistency with digital print. But some of the challenges have to be met by changes in working pattern too – and notably by workflow automation. Digital print makes more numerous but shorter print runs possible, responding to changes in fast-moving consumer goods markets.

Marc Van Damme, Fefco’s production committee chairman and the chief technical officer for VPK Packaging Group, said: “It’s not just about switching to digital, it’s about rethinking your work process.”

Angelika Christ added that: “Digital printing on corrugated board is no hype – it is a solution ready for use in everyday production.”

Did you know?

Flexible packaging consumption in the Middle East and Africa runs at only $3 per person, compared with $30 in Europe, giving “huge potential for future growth”, according to PCI Films Consulting. Demand across MEA is now poised to expand at 5% per year over the next five years, according to the research company.

CEO-KENYA IPP Interview

Africa’s packagers put their case to government Joseph Nyongesa, APO president and secretary-general/CEO of Kenya’s Institute of Packaging Professionals, tells Benjamin Daniel about the route ahead for the packaging sector in Africa.

How did an African packaging organisation emerge?

Joseph Nyongesa: The African Packaging Organisation [APO] concept has been in the pipeline for a long time. There has been a major discussion in the World Packaging Organisation [WPO] forum on how we can improve print packaging capability in Africa.

So there has been some discussions going on among African countries and APO was started around 2006.

In 2010 several African countries affiliated to the WPO made this organisation official in South Africa. WPO is very interested in advancing packaging – especially education in developing countries so that they can play the right role in the global arena and also help reduce the massive wastage of foods and products in the continent. They were very supportive.

How is the Kenyan government supporting the sector?

Joseph Nyongesa: The [Kenyan] government is very clear about packaging.

There was an announcement from his excellency the president that, with respect to value addition, the government wanted to see more co-operative ventures into packaging, branding and marketing.

So there is a very high-level commitment to packaging and branding. The directive comes from that level and trickles down to the operatives in the government.

A paper on industrialisation identifies packaging as an area that needs intervention through policies and by creating a positive environment around it. This is a process and will take place. Everybody is talking about value addition... We are using forums as tools to bring about this understanding that actually value addition in the final analysis is packaging for products.

Is food waste an issue for Kenya?

Joseph Nyongesa: Yes, there is a lot of

“We want to see quality packaging in Africa and we want to change Africa so it can rise” wastage of food from the farms before they reach the table. There are many reasons but the major reason is poor packaging, no proper storage, losses due to transportation.

Almost 40% of the food is wasted.

Sometimes, in the case of fruits like bananas and mangoes and vegetables like tomatoes, it can go even to 60%. The fruit is almost ripe or already ripe during harvesting but it has to travel 500–600km to reach the market. By the time it reaches the market most of it is spoilt.

The paradox is that with so much wastage on one hand, there are so many people starving on the other. So we need to work on the product-package compatibility because the whole purpose of the packaging is to protect and contain.

Is it true that Kenya’s taxes on packaging materials have hit segments such as pharmaceuticals?

Joseph Nyongesa: Yes it is so. There have been some unfavourable tax regimes for manufacturers. The government sometimes wants to make money and in the process

kills industries, which is not right. We are trying to communicate to the government that packaging is like infrastructure: a road that makes products move from one point to the other. They should be involved.

I think that there is a lack of understanding between the government and the industry.

The issue needs to be brought to government properly and clearly: that this is an infrastructure and if you close a road or an airport you don’t move.

In many other countries such as Switzerland packaging is taken seriously and they have been doing it for 100 years.

In countries such as India the government is actively involved. In Europe too it is the same. In African countries there is lack of understanding so they need to be educated and enlightened.

How is APO putting the case for packaging?

Joseph Nyongesa: APO is building packaging capability to bring to the attention of the government and stakeholders the criticality of packaging.

But we are limited in terms of resources, so if industries want us to play this role, they need to support us in terms of membership, finance, sponsorship. Then we can talk loudly and bring this point to the government.

We want to see quality packaging in Africa and we want to change Africa so it can rise and play its right role in the global economy.

We would like to globalise Africa.

If Africa is to rise, it has to have a second look at packaging because packaging is an ambassador for the company and also for the country. We want to see ‘Made in Africa’ as ‘Made in Switzerland’. This would be the proof that Africa has come of age.

Packaging is like an index of the standard of living in the country. The higher the quality, we can make out what’s going on in the country. july-august 2014

41

Business report EAST AFRICA

KENYA GEARS FOR GROWTH A combination of trends spells new opportunities for the packaging sector in East Africa, where local production could substitute imports and meet evolving demand.

K

enya’s potential to repay investors in its packaging sector has a glowing testimonial in the recent experience of Manipal.

After kicking off its Nairobi operation with “an entry-level Japanese press”, the Indian group has since installed two Gallus EM280s. Its production now extends from label printing, in-mould labelling and aluminium foiling to shrink sleeves and flower sleeves using gravure.

Manipal’s plant in East Africa has also provided a springboard for the rest of Africa, says Manipal International Printing Press (MIPP) General Manager Pritam Choudhary.

MIPP has just finished kitting out a $5m plant in Nigeria and is aiming to set up a facility in Mozambique by year-end before completing its expansion in Africa with a plant in Morocco.

“Our quality and service has helped us grow to this level,” he said. “We have a good customer base. Africa has huge growth potential and that’s why everybody is concentrating on Africa.”

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july-august 2014

But what risks could also lurk in a market with such room for growth? What’s more, do technologies and products developed to serve other regions apply here?

In fact, East Africa’s appetite for packaging reflects at least one trend all the sector’s professionals are familiar with: the shift towards flexible containers. This development is cited by Pitesh Shah, director of Nairobi-based Polyflex Industries, which manufactures high-quality plain, printed and laminate flexible packaging material.

“The Kenyan packaging industry is growing day by day,” he said.

“For the past seven years, more and more people are moving from basic packaging like the carton boxes and monolayer film wrappers into laminates because it is turning out to be more cost effective. There was a time when grains especially rice was sold in gunny bags. Now you can get up to 10kg rice in a laminate bag.”

However, the factors behind this shift may be less familiar to packagers in other regions. The opportunities lie both in

bringing globalised consumption habits to East Africa and in serving the sizeable slice of the population that cannot yet afford this upward transition.

“This country is more to do with the low-end market,” added Shah. “Flexible is cheaper too.”

However, in a continent with worldtopping economic growth, many consumers are indeed emulating their counterparts in more developed regions. A recent Euromonitor International study into Kenyan packaging concluded that its double-digit growth last year was driven by “rapid westernisation and changing consumer lifestyles”.

“A growing desire for convenience among Kenyan consumers continues to drive the strong growth of packaged food, especially for products such as noodles and baby food.

Despite continuous price increases, Kenyans are increasingly demanding packaged food and moving away from traditional unpackaged food products,” according to Euromonitor’s analysis.

The research house also points to the spending power of the country’s rising middle class. “Kenya’s per capita income exceeds $800 (KES65,000) per month. The presence of the middle class is stronger than ever before, thanks to the growing number of ‘white collar’ workers joining the ranks of the working population.”

A similar perspective comes from James Hynd, chief financial officer of Afripak,

“Africa has huge growth potential and that’s why everybody is concentrating on Africa” Pritam Choudhary, General Manager, Manipal International Printing Press, Nairobi.

EAST AFRICA Business report

“The East African market has caught up with what South Africa has done” James Hynd, Chief Financial Officer, Afripak

a major player in beverages and labels in Southern and East Africa.

“The East African market has caught up in development from what South Africa has done in the last 10 years,” he told Packaging MEA. “The flexible packaging market is growing at the expense of rigid and cartons. That is because of shelf presence. There is more innovation, more variations in ranges.

Line extensions are becoming a big trend.

There is a lot of growth in pouches in Kenya especially. The market is evolved with urbanisation and flexible packaging seems to be the food medium as in South Africa. It is a global trend.”

He added that the African consumer also “wants more of an experience when buying a product”.

“So the easy-open, resealable facility also counts,” he said.

“The package is no longer a logistics medium. The package causes a brand awareness and attraction. It is also a household storage product. You leave it in the pouch. You don’t transfer it into another container.”

Ketul Tanna, managing director of Nairobi’s General Printers, a leading flexible packaging printer, confirms the positive trend. “Flexible packaging has been growing steadily and consistently for the last 10–15 years in East Africa,” he said.

However, like Shah, he also stresses the impact of poverty as well as aspiration in setting the market trends. “Many products are shifting towards flexible packaging from

paper and board-based packaging, maybe because the poverty levels are quite high in East Africa,” he said.

“Fifty percent of the population in Kenya is below the poverty line. These live on a day-to-day basis. So the key is to have singlepack serves so they can buy on a day-to-day basis. This is the area of packaging that has been growing and will continue to grow as more and more companies want to target this segment of the market.

“Simultaneously, the middle-income group in Kenya is also growing rapidly. There’s been a general economic growth that has happened and so the demand for luxury goods is also increasing. So previously rice in Kenya was sold in 1–2kg packs but now the trend has shifted to selling rice in 5kg in nice well-designed stand-up pouches with a handle and a zipper. Fancy packaging is the norm now. So flexible packaging is also growing in terms of stand-up pouches, zipper pouches etc.”

Kenya-based converters also report a shift in the state’s attitude to the sector.

For Pritesh Shah, a lifting of heavy taxation is now allowing packaging to pick up. “During the previous government, taxes were so high that manufacturers were losing out, although a few that stayed on made a killing. With the new government the reinvesting is slowing blossoming since the last 10–15 years.”

While the pharmaceutical segment remains blighted by its longstanding tax burden, Hynd notes that in the FMCG and the food and beverage market, “the trend is opposite”.

“Many products are shifting towards flexible packaging from paper and boardbased packaging” Ketul Tanna, Managing Director, General Printers, Nairobi

“The government wants to see more co-operative ventures into packaging, branding and marketing” Joseph Nyongesa, CEO, Kenya Institute of Packaging Professionals

“More and more multinationals are moving into the region… There are so many line extensions in products coming up for a particular region or for a particular consumer category,” he said.

Joseph Nyongesa, CEO of Kenya’s Instituted of Packaging Professionals, sees the state as generally receptive to packaging’s needs.

“The government is very clear about packaging,” he told Packaging MEA. “In fact, there was an announcement from his excellency the president saying that with respect to value addition, the government wanted to see more co-operative venture into packaging, branding and marketing.”

That said, Kenya’s opportunities exist in part because of the industry’s relative lack of development. Shah stresses how packagers remain reliant on imports.

“This country unfortunately doesn’t have resources and a lot of materials have to be imported in, like aluminium ore, steel and plastics to name a few… We don’t have polyester and BOPP film plants in the country,” he said.

Yet, as Choudhary comments, Kenya’s packaging sector can deliver exceptional growth to companies that are prepared to help plug the industry’s current gaps.

Having already seen excellent returns, Manipal is aiming to continue a blistering pace of expansion, he said.

“Our yearly growth has been 40%,” he said.

“This we have been using to reinvest.” july-august 2014

43

Business report TEA PACKAGING-KENYA

BAGGING THE MARKET Kenya already ranks among the world’s leading tea producers but its next challenge is to develop exports of packaged tea by matching the tastes and standards of international consumers, reports Piers Evans

A

t breakfast tables across the world leaves plucked on distant mountain slopes above Africa’s spectacular Rift Valley help the day get under way.

Blessed with abundant sunshine, frequent rain and rich volcanic soil, plantations in these highlands have rapidly transformed Kenya – where tea had not even been planted until 1903 – into its continent’s leading tea producer.

However, for the emerging African nation to harvest all the benefits of its celebrated teas could take a further transformation, this time involving advanced machinery rather than horticulture.

While Kenya’s tea may be greatly appreciated at the breakfast table, how many consumers realise where their bracing brew

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originates? Rather than being packaged in Kenya, the country’s teas are carried to the coast and auctioned. When they appear in a cup, the label hanging over its edge carries the symbol of an international brand, which has packed the teas close to the market.

But a recent study commissioned by CBI – the Netherlands’ centre for promoting imports from developing nations – underscores an opportunity for Kenyan packagers to open an alternative route to market.

Convenience takes over For ProFound, which carried out the study for CBI, Kenya packagers could stand to gain from a global trend towards convenience. In tea, this translates to teabags, although the study points out that regional markets prefer different types of product.

In the UK, for example, single-chamber teabags dominate. On continental Europe, on the other hand, double-chambered teabags with a string and envelope are more popular.

Meanwhile, a rising trend across Europe and the United States is for pyramid teabags that let consumers see the loose tea inside the bag.

In general, though, a global shift from loose tea to teabags – even in markets such as China – suits Kenya’s tea production, which is almost all categorised as cut-tearcurl (CTC).

Developed in the 1950s, CTC production is geared towards cutting costs and delivering flavour quickly. Bagging this tea domestically for export has a precedent in other markets.

Packing at origin saves costs for retailers.

In Sri Lanka and India – and to some extent in China – multinationals and local

TEA PACKAGING-KENYA Business report

companies already operate packing factories that are able to meet requirements for Western markets.

However, the CBI study points out that their partnerships with European and North American retailers hinge on delivering a constant supply at low price and applying an effective quality management system.

Demand for quality The CBI study also points out several legislative and non-legal hurdles to be overcome before locally packaged teas can appear on shelves in markets such as Europe.

In the EU, for instance, a host of specific regulations and directives apply across areas such as labelling, hygiene and maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides. Alongside these, the non-legal constraints also require modern, sophisticated packaging solutions.

“UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certification would be ‘of significant importance’ for exporting to Western markets” Currently, the study reports, industry sources lack confidence in the packing in tea-producing countries – “mainly due to the quality of the packing machines, which is lower compared to the machines used at packing facilities in Europe”.

Kenyan tea packers must also make packaging that matches the quality demanded for the European market in areas such as: specific density conditions for teabags, hygienic quality, MRLs of pesticides, specific information on blends and flavours, and teabag paper quality.

In terms of specific food safety management systems, the CBI’s research suggests tea packers should comply with the ISO 22000 standard or another GFSI recognised scheme.

Some countries also impose compliance with additional food quality standards. In the UK, for instance, suppliers often use the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standards.

Suppliers to Germany, France and Italy need

to conform with the International Food Standard (IFS).

Developing a brand Tea packaged in Kenya also needs to be marketed effectively. CBI’s research found that UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certification would be “of significant importance” for exporting to Western markets. Organic and Fair Trade certifications would also raise trust in the product, according to EU buyers contacted during the study.

But industry sources see the Kenya origin mark as unlikely to add value, as Kenya is not always recognised by the public as a major tea-producing country.

Further challenges include the tendency of Kenyan tea to be used in blends.

Producing teabags in Kenya with imported as well as domestic tea could negate the cost advantages of localised manufacturing.

While labour in Kenya is cheap, importing to Kenya can be costly.

The economics of packaging tea near source are further complicated by the additional costs of transporting teabags rather than pure tea. Teabags can take up four times the space of unpacked tea, which clearly ramps up freight costs.

That said, CBI sees an opening for packagers who can connect with the international trends and requirements for bagged tea. Its study concludes that Kenyan tea packed at origin could be “a very interesting export product”.

For more information: www.cbi.eu july-august 2014

45

BOBST Roadshow

Bobst spotlights East Africa’s packaging opportunities On the third stop of its Africa Roadshow, Bobst demonstrated transformative technologies to Kenya’s leading packagers and pointed the way for localised production.

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july-august 2014

B

obst’s third and penultimate event in its Africa Roadshow – in Kenya on 24–25 June 2014 – attracted more than 100 delegates from the country’s packaging sector and highlighted how innovations across the packaging chain can help to release the continent’s enormous untapped potential in the sector.

In its Africa Roadshow series, Bobst had earlier hosted conferences in Nigeria and South Africa.

Eric Pavone, Business Director for Bobst’s Business Unit Webfed, said Kenya provided the “natural country” for the third stop as “a strategic country for the east part of Africa”.

“It is time now for the Kenyan investors to invest in localised production as there is growth overall,” he added.

Samir Khoudja, Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, added that Bobst’s key message for the region’s packagers was

Roadshow BOBST

the firm’s “commitment in product quality as well strong technical support”.

Jacques Pitteloud, Switzerland’s ambassador to Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Somalia, opened the two-day conference at Nairobi’s Sankara Hotel with a speech that underscored the country’s opportunities in packaging as well as the challenges that are still to be overcome.

The Kenya Roadshow covered both flexible and carton packaging solutions along with the supply chain, raw materials and finished products. Experts from Bobst and its partners spoke on the equipment, consumables and trends set to shape the packaging sector.

Flexible packaging was the focus for the event’s opening day, with presentations on value-creating solutions by Bobst, Coim, Daetwyler Graphics, Daetwyler SwissTec, Kodak, Lemo, Rossini and Atlas Converting Equipment. The presence of the local Nestlé packaging team reinforced the message of producers’ needs and market trends in the context of East Africa.

Rigid packaging was covered over the second day with business and technology insights from Bobst’s partners Heinzel Sales, KBA, Kodak, Marbach-Egypt and NDigitec.

Bobst presented its analyses of the latest trends in both the corrugated and folding carton packaging segments.

Attendees were also given a unique opportunity to meet with banks and financial institutions that could support their investments in Bobst equipment.

Eric Pavone said the Africa Roadshow had provided an opportunity to introduce Kenya to the benefits of working with Bobst’s highquality machinery.

“Kenya is now ready to invest in Europetypes machines, typically in the flexible packaging perspective of investments,” he told Packaging MEA. “We are here also to raise the brand perception and to network. As the market is very fragmented it is very important for us to know the market and the people and to build our brand.”

Samir Khoudja said the company’s key message to the region was the vital importance of quality and support.

“Our prime objective in Africa, particularly in the east part of Africa, is to enhance and create customer awareness about Bobst’s commitment in product quality as well as strong technical support, especially at these times when we have competition from low-cost and entry-level products from Asia,” he said.

“Service and support is the main weapon for us.”

In Africa – which Bobst covers through subsidiary offices in Dubai and Tunisia and through well-established agencies in South Africa, Egypt and North Africa – the group now sees outstanding growth opportunities in flexible packaging, said Eric Pavone.

“There is a kind of new trend in Africa. If you compare the traditional folding carton industry, there is a slow shift from folding carton. Perhaps about 15–20% of packages that used to be produced using folding cartons such as detergents are slowing moving towards flexible packaging,” he added “It is time now for the Kenyan investors to invest in localised packaging as there is growth overall,” he added. This view was also confirmed by many local converters.

“We personally feel the trend will continue as the market is growing,” said Khoudja.

“With the assurance of safety and security of the plant and finance in some of these countries, there is a huge growth potential.

We are ready to help these investors with the right solution coupled with ROI.” Algeria is the next and final venue for the Bobst & Partners Africa Roadshow 2014. july-august 2014

47

News DESIGN

WINNING OFF

The FIFA World Cup sparked a parallel contest for packaging designers. Who would win the most attention and prestige for their brand? As ever, the real winner was the game itself. The competition brought out the most cutting-edge packaging technologies such as augmented reality (AR) apps as well as a riot of colour and imaginative graphics.

THE PITCH

Aluminium canvas for Coca-Cola Coca-Cola ramped up its extensive World Cup marketing once the contest was down to its last eight teams with 20 designs on 25cl aluminium bottles.

Produced by Ardagh in France and shipped worldwide, the bottles featured action shots of players in high-definition print.

David Wall, CEO of Ardagh’s metal division, said: “Our award winning aluminium bottles and the unique quality of our printing technology promotes the premium packaging needs of this iconic brand so well.”

Head and Shoulders mosaics Mosaic illustrations of Latin America’s leading players brightened the bathrooms of dandruff-dodging consumers during the World Cup. The portraits, made out of national flags and each player’s national colours, were created by the Greek illustrator Charis Tsevis in collaboration with Creable, Los Angeles, for Procter & Gamble.

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july-august 2014

DESIGN News

Lindal designs take flight Lindal Group opted to promote its aerosol packaging solutions by teaming up with Brazil’s football squad. The host nation’s stars flew during the tournament on a Boeing 737 decorated by the famous Os Gemeos graffiti artists. To fully coat the plane with vivid designs they used 1,200 cans of Montana Colors spray paint powered by Lindal’s female RT valve and F/03 actuator.

Pepsi maxes on AR

Choc tactics

A free Blippar app on Pepsi MAX bottles and cans unlocked exclusive video content including behind-the-scenes footage and an interactive augmented reality (AR) football game. The app featured as part of the drink’s ‘Now is what you make it’ football campaign.

Nestlé’s Brazilian chocolate brand Garoto launched a milk chocolate World Cup trophy, so fans could lift the prize themselves. The trophy, a replica of the FIFA World Cup that dates back to 1974, was the competition’s only official chocolate trophy.

McDonald’s adds app to the menu The fastfood giant rolled out fries boxes with new artwork and access to an augmented reality (AR) app. By holding the screen of their mobile device up to the box, customers were presented with a football pitch in an AR scene, with the fries box as the goal and other built-in objects as obstacles. To score a goal, they had to kick the ball with their finger.

july-august 2014

49

Q&A REGIONAL PACKAGING DESIGN

MOVING ON FROM

‘ME TOO’

Christel Morival CEO, Lamarq International Dubai

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REGIONAL PACKAGING DESIGN Q&A

Christel Morival, CEO of Dubai-based Lamarq International advertising and design agency, tells Benjamin Daniel why Arab brands must invest more to develop a global voice in design.

What is your personal approach to design?

My vision is to give a positive view to the Arab world, which goes far beyond packaging design.

What’s still missing in MEA packaging?

It’s obvious that two key areas are a lack of expertise in the field and the total abstraction of some FMCG [fastmoving consumer good] companies from considering investing in packaging. This failure is to see packaging design as an expense on the balance sheet without considering the impact on sales.

What are the current regional trends?

Lots of companies are doing ‘me too’ designs to play with consumers’ minds. Arab FMCG companies have no voice at the global level and this is the time for us to help and contribute in defining new design trends to help them conquer the world.

How much impact does good packaging have?

Most consumers judge a product by its packaging before buying. Packaging is a crucial communication to address brand

positioning and the physical contact point with consumers.

What factors prompt consumers to act?

The moment of truth – of three seconds – is the only chance for a brand to come into the consumer’s life.

Branding has to be memorable and all the promise must be delivered on the packaged product through a strong graphic structure.

If you have done your homework, are clear on who is your target and how they behave, and have done the market and competitive review, you are already halfway there.

The second part is to look at how you will touch visually the heart and soul of your targeted consumers.

How do aspects such as colour and shape affect shelf impact?

All these elements are crucial and part of the brand equity. The shape of Coca-Cola bottles, the violet colour of the Milka chocolate brand have to be ownable. The new trends are much more disruptive in that regard.

What will define the future of packaging?

Sustainable packaging.

“The moment of truth – 3 seconds – is the only chance for a brand to come into the consumer’s life” How often should a FMCG company rebrand?

You can lift your packaging design every three to five years, at a maximum. But changing a brand visual identity for an organisation should be considered only if it is not aligned with the actual positioning.

Brand equity is a serious chapter not to be neglected! Changing just to have a change could risk disconnecting with the target audience.

What sets Lamarq apart from your competition?

Lamarq is a regional agency based in Dubai with a positive view of the Arab world. We are a branding, packaging and design agency, delivering superior results through research, brand strategy, originality and measurable actions. We help our clients build world-class brands through innovative strategies, big ideas, simplistic design and new experiences. july-august 2014

51

News PLASTICS

Sabic is expanding its

Deal with Cigalah and Tabuk covers 26 pharmaceutical products

technology centre in Jubail Industrial City, the firm announced on 20 May. The expansion project includes a new 3,300m2 two-storey building adjacent to the existing centre, to be built at a cost of $11m and due to be commissioned by 2017.

Ernesto Occhiello, Sabic executive vice-president, technology and innovation, said that the centre in Jubail has been earmarked for expansion because of its proximity to Sabic’s manufacturing affiliates in the industrial city. “The project, which is well in line with our 2025 strategy, will be instrumental in driving our research and development efforts, particularly in our chemicals and fertilisers business,” said Occhiello.

KSA Boehringer Ingelheim announced on 30 April that it is entering a tripartite agreement for production in Saudi Arabia with the local companies Cigalah, a distributor, and Tabuk, a pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Cigalah and Tabuk will manage and drive complex secondary packaging projects of 26 products for Boehringer Ingelheim from the starting point until full implementation to become finished goods. This is the first milestone towards Boehringer Ingelheim’s future local primary manufacturing in the Kingdom.

Currently, local production meets only 15% of Saudi Arabia demand. Local companies

Addivant is expanding

IBM discovers new class of polymers

its Gulf Stabilizer Industries (GSI) facility in Al Jubaïl, Saudi Arabia. Once completed, the production capacity of hindered phenolic antioxidants Anox 20 and Anox PP18, and phosphite antioxidant Alkanox 240 will double to 10,500 tonnes. GSI’s board of directors also announced plans to expand annual production capacity of the Anox NDB product line to 24,000 tonnes. GSI is a joint venture between Addivant and Zamil ChemPlast, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading industrial manufacturing companies. “The rapid expansion of the Middle East polymer industry... will continue in the years ahead with the downstream markets playing an increasingly important role,” said Peter Smith, Addivant CEO and GSI chairman of the board.

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Boehringer partners in KSA packaging

Boehringer: targeting KSA for production

tend to make generic drugs, although some firms undertake under-licence manufacturing and packaging on behalf of multinational companies.

The agreement will help Boehringer Ingelheim achieve its expansion plans in Saudi Arabia, where healthcare spending is forecast to grow from 3.5% of GDP in 2010 up to 6% by 2020.

Mohammed Al Tawil, general manager, Boehringer Ingelheim Middle East and Near East Area, said: “With this agreement we aim to reinforce our goal to make quality products and access to medication in the Kingdom.”

The three-way deal lets Boehringer Ingelheim contract Cigalah for secondary packaging and authorises Cigalah to carry out packaging production at Tabuk facilities.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest per capita single market for medical products and equipment, accounting for 59.4% of the Gulf’s pharmaceutical industry.

The Kingdom has 27 local pharmaceutical plants, the GCC’s hightest national total.

Materials offer enhanced strength along with total recyclability KSA IBM Research claimed on 15 May that it has discovered new experimental polymers that could deliver cheaper, lighter, stronger and recyclable materials ideal for electronics, aerospace, airline and automotive industries.

Using ‘computational chemistry’, which combines lab experiments with highperformance computing, IBM Research scientists have found the first materials “to demonstrate resistance to cracking, strength higher than bone, the ability to reform to their original shape (self-heal), all while being completely recyclable back to their starting material”.

The new materials can also be transformed into new polymer structures to further bolster their strength by 50%, according to an article in Science, published with collaborators including UC

july-august 2014

Berkeley, Eindhoven University of Technology and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Saudi Arabia.

IBM has found new related classes of materials with a very distinctive range of properties that include high stiffness, solvent resistance, the ability to heal themselves once a crack is introduced and to be used as a resin for filled composite materials to further enhance their strength.

“New materials innovation is critical to addressing major global challenges, developing new products and emerging disruptive technologies,” said James Hedrick, advanced organic materials scientist, IBM Research.

“We’re now able to predict how molecules will respond to chemical reactions and build new polymer structures with significant guidance from computation that facilitates accelerated materials discovery.”

IBM claims its new polymers can help address ‘major global challenges’

Bosch Packaging to open up new offices in Africa Expansion is aimed at going ‘directly to the customer’, says firm’s general manager Egypt Bosch Packaging Technology is expanding its portfolio and organisation in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) as it continues to cut our intermediaries, says general manager Mazen Touban.

Speaking at Interpack, he told Packaging MEA that the firm is adding new regional bases alongside its main MEA office in Cairo.

“We have an office in Lagos, Nigeria, which will start operations on 1 September 2014,” he said. We are also looking into expanding in East Africa in the near future.

We have our factory in South Africa – and from these three offices we plan to cover Africa completely.”

In 2010, Bosch Packaging Technology decided “to go direct to the Middle East and Africa market”, he added.

“We would like to be in direct contact with our customer to better transfer our knowledge and support,” he said.

In its regional portfolio the company has also introduced its new yoghurt machine, he added.

“18 months ago we acquired German packaging equipment provider Ampack GmbH, which produces machines to fill yoghurt, juices etc in premade cups and bottles,” he said.

“Now we have started to introduce this company in our vision.

These acquisitions help us to complete our product portfolio.”

The firm’s customers within

Mazen Touban: ‘We have decided to go direct to the customer in the MEA market’

the food industry include major brands such as Nestle, he added.

But the company also suppli-

ers low-cost machines to smaller firms in markets such as India, he said.

Technovaa Industries invests $80m across plants Stretch film, CPP and polyethylene producer picks Windmöller & Hölscher equipment UAE Technovaa Industries – a leading producer of CPP, polyethylene film and stretch film with plants in India, the UAE and South Africa – has invested EUR60m ($81m) in machinery and infrastructure across its operations, its chairman has told Packaging MEA. “We have totally invested EUR60m in Africa, Middle East, Asia, Europe into machines and infrastructure for these region,” said Hassan Darvish.

The investment has included extrusion and printing equipment from the German manufacturer Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H), he added.

“W&H have been associated with Technovaa for a long time and have provided the best possible services, which have proven a good asset for Technovaa Industries for all

Technovaa Industries: ‘invested EUR60m in Africa, Middle East, Asia, Europe’

these years,” he said. “Technovaa Industries is a ‘A’ quality driven company and we always invest into the best machines.”

He added that Technovaa Industries is the largest producer of CPP in the India region and has a monthly production capacity of 10,000 tonnes of stretch film, 1,500 tonnes of CPP, and 2,500 tonnes of polyethylene.

Technovaa’s success has been driven by purchasing high-quality

equipment that has enabled the firm to serve Western markets, he added.

“All the manufacturing machines that Technovaa has are top of the range from European manufacturers,” he said.

“As such the output and the quality that we produce is quite high hence we are able to cater to the developed market of Europe.”

Meanwhile, the company is also expanding its commitment to recyclying, he said.

“Technovaa Dubai is committed to keeping the environment clean and as such has installed European recycling lines to convert PP, LDPE and HDPE scrap into granules,” added Darvish.

“We collect the scrap from various companies who otherwise would have dumped it or given to someone who does not have proper recycling facility. The scrap generated in-house by us is automatically recycled and reused without human hand touching the same during process and thus avoids contamination of material.

“We at Technovaa take all possible precautions to reduce the carbon footprint, recycle waste and use raw materials from renowned polymer manufacturers from across the world. Our CSR initiative also involves giving back to society.”

july-august 2014

53

News PLASTICS

The Sidel Group

demonstrated a range of its new SP 1000 HS palletiser at Interpack. The French-based firm said its new palletiser has “intelligent software that increases the productivity of the palletising solution”.

According to Sidel, whereas high-level palletisers work with stationary layers and a moving pallet, the new SP 1000 low-level palletisers maintain steady pallets and have the layers in movement.

The SP 1000 HS combines an innovative layer pusher with existing modules to offer high standards of reliability and flexibility for high-speed production. The firm also said that the SP 1000 HS palletiser marks an “innovative breakthrough that is the result of two core functions, layer preparation and palletisation, working together more effectively than ever before”.

Albis to market Bayer in North Africa Agreement covers Makrolon and Bayblend products in Maghreb Germany Albis Plastic GmbH, a global specialist for the distribution and compounding of technical thermoplastics based in Hamburg, has expanded its partnership with the Freibourg, Switzerland-based company Bayer International SA to include a distribution agreement covering the countries of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

Under a contract concluded in January 2014, Albis will begin marketing Makrolon brand polycarbonates as well as Bayblend brand PC/ABS blends, effective immediately.

Olga Baburina, Albis Plastic’s vice-president of distribution, said she was extremely pleased that the two companies have broadened their business relationship.

“Expanding our distribution rights to include the Maghreb not only expands our product portfolio in the region, but also deepens our longstanding and successful partnership with Bayer,” she said.

With its subsidiary in Tunis – Albis Plastic Tunisia SARL – the Hamburg-based company is continuing with its successful strategy of developing its local market presence both to provide Maghreb customers with on-site technical consultation and also to ensure the best possible logistical services for Bayer Material Science’s technical polymers.

The affiliated Tunisian logistics centre will be directly responsible for handling deliveries to – and inventory

Albis: extending its relationship with Bayer

storage for – the regional North African markets of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia covered by the new agreement.

Sabic launches a renewable polyolefin portfolio Certified ‘green’ polyolefins will include PE and PP products for sustainable packaging KSA Sabic has announced that it will launch its first portfolio of renewable polyolefins, certified under ISCC Plus, which involves strict traceability and requires a chain of custody based on a mass balance system.

The portfolio, including renewable polyethylenes (PE) and polypropylenes (PP), responds to the increasing demand for sustainable materials from Sabic’s customers, most notably in packaging, and is applicable for all its polyolefins grades, potentially for all market applications.

Sabic claims to be the first petrochemicals company that can produce renewable secondgeneration PP & PE, with assets in Europe for cracking heavy renewable feedstocks made from waste fats and oils.

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“Sabic’s market-leading move into the certified renewable polyolefins area is linked to the needs of our customers who increasingly require sustainable packaging solutions in response to both consumer and regulatory demands,” said Mosaed Al-Ohali, executive vice-president for polymers.

“It is a winning solution for our customers, as these materials can be converted readily on their existing equipment with no investment needed, and can contribute to an improvement of sustainability of their products.”

To develop the new renewable portfolio, Sabic worked closely with its customers to create materials that meet the growing requirements for sustainable materials that do not impact on the food chain.

july-august 2014

Sabic’s ‘market-leading move’ has been prompted by demand for renewable packaging

“We have optimised our technology to allow the production of renewable PP and PE using renewable feedstocks, which are made from waste fats and oils and are not in direct competition with the food chain, with equal performance to those produced with fossil fuels,” said Mark Vester, business leader LL-LDPE. “This technology has the potential to revolutionise

both the plastics and packaging industry across Europe and around the world.”

Sabic worked closely with the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) organisation to prove the sustainability of the new feedstock. Third-party auditors checked and ensured the reliable use of the mass balance system within Sabic.

PLASTICS News

KraussMaffei and IPS partner up in MEA markets

Deal aims to enhance sales and aftersales in GCC and North, East and West Africa Germany KraussMaffei announced on 16 June that Dubai’s Integrated Packaging Systems (IPS) has become its exclusive partner for the KraussMaffei key markets across the Middle East and Africa.

As a successful partner of the Netstal brand for many years, IPS has both the expertise and experienced local sales and service personnel to greatly contribute toward expanding and strengthening KraussMaffei and Netstal operations and product offerings in these key regions, said KraussMaffei.

The partnership is aimed at developing a combined strategy to strengthen sales and aftersales services, said Dr Hans Ulrich Golz, president of the injection

moulding machinery segment of the KraussMaffei Group.

“IPS has been working very successfully for years as a sales and service partner for Netstal,” he said. “I am convinced that we will strengthen and further develop the sales and service activities also of the KraussMaffei brand in the short term, based on this partnership and through the use of the existing infrastructure of IPS.” Dr Golz has recently been appointed to the IPS Board of Directors to further maximise the synergies between the two companies.

The new partnership extends over large parts of the Middle East, including the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) region,

Dr Golz: joined IPS’s board of directors

as well as key areas of Africa, including North, East and West African markets.

“An important target of this partnership will be to strengthen especially the service and aftersales business, by developing a network of efficient local service engineers for the KraussMaf-

fei and Netstal brands. I am convinced that our KraussMaffei customers will benefit from this partnership as our Netstal customers did in the past,” said Dr Golz.

KraussMaffei is known for its multitechnology system and process solutions for injection and reaction moulding technology and factory automation. With standalone, modular or standardised machinery and systems, KraussMaffei is a full-system partner for customers in many industry sectors.

IPS aims to provide complete processing and packaging solutions covering: beverage, dairy, plastics, food, confectionery, pharmaceuticals, raw material, ingredients, and protein food.

Sidel labelling systems installed at Baghdad bottler Two Rollquatro F35 Evolution labellers will help upgrade a CSD line for Naba Al Furat Baghdad Naba Al Furat, a member of Iraq’s Al Hadara Group, has upgraded its carbonated soft drinks (CSD) production line in Baghdad with two Sidel Rollquattro F35 Evolution labellers.

Sidel’s Rollquattro labellers will be used for producing 33ml and 0.5l bottles, which together cover about 70% of the Iraqi beverage manufacturer’s production of 90,000 bottles per hour.

Naba Al Furat’s 48,000m2 plant in Baghdad produces CSD, water, and – most recently – energy drinks.

“We started our partnership with Sidel two years ago when we selected the company to supply us with an SBO 20 Universal standalone blower,” said Adnan Jarallah, general manager and owner. “Their cutting-edge technology and

Rollquatro F35 Evolution: now in 658 installations worldwide

the quality of their aftersales service have proven to be high and, as a result, have encouraged us to approach them for the two labellers.

“Being an innovative solution that offers greater flexibility and

superior quality of final products, we are confident that the new equipment will help us add value to our products and reduce the total cost of ownership.”

Sidel’s consolidated roll-fed Rollquattro technology features in

994 installations, including 658 of Rollquattro F35 Evolution, the latest generation.

The F35 Evolution offers greater flexibility and superior quality of final products, according to Sidel.

Through a “unique system for applying labels”, the Rollquatro F35 Evolution dispenses with the need for smoothing, said the manufacturer. The system also features a SMAR (Sidel MArkless Registration) system, which reduces the cost of a label material by indicating the correct cutting without any need for the traditional marks.

In recognition of the growing significance of MEA for the global beverage industry, Sidel set up a new Greater Middle East and Africa (GMEA) Zone in 2013 with its headquarters in Dubai and supporting offices across the zone including in Johannesburg.

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News PLASTICS

DIC (Dubai International

Capital) has agreed to sell Mauser, a leading producer of rigid industrial packaging, to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for about $1.7bn, it was announced on 12 May. DIC, the private equity arm of Dubai Holding, acquired Mauser in 2007. DIC CEO David Smoot said: “Mauser is well positioned to drive further growth and profitability given its attractive global platform.” Mauser CEO Hans-Peter Schaefer said: “On the behalf of our entire management I would like to thank DIC for supporting Mauser through what was an incredibly successful period of growth for the business.” Mauser now operates out of 83 facilities across 18 countries, up from 53 facilities in 12 countries in 2007.

Milliken PP clarifer granted ECV label NX 8000’s energy-saving qualities validated by UL Environment Belgium The energy-saving benefits of Milliken’s new generation clarifier Millad NX 8000 for polypropylene (PP) have been validated by the independent organisation UL Environment, a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories).

The validation lets Milliken and its customers, from converters to brand owners, use an Environmental Claim Validation (ECV) label to highlight their energy consumption reductions from using Millad NX 8000 in a transparent PP product.

Millad NX 8000 supports the development of highclarity, high-quality plastic packaging solutions for the food and household sectors.

Importantly, using the additive

allows conversion temperatures to be lowered, particularly in injection moulding, cutting energy use and CO2 emissions.

Test data show Millad NX 8000 can lower required processing temperatures from 235°C to 190°C, resulting in energy savings of 8–12%.

Several ECV labels displaying the energy savings from Millad NX 8000 are available. The product claim for the whole product or factory line is: “Plastic part manufactured using 8 to 12% less energy due to clarifier technology.”

The new ECV labels will enable companies to show their positive contribution to the environment on product packaging and marketing materials, giving third-party

credibility to their sustainability claims and creating a powerful differentiating tool. Permission depends on an evaluation and audit of the calculated processing savings with Millad NX 8000 by UL Environment.

Daan Vanwynsberghe, global technical manager for plastic additives at Milliken, said: “The UL Environmental Claim Validation provides the assurance of independent confirmation of environmental credentials by a third party in markets deluged by unsubstantiated eco-claims.”

Sara Greenstein, president of UL Environment, said: “Milliken’s energy savings achievement and subsequent UL validation will help provide valuable differentiation in the plastics industry.”

1st Middle East & Africa Packaging Forum A unique training and networking platform for brand owners, printers, converters, manufacturers and suppliers.

Dubai : 11-12 November 2014

For more information: usha@packagingmea.com or +971 4 387 3575/+971 5 5519 6063 56

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THERE IS MORE TO SIDEL SERVICES THAN YOU MAY THINK

DISCOVER SIDEL SERVICES GET A LITTLE BIT MORE Discover Sidel Services and get a little bit more product quality, efficiency, flexibility, cost optimisation and brand support. We can add value to your installed Sidel equipment, your products and your bottom line with our six services areas: Maintenance, Line Improvement, Training, Spare Parts & Logistics, Line Conversions & Moulds, and Packaging. To discover how Sidel Services has created value for beverage producers worldwide, and how the team can do so for you, please visit sidel.com/services or contact your local Sidel representative.

sidel.com/services

Q&A FFS-TNA

TNA targets the Middle East

Mukul Shukla, general manager at tna Australia, tells Benjamin Daniel how the company is aiming for growth in the Middle East.

What are your plans for the MEA? Mukul Shukla: The Middle East is one of the fastest growing economies today, especially in the food industry. For tna too, the Middle East and North Africa is the growth area.

From our Dubai office we also take care of the Indian sub-continent. We cover Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, North Africa and the Middle East. Our growth areas are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and India.

We have set up satellite offices in Egypt and India, with the headquarters for the region at Dubai. In terms of value, for the last three years, we have been growing at the rate of 25–30% in the Middle East alone.

Apart from this I would like to mention about our new acquisition of FOODesign Company in the United States. It has given us a lot of advantage since we have now another manufacturing facility in North America. Previously we just had an office in Dallas and other regional offices in the North and South America.

We have also added a completely new line to our processing line, which is specialised for the kettle style of potato chips. We have already supplied the batch fryers to key clients across North America. This also has been an opportunity for us in the Middle East because not many people are producing kettle style potato chip fryers here.

Our machines are CE certified. Further, we follow our own safety standards. We will also be taking part and exhibiting some new products in Gulfood this year.

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What is your USP in packaging?

Mukul Shukla: We believe in innovation and we are much ahead of our competition in terms of that.

We started off with packaging in the market. It was only with the vertical form fill and seal [FFS] machine on which we were focusing. We then realised that integration with the weighing machine is a key to plant efficiency and accuracy so we were the first one to integrate with the scale.

Before that, we were the first to introduce rotary jar technology. We also added further elements in the distribution of the product. We were again the first to provide a complete turnkey solution with the distribution, weighing and packaging.

Then we wanted to do more on backward integration. We went into mainline seasoning, also called kitchen seasoning. We then entered into the all-machine seasoning system, which needs a lot of flexibility in the manufacturing setup and is very demanding.

We further went backward and wanted to invest into the processing lines, which led to the recent acquisition.

In between there were a lot of blocks that were not yet filled in. All of these lines require a lot of control and integration so we bought over a company called Cadillac, which was into controls, two years ago.

So if you look at us in the market we are a company into processing, seasoning, distribution, weighing and packaging –

kind of a one-stop-solution for packaging.

Our job doesn’t finish here. There are many more things to do.

What about the print element?

Mukul Shukla: Our specialties are the pillow bag, the quartro bag, the block bottom bag etc. We source the printed laminates and we only do the FFS. What sets your machines apart?

Mukul Shukla: Our innovation is what sets us apart from our competition.

Individual machines have different USPs and features that set them apart but we can give much better efficiencies in the line with better controlled processes. We have more efficient machines.

What are tna’s policies for promoting sustainability in packaging?

Mukul Shukla: We have no control on what our customer is buying, whether it is biodegradable plastic or not.

The way we contribute is that if there is less scrap out of the factory due to our machines, that’s what we can control. We have come up with technologies in our machines where you will have less scrap from the product as well as the plastic.

Apart from this, our machines are energy efficient or they consume less energy than the competition’s.

INTERPACK 2014 Event

Interpack’s figures confirm its international role Two thirds of the expo’s 175,000 visitors travel from outside Germany to attend

Interpack’s organisers report the show attracted vistors from 120 nations on 8–14 May in Germany

Germany Interpack’s 2014 edition on 8–14 May confirmed the expo’s global status with 75% of 2,700 exhibiting companies and 66% of 175,000 visitors from outside the host nation, said the show’s organisers.

Exhibitors met with many high-ranking visitors from all over the world from the start of the trade fair, according to the show team.

Friedbert Klefenz, president of the Interpack Exhibitors’ Advisory Board 2014 and president of Bosch Packaging Technology, said: “We are very satisfied with the quantity and quality of visitors at our stand. The interest taken in our technologies that make a vital contribution to global health and nutrition was enormous.

“We are pleased with the high number of leads produced, including many top executives and potential new customers.

Similar comments came from other exhibitors.

“We were equally thrilled by the high number of international visitors and exhibitors – some 75% of the exhibiting enterprises were headquartered outside Germany. With this Interpack has confirmed its reputation as the world’s leading trade fair for the packaging sector.”

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, president and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, said Interpack had provided “impressive proof” of its “leading international role”.

“This success confirms our fundamental philosophy of addressing the international industries in their respective markets in a very targeted manner – already in the run-up to the event – thereby bringing them to their most important event in Düsseldorf every three years,” he said.

With 66% of visitors from abroad, Interpack not only set a record for itself but also a top rating across all Messe Düsseldorf events. Visitors from

120 nations in total travelled to Düsseldorf.

Interpack’s dominating themes in 2014 were resource efficiency for plant and machinery as well as for packaging material usage, quality and safety to guarantee perfect and counterfeit-proof finished products – especially in segments such as food/beverages and pharmaceuticals – as well as diversity and flexibility for an ever wider range and shorter product cycles, said the event team.

These issues were addressed by a particularly high number of innovations in the halls, according to the tradeshow staff.

Bernd Jablonowski, director of Interpack and also the tradeshow’s Save Food theme, stressed how the expo’s special initiatives had captured the interest of attendees.

“For a leading international trade fair it is not enough just to rent out exhibition space and offer perfect organisation,” he said.

“Trend themes must be identified, anchored in the concept and finally also driven in a consistent manner. This is the only way to secure thematic leadership in an industry.

“We have succeeded in doing this very well once again this year. The concepts of both Innovationparc Packaging and the Metal Packaging Plaza were right on target with the target groups.”

The second Save Food Congress attracted more than 450 delegates to tackle food losses and waste. Partners included the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) as well as more than 110 members from the industry. Meanwhile, Innovationparc Packaging presented solutions and ideas for fighting food losses and waste.

Interpack returns on 4–10 May 2017.

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Event INTERPACK 2014

Esko showcased at

Interpack its premedia and prepress expertise with partners HP Indigo, HP Scitex, Sun Chemical and Videojet. Esko Cape was presented as optimising packaging logistics throughout the supply chain, including secondary packaging, palletisation, and loading of trucks and containers. Esko also presented solutions for flexo.

HP Indigo and HP Scitex showcased digital and wideformat printing solutions, powered by Esko software, for digital print production of folding cartons, flexible packaging, labels and corrugated materials.

Sun Chemical showcased PantoneLIVE.

Color-Logic displayed

metallic colour prints produced on the Durst Tau 330. Color-Logic has completed a partnership with Durst. Color-Logic Director of Operations and eCommerce Dave Bowden said: “We have certified the Color-Logic process on the Durst Tau 330 label press.

Buyers of the Durst Tau 330 label press can be assured that the Color-Logic process is fully compatible with the device and that they can confidently offer metallic labels featuring the process.”

Helmuth Munter, segment manager for Durst Labels & Package Printing, said: “Durst has tested the Color-Logic system in our laboratories and are convinced that the process produces the highest quality printing on metallic substrate.”

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Bobst ups forecast on Interpack debut Firm predicts continued sales rise in 2014 from its expo activity Dusseldorf Bobst, which was participating in Interpack for the first time, had a very successful show, said Eric Pavone, business director for the company’s webfed business unit.

In fact, business activity at the show suggests Bobst’s sales should rise from 2014, despite a challenging economic backdrop, said the firm.

“We were able to finalise projects, kick off new ones, foster existing relationships, and make new contacts with professionals of the industry,” he said.

Bobst products attracted interest due to enhancements at both ends of the portfolio, he said. “Not only are we continuously improving the performance of our high-end

Pavone: kicked off new projects

solutions for mature markets, we are also extending our product offer for emerging markets.

“Last but not least, our customers appreciate our service capacities that have been expanded significantly over the last 12 months,” he said.

Bobst’s web-fed unit covers printing presses, laminators, web coating and metallising lines

for flexibles as well as webfed folding cartons and inline converting. In 2013, the unit achieved a record performance, up 8.9% on 2012 results.

The Middle East was among the regions where Bobst’s F&K 20SIX range of CI flexo presses recorded excellent market penetration. In flexo, Bobst achieved solid sales in preprint and non-woven segments.

In gravure for flexibles Bobst maintained its lead, largely through its Rotomec 4003 platform. Meanwhile, Lemanic lines drove its performance in the folding carton sector.

CL and SL laminating machines sales were propelled by high-performance duplex and triplex converted products.

Octal shows high-performance DPET

‘First direct-to-sheet’ polyester cuts out five production stages Dusseldorf Octal, the world’s leading clear rigid packaging material supplier, displayed its new high-performance DPET sheet at Interpack.

The patented sheet is aimed at high-volume applications in food and consumer packaging.

Developed in-house, DPET is marketed as the world’s first direct-to-sheet polyester sheet, eliminating five stages of the conventional production process: pelletising, SSP, compacting, drying and extrusion.

DPET has been developed to be both cost- and energyefficient, offering absolute traceability and to eliminate defects and resin contamination.

DPET sheet uses 65% less grid electricity per kilogramme than other polymers, translating to a 25% lower carbon footprint than traditionally produced

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APET, according to independent studies. In recently conducted third-party studies, DPET sheet outperformed both virgin PET and recycled PET in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions as per the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, making it the least carbon-intensive PET sheet on the market.

Joe Barenberg, Octal’s executive vice-president and COO, said: “Octal will continue to focus on the growth of the form fill seal [FFS] markets with

a primary emphasis on fresh meat and cheese packaging following the successful application of DPET sheet in the Middle East and North African water cup market, the poultry industry, and single serve and multipacks in the yogurt industry.”

Octal produces nearly 1m tonnes of bottle-grade PET per year at its complex in Salalah, Oman. The company topped $3bn in sales last year.

Octal is targeting DPET at fresh meat and cheese packaging

Event INTERPACK 2014

Nordson Corporation

at Interpack announced the global release of ProBlue Liberty, an integrated tankless melter and multihose fill system that allows packagers to reduce waste, char, downtime and energy consumption. The new system incorporates Nordson tankless technology. ProBlue melters already service more than 100,000 hot melt packaging applications. A proprietary sensor monitors molten adhesive levels in a small hopper and alerts the fill system to add the appropriate amount of hot melt. By melting only what is needed and when it is needed, ProBlue Liberty virtually eliminates char buildup in the melter, said the firm.

KHS launched its KHS

Innoprint direct print system for PET bottles and was one of five companies nominated for this year’s Hermes Award for technology. KHS CEO Professor Matthias Niemeyer described direct printing as “a milestone in the decoration of PET bottles”.

Innoprint enables PET bottles to be directly printed all round. The process offers far more flexibility than plastic or paper labels, said KHS. In addition, glue and labels no longer have to be shipped or stored. An operation producing 25,000 labels per hour in a two-shift operation over 220 days per year would save on 42 tonnes of labelling material and on the glue used in standard labelling. All the KHS Innoprint needs are text and graphics files.

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Comexi presents its Nexus laminator Group hosts visitors from 75 nations on its return to the trade fair Dusseldorf Back at Interpack after a break of 30 years, the Comexi Group claims professionals from more than 75 countries took an interest in solutions such as its Nexus L20000 laminator.

Developed through a partnership with HP, the solventless solution caters for short-run laminating and coating for digital printing on flexible packaging.

Shorter life cycles and the customising of packages are now driving short runs that require a fast response time, explained Ramon Xifra, vice-chairman of Comexi Group.

“The new Comexi Nexus L20000... will enable flexible packaging converters to meet

Comexi’s stand at Interpack

their needs and increase their businesses,” he said.

At Interpack, Comexi Group also displayed its new Cingular Laser technology: a new integrated laser inline system that features HoleTech, ScribingTech, CuttingTech, HallmarkTech, SelectCutTech and 3DTreatmentTech applications.

For lamination, the firm introduced Cingular Holography, which it described as the most suitable solution for registered holographic effects on a wide gamut of substrates.

With the new Comexi Nexus Futura laminater converters can apply holograms on a flexible package to achieve a great visual impact and incorporate copy protection items.

For sustainable printing, the group highlighted its Comexi Offset CI8.

Also on display was the Comexi Flexo F2 WB, which has been developed by the Comexi Group for companies that want to enter solventless printing with high speeds but without losing quality.

Hapa features ink alongside print kit Pharma firms hone in on serialisation products also from Laetus Dusseldorf Hapa products featured at Interpack – either on the company’s booth or integrated into a partner’s line – included the company’s Universal Label Printer, Hybrid, BlisterJet, LabelJet, EasyFlex and redcube.

In addition, Hapa highlighted designer inks by Hapa Ink. With its in-house CMYK colours and high-density white, Hapa Ink offers excellent print quality and nearly unlimited capacity for applications, said the firm.

Patrick Schmid, head of marketing, described Interpack as a very satisfactory exhibition.

“Visitors were both highly interested in Hapa’s portfolio, and highly informed about our products,” he said, “so much so, that with a significant number of prospective clients we kicked straight into consultation.”

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Hapa: showed Universal Label Printer, Hybrid, BlisterJet, LabelJet, EasyFlex and redcube

Team Hapa cultivated valuable contacts from the pharma sector as well as the cosmetics, food and medtech sectors, said the firm.

Among the pharma firms, interest in serialisation predominated, a view confirmed

by Hapa’s sister company, Laetus.

Visitors also took a keen interest in Hapa’s UV DOD, on demand production, and late-stage customisation print

technologies, said the firm.

These can be easily integrated into any track-and-trace solution from the compact UV DOD inkjet print module redcube, to BlisterJet, a system specialised for late-stage customisation of pre-fabricated blisters, and the LabelJet, designed for label production, or the Hybrid and WebJet, which print on diverse foils and laminated substrates.

INTERPACK 2014 Event

Bosch unveils its goals for the rest of the decade Group sets its sights on emerging markets including the Middle East and Africa Dusseldorf Bosch Packaging Technology at a press conference at Interpack shared its goals for the rest of the decade, which include outpacing the market and extending a lead in process and packaging technology.

Friedbert Klefenz, president of Bosch Packaging Technology, said the company expects to see “a fundamental change in the market for packaging machinery”.

“We not only want to react to this change, we also aim to help shape it,” he said. Under its PA 2020 strategy, the manufacturer of special machinery aims to continue expanding in established markets, and to grow especially in Asia and Africa. In addition, the company aims to venture into new fields of business.

In fiscal 2013, sales rose 22% to EUR1.1bn ($1.5bn), up from EUR914m, largely through the consolidation of companies such as Hüttlin, Manesty, and Eisai Machinery.

“We expect to keep up this pace of growth in the coming years as well,” said Klefenz. “By the end of 2015, our annual sales are likely to reach the EUR1.5bn mark.”

In its PA 2020 strategy announced last year, Bosch Packaging Technology expects a strong shift from its current distribution of sales: 40% in Europe, 30% in Asia, and a quarter in North and South America. “Until the end of this decade, we aim to continue growing strongly in the established markets, such as

Europe and North America. At the same time, we will generate far more than a third of our sales in Asia,” said Klefenz. Africa and the Middle East are also gaining in significance.

Pharma is a key driver for growth. Last year, this segment grew by 9% to provide 52% of the company’s sales. “This shows that a growing number of people have access to medication. It is also the result of the global growth of the generics business,” said Klefenz.

At the same time, more complex substances and the stricter requirements of manufacturers and lawmakers have placed new demands on the packaging sector. “This calls for major innovative strength,”

Friedbert Klefenz, president of Bosch Packaging Technology.

said Klefenz. Bosch Packaging Technology spent around 4.5% of its sales on R&D in 2013.

W&H Topas SL speeds up FFS with 2,600 sacks/hr ‘World’s fastest line’ makes its international tradeshow debut at Interpack expo Dusseldorf Topas SL, the latest model in Windmöller & Hölscher’s (W&H’s) line for bagging free-flowing bulk solids, made its international trade fair debut at Interpack.

Launched in early summer last year, Topas SL represents the fourth generation of form fill seal (FFS) systems in the Topas range. With an output of more than 2,600 sacks per hour it is currently the fastest line of its kind in the world, said W&H. With hundreds of installations, the Topas has become the world’s best-selling FFS machine for free-flowing bulk solids.

Users and operators value its performance, reliability, accuracy and easy handling. There is hardly a segment in the bulk solids spectrum for which the Topas has not set the standards for modern and efficient bagging, while

W&H: achieving an output of 2,600 sacks per hour with ‘the fastest line of its kind in the world’, according to its maker

its universal applicability has continued to impress, said W&H. The Topas SL continues its success story with the positive attributes that have brought this concept of FFS bagging to the forefront, including the high standard of engineering quality, the variations of the model and the proven experience of W&H, and, most importantly, the wealth of innovation that opens new opportunities for bagging operations. Other highlights

of the Topas SL include easier operation, 20% increased output and an attractive price/ performance ratio.

The Topas SL differentiates itself conceptually and in many details from its predecessor, starting with improved accessibility through the open frame structure and the large, transparent safety doors. Additionally, the newly designed operator touchscreen is as easy and intuitive to use as a smartphone,

according to W&H. The intensified top and bottom seam cooling gives much shorter processing cycles, while maintaining consistently high strength of the seams.

Since its launch in early June 2013, many optional extras have been added to the Topas SL. The machine on show at Interpack featured equipment that allows for almost absolutely dust-free bagging of powdery bulk goods.

With comparable equipment for PVC applications embodied in the predecessor model, W&H already claims a leading market position in this sector.

Another highlight of the Topas SL at Düsseldorf was the redesigned net weigher, which excels with large service openings and a rounded enclosure, for easy cleaning and maintenance.

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Event INTERPACK 2014

Milliken features its Ultra Clear PP

NX 8000 ‘similar in transparency to PET’ but also 17.8% lighter

Sidel Group demonstrated a range of its new SP 1000 HS palletisers at Interpack. The France-based firm said its new palletiser has “intelligent software that increases the productivity of palletising solution”.

According to Sidel, whereas high-level palletisers work with stationary layers and moving pallets, the new SP 1000 low level palletisers maintain steady pallets and have the layers in movement.

The SP 1000 HS is a lowlevel palletising system that combines an innovative layer pusher with existing modules to offer high standards of reliability and flexibility for high-speed production.

The system meets the most demanding requirements in terms of ergonomics and accessibility, while at the same time offering all the speed and dependability required of high-speed production. The new palletiser can be configured in a number of different ways.

From a high-productionspeed solution with a dual palletiser (Robo-Column or Robo-Kombi, depending on the technical solution employed) to a solution with a single palletiser for lower production speeds.

The firm also said that the SP 1000 HS palletiser marks an “innovative breakthrough that is the result of two core functions, layer preparation and palletisation, working together more effectively”.

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Dusseldorf Leading polyolefins additives supplier Milliken demonstrated packaging examples based on its Ultra Clear PP, which it describes as an optimal cost-effective solution to the packaging trend for resource efficiency and attention-grabbing appeal.

Packaging based on PP clarified with Milliken’s Millad NX 8000 series features exceptional clarity and aesthetics as well as low weight potential for thermoforming, foldable packaging, and injectionmoulded and blow-moulded applications, said Milliken.

Ultra Clear PP sets a new clarity standard for PP comparable to glass clear materials and offers specific benefits for different processes, according to the firm.

Milliken ultra clear PP 8000.

By overcoming the traditional undesirable milky appearance of PP in thermoforming, Ultra Clear PP offers transparency similar to PET for sheet and thermoformed applications such as cups, trays, clamshells and containers, according to Milliken.

Other performance benefits are easy peel and seal, chemical resistance and impact

resistance. Samples at the booth demonstrated that the material offers a 17.8% weight saving compared with PET-based food trays, with possibilities to produce 70 trays from 1kg of PP compared with 57 trays from 1kg of PET. The material’s excellent heat resistance further extends application opportunities by enabling microwaveability and hot-fill capability.

Converters can experience productivity improvements and energy savings when using Millad NX 8000 clarified PP to produce injection-moulded applications, such as thin wall packaging containers, added Milliken.

Using the additive allows conversion temperatures to be lowered, particularly in injection moulding, added the firm.

SIPA spotlights weight-saving options Technology on display includes Hotlight 28 and X-Mould products Dusseldorf Italian PET technology specialist SIPA used Interpack to present materialsaving technology such as lightweight neck designs.

Hotlight 28 was shown as a 28mm short-neck finish that is shorter than standard hot-fill neck finishes and also far lighter at just 3.8g. It allows the production of hot fill and CSD containers on the same machine without any personalisation change.

SIPA also incorporates the Cappello preform base design by Concordia Development into its preform moulds.

This popular design, now used by several major brands around the world, makes it possible to reduce the overall weight of a PET bottle by about 2%. Implementing the Cappello design requires only minor

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modification to the mould and the take-out tube.

SIPA has also just launched X-Mould to enable thinner fill wall sections. X-Mould lets designers create longer or wider preforms with ratios of lengthto-wall thickness close to 60, while applying injection pressure similar to that normally used for preforms with a 45 ratio.

Using X-Mould, a 500ml bottle preform weighing as little as 7.2g

presents no production issues, either during injection moulding of the preform itself or when it is stretch-blow moulded.

SIPA has created a small PET drinks bottle design robust enough to be hot-filled but with suppleness for squeezing. Four triangular panels boost stability and give plenty of space for logos and information labels.

Bottles can be filled at up to 90°C without deforming afterwards.

SIPA: showcasing a host of innovations that can save on material

INTERPACK 2014 Event

Dow shines spotlight on sustainability at expo cube Group exhibits at Interpack under the green corporate theme of ‘Make it. Use it. Save it.’

Dow aimed to show Interpack vistors how its technologies can deliver lighter, stronger, more cost-effective packaging

Dusseldorf Dow’s presence at Interpack centred on the theme “Make it. Use it. Save it.”

At the Dow ‘cube’ visitors saw this slogan put into action as the company showcased its ability to help make lighter, stronger, more cost-effective packaging, develop consumer-friendly and easy-to-use packaging, and focus on solutions to save natural resources, reduce food waste, and contribute to a more sustainable environment.

“At Dow we see ourselves at the heart of packaging,” said Dana Mosora, value chain and sustainability leader. “Our global footprint with manufacturing facilities across the world and commitment to investing in R&D helps us deliver high-class technologies to support the evolving needs of our customers.”

Recent technologies and innovations on display included PacXpert Packaging Technology,

which offers the transition from traditional rigid containers to flexible packaging pouches from 2 litres to 20 litres in size. The design ships and stores flat and once filled allows for easy pour and high product yield.

PacXpert Packaging Technology has received two prestigious awards: the 2013 ABRE Gold Award from the Brazilian Packaging Association and the 2013/2014 WorldStar Packaging Award from the World Packaging Organisation.

ELITE Advanced Technology 6401 Enhanced Polyethylene is a new addition for packaging applications including liquid detergents, pet food, milk and oil allowing packs to be sealed quicker with higher seal integrity.

MOR-FREE Low Monomer adhesives has been launched as a new solventless laminating adhesives offering faster PAA/ NCO decay to meet food

legislation requirements quicker, keep a safer work environment, and improve converting efficiency and cost.

“Whether we are looking to address the needs of a converter, brand owner or consumer, we know that packaging products need to be smart, from manufacturing to use to end-of-life,” said Marc van den Biggelaar, marketing director for food and specialty packaging and adhesives.

“Accordingly, Dow uniquely offers a broad portfolio of resins, adhesives, binders and coatings for flexible and rigid primary, secondary and tertiary packaging to address the evolving needs of our customers,” he added.

Dow was also present at the Innovationparc Packaging area and at the Save Food Congress and Forum sharing new ideas on sustainable packaging to tackle food shortage and waste.

As a member of Save Food, a global initiative pioneered by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and Messe Düsseldorf to fight global food loss, Dow said it is firmly committed to developing sustainable packaging solutions.

In addition to having a broad portfolio, Dow also understands the importance of close collaboration among value chain players in developing adequate packaging solutions, said the company.

A key platform for this is Pack Studios, a global network of laboratories, experts and collaboration tools that addresses the acceleration of packaging innovation for Dow customers and value chain members.

There are four Pack Studio technology centres in the United States, Brazil, China and now also Switzerland.

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Event METPACK 2014

Metpack continues growth for fourth straight show Expo team finds the metal packaging sector in good health in its post-show report

Metpack featured 243 companies from 27 nations in its 2014 edition, the fourth consecutive increase in exhibitors at the show

Essen Metpack continued to grow in 2014 when on 6–10 May, for the fourth time in succession, it attracted more exhibitors: 243 companies from 27 nations.

Global players at the event included ArcelorMittal, ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein, KBA and Soudronic. About 7,100 trade visitors atttended from about 100 countries. The expo also reflected the sector’s strong health, according to the show team.

More than 91% of the exhibitors said they were satisfied with their business success.

Nearly one third of the visitors ordered something directly at the fair, mainly in the high six-digit range. In addition, 96% of the exhibiting companies said they are expecting good post-fair business, said the show team.

“Metpack has once more precisely tapped the pulse of the sector and has impressively highlighted its position as the most important ordering platform anywhere in the world 66

for the international metal packaging industry,” said Oliver P. Kuhrt, chairman and CEO of Messe Essen.

Metpack primarily concentrated on sustainable and cost-efficient solutions for the manufacture, refinement and recycling of metal packaging.

“In recent years, the sector has intensively dealt with the environmental aspects such as energy consumption, waste reduction as well as further decreases in the material thickness,” said Wolfgang Niemsch, chairman of the Metpack Committee.

“Now, they presented impressive solutions at the world’s premier fair in Essen.

Thus, Metpack has once more proven to be the most important source of stimuli for the international metal packaging industry.”

Trade visitors – who were 88% decision takers from the food, beverage and chemical

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industries – were very interested in new products at the fair such as innovative sealing solutions for peel-off ends, modern anticorrosion coatings or newly developed sealing compounds.

Metpack took account of the rising demand for cost-efficient, sustainable production solutions with new shaping solutions for food and aerosol cans. These also featured processes for the downgauging of catering size cans and food cans.

Eighty percent of exhibitors came from abroad and nearly a third from outside Europe.

In total, companies from 27 nations were represented at the world’s premier fair, up 12% on 2011. At Messe Essen, 7,100 trade visitors from about 100 countries found out about products. Three quarters of visitors came from abroad.

Higher efficiency, greater flexibility due to quick tool changes, and reduced energy and material consumption

in canmaking were the core subjects for the Metpack Innovation Award. In total, 16 exhibitors competed.

For gold, the international expert jury picked the Spider Head End Liner delta robot for producing can ends.

Silver went to the German company KBA-MetalPrint for its HighEcon Dryer, which enables extremely thin metal sheets to be processed.

Soudronic Group took bronze with its Soucan 2075 AF welding machine for manufacturing light food cans, which stood out for its environmentally friendly and quick processing of thin sheets.

The Metpack Conference brought together eight specialists to tackle ‘Modern Global Canmaking’. The subjects included copylining technology for non-round can ends, quality improvements in metal sheet decorating as well as new solutions for cans containing dangerous goods.

DRUPA 2016 Event

Drupa to focus on new technologies in 2016 edition Tradeshow adopts ‘touch the future’ slogan and will feature functional and 3D printing Dusseldorf Drupa presented its relaunch and structural realignment for 2016 at the 8–14 May Interpack tradeshow.

With the slogan “touch the future” the upcoming event will reflect the printing industry’s current transformation.

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, president and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, said the show will focus on new technologies such as functional printing, printed electronics, and 3D printing plus applications in digital printing, package and label printing as well as industrial production.

“It is precisely on these areas that the Drupa’s structural realignment and repositioning measures are focused, highlighting the industry’s innovative strength,” he told a press conference.

“Together with our partners, the VDMA, our member companies Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Koenig & Bauer, Kolbus, Leonhard Kurz, manroland web systems, PolarMohr, technotrans, Voith, W&H – to name but a few – and global players such as Bobst, Canon, EFI, Gallus, HP, Ricoh and Xerox we have developed the concept for the Drupa’s re-launch.”

Drupa 2016 will stand for ‘Print and Crossmedia Solutions’ and cover all technical processes related to printing and crossmedia along with an entire range of applications and business areas, said the show team. Package printing including digital label printing will be one of the focuses of the 2016 edition along with multichannel publishing and green printing.

Drupa has also revamped its branding. Its logo will retain tried-and-tested elements such as the pixel logo and the colour red, while conveying a new image to reflect the claim of a new expo.

The show’s seven categories have also been overhauled to the following six: 1. Prepress/Print 2. Premedia/Multichannel 3. Post-press/Converting/ Package printing 4. Future technologies 5. Materials 6. Equipment/Services/ Infrastructure Companies supplying products in these categories can now register for Drupa 2016. A digital registration form is available at www.drupa.de. The registration closing date is on 31 October,

Drupa 2016 will stand for ‘Print and Crossmedia Solutions’

2014. International exhibitors will present the latest trends and developments in functional printing and printed electronics under the Pepso (Printed Electronics Products and Solutions) brand.

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Event METPACK 2014

Sun Chemical shows it’s ‘more than ink company’

Breadth of packaging ink solutions showcased under theme of ‘concept to consumer’ Essen Sun Chemical exhibited its expertise in metal decorating to brand owners, can makers and printers at Metpack 2014 under the theme ‘concept to consumer’, chosen to show the breadth of its offering.

Eduardo Alegria, Sun Chemical’s global metal deco inks sales director, said: “At Metpack 2014, we want to show brand owners and can makers that Sun Chemical is more than an inks company and can help with the whole process in metal decoration.

“Working with partners such as Sun Branding Solutions and Pantone, we can add value to the metal packaging workflow, from concept to consumer.”

At the show, on 6–10 May at Essen in Germany, Sun Chemical highlighted three of its product families: SunDuo, SunTrio and SunAltec for beer and beverage cans, food packaging, and tubes and monobloc.

The high-value, flexible, robust SunDuo range offers a high-speed press performance which is suitable for printing of steel

Sun Chemical: featured special effects

and aluminium cans, both novarnish and overvarnish, said Sun Chemical.

SunTrio is marketed as versatile, flexible, cost-effective and highly resilient and suitable for all types of metal cans and closures, from crowns to drums, aluminium pilfer-proof caps, aerosols, food cans and fish drawn cans.

The SunAltec product range offers excellent performance, superior quality, highest productivity and highest fastness properties and

is suitable for monobloc aerosols, monobloc drink bottles and aluminium collapsible tubes, according to Sun Chemical.

Inaki Llona, global business leader, metal deco inks, said: “We know that two key requirements from today’s brand owners and can makers are innovation and collaboration.

“That’s why we feel confident that our impressive offerings, showcasing expertise across the whole metal packaging workflow, will surprise and excite those who want to explore how metal decoration, through our product families SunDuo, SunTrio and SunAltec, can add business value.”

Visitors were shown packaging samples demonstrating a wide variety of Sun Chemical’s special effect inks including tactile effects and colour change inks.

Sun Chemical’s brand colour management team also showcased PantoneLIVE, which the company claims is an effective way for brand owners to ensure the consistency of colours across metal packaging.

Lanico premieres ‘first tinplate monobloc aerosol’ SteeloCare designed to have inner seaming, be 100% recyclable, and need no lubricants Essen At Metpack on 6–10 May Lanico presented SteeloCare, which it unveiled as the first tinplate monobloc design aerosol can.

Developed in a technology alliance with the packaging steel producer ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein (Andernach, Germany) and the press manufacturer Schuler Pressen (Göppingen, Germany), SteeloCare features a completely monobloc look with excellent printing quality and surface feel as well as seamless printed impression, said Lanico.

A new technique developed by Lanico permits inner seaming of the can, dispensing with the need for a visible bottom fold.

SteeloCare reaches the 18 bar classification and burst pressures of more than 25 bar without difficulty. Furthermore, the tinplate can is 100% recyclable and needs neither lubricants nor extensive cleaning.

Michael Kaufmann, Lanico technical director, said the company had “optimised all successive and interrelated processes” together with ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein and Schuler.

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Lanico: ‘optimised all processes’ for can

“Machine employment and tool use have been minimised and corrosion stability is extremely high,” he said. “Thanks to the steel material developed by ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein, the can bodies by Schuler and the Lanico inner fold application our customers receive an optimum system with guaranteed functionality and performance.”

In co-operation with ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein and Schuler, Lanico has also engineered a complete can making solution

that permits standardisation of semi-finished parts. For the classic three-piece aerosol can each canmaker currently employs its own measurements. Standardisation generates significant cost advantages.

Metpack had been a very successful show for the company, which made valuable new contacts and closed several sales, said Lanico.

Lanico’s Can Former CF 411, particularly suited to medium- and high-speed production of general line cans such as large milk powder cans, beer kegs and large paint kegs also attracted interest at the expo, said the firm.

For almost 100 years Lanico Maschinenbau Otto Niemsch GmbH, based in Braunschweig, Germany, has produced innovative packaging machines for the can making and canning industry. Today Lanico sees itself as a leader in general line can equipment. Particularly for the production of aerosol and rectangular cans, Lanico is considered one of the leading suppliers of necking, flanging and seaming machines as well as complete production lines.

Q&A SIDEL GMEA

Want to get ahead in packaging? Each issue a leading player in the regional industry unfolds their roadmap for success.

H

Tips from the top

ow did you enter the sector?

I studied communications at Suffolk University in Boston, USA, with a minor in psychology. My career started in an international advertising agency and then as marketing and PR manager in investment and real estate in Jordan.

I moved to Dubai three years ago, worked for Integral as corporate communications manager and then joined Sidel at the inception of the Greater Middle East and Africa Zone in 2013 to head the communications function in the region.

Why packaging?

I knew nothing about packaging; in fact it was clear that most people don’t realise how large this industry is.

As a consumer of beverages in PET, you don’t think about how the bottles arrive on the shelves, so when I began discussions with Sidel about taking the communications position in the GMEA zone, I discovered a whole new dynamic and innovative world.

To think that I am now responsible for communicating to some of the biggest brands in the world on important subjects like sustainability in packaging fills me with a huge sense of achievement.

Who have been your mentors?

Sidel is full of experienced and very talented people from the beverage industry, so I am lucky that I am never alone when I need advice.

I am learning every day, but if I had to pick one individual who has help me progress not just inside Sidel but in the communications world, it’s the Zone VP of Greater Middle East and Africa – Clive Smith.

He is English, which helps in the modern communications world, but more

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an international education from France and America, but joining Sidel was certainly the best decision to date.

Everyone hopes that each move is better than the previous one, and this one has given me a fantastic team here in Dubai and – more importantly from a career perspective – a multinational staff base with a global approach in a global corporate environment.

The exposure that I am getting through Sidel’s worldwide presence is priceless.

Name: Muna Shakour Position: Communications Manager Company: Sidel Greater Middle East and Africa City: Dubai

importantly has over 25 years of global experience in the packaging industry.

What drives your success?

I am always passionate about what I do. Remember that there is no success without failure: you can’t have one without the other.

I have been ambitious in my personal targets and I have not been afraid to make mistakes. I just don’t make them twice!

What’s your best career decision so far?

I had a ‘leg up’ by being an Arab with

What has been your greatest challenge?

The capital equipment world – and beverage production in particular – is a very male-orientated environment.

Sidel does, however, encourage where we can diversity in the staff population whether it be gender, religion or nationality: 18% of our Dubai staff population is women and we have more than 20 nationalities and many different religions.

So being a woman in Sidel is not my biggest challenge.

Travelling to difficult countries within Africa and the Middle East is one of the challenges that I experience, but I also find it exciting and inspiring.

Lastly, for someone who joined Sidel from outside the industry, there is a lot to learn about this niche and high-tech business, so this was and still is my biggest challenge.

What advice would you give to women starting off in packaging?

Fit in first, then listen and absorb as much information as possible from the people around you.

Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions, this shows initiative but – above all – be seen to add significant value to the business quickly. The rest will come as a consequence.

1st Middle East & Africa Packaging Forum

A unique training and networking platform for brand owners, printers, converters, manufacturers and suppliers.

Dubai : 11-12 November 2014

For more information: usha@packagingmea.com or +971 4 387 3575/+971 5 5519 6063

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