Well over twelve hundred box makers from around the globe attended Bobst Group’s COMPETENCE10 event. The event theme of ‘Towards Zero Fault Packaging’ saw BOBST GROUP highlighting the strategies that packaging makers can use to cope with the increasingly tough quality demands of brand owners. COMPETENCE10 saw the world premieres of six new equipment lines from BOBST GROUP companies, twenty machine innovations, and several new service products, each designed to reduce or eradicate faults in packaging, to improve productivity, or open up new markets. Guest speakers from the box making industry worldwide, including from the UK, outlined to visitors their personal thoughts on the event theme.
The key packaging industry issue of how to work ‘Towards Zero Fault Packaging’ was the theme of the COMPETENCE10 event held in Mex, Switzerland over a full week at the end of September. Attended by over 1200 box makers from around the globe, the event saw the world premieres of six new BOBST GROUP lines, each designed with the improvement of final product quality, the eradication of faults, the enhancement of productivity, and the opening up of new market opportunities in mind.
The premieres were:- BOBST MASTERFLEX-HD - a new ‘ultra high graphics quality’ flexo press with integrated quality control system; BOBST EXPERTCUT 1.6 – a new mid-range corrugated diecutter featuring a dynamic register system; BOBST MASTERFOIL 106 PR - a new hot foil stamping press with unmatched foil to print accuracy; BOBST EXPERTFOLD - a new mid-range corrugated folder-gluer with optional automated robot packer; BOBST Free Standing POLYJOINER – a new unit for value-added box manufacture; and
ASITRADE MASTERFLUTE - a new high speed, high precision litho-laminator featuring dynamic register technology.
BOBST GROUP also launched a number of innovative enhancements for existing equipment and several new service products including new websites to help users boost productivity of their BOBST equipment and to enable them to trade BOBST machines with other BOBST equipment users.
Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of Bobst Group, said that, in terms of product launches, 2010 was proving to be a vintage year for the company. “Even during the difficult times the Group went through, our new Business Unit Sheet-fed has introduced a large number of new products. Every one of these has been designed to give our customers the quality and performance advances they need to succeed in today’s markets. Our technological leadership will be achieved by continuing to invest in R&D and innovation.”
On each day of the event, following a welcome speech by Mr. Bobst, a key note presentation was made by a leading packaging manufacturer. These included Andrew Hartwig, Managing Director of Firstan Packaging, who spoke on “Living With Zero Fault Packaging Contracts”.
Satellite events were held at the factories of BOBST GROUP member companies ASITRADE and MARTIN in Grenchen, Switzerland and Lyon, France respectively. Over two hundred box makers visited the ASITRADE plant to see the launch of the company’s new high speed, high precision litho-laminator, the MASTERFLUTE. ASITRADE also announced plans for the launch of an entry level machine, VISIONFLUTE, which will be a development of the company’s successful MPC-III range of machines, and of EXPERTFLUTE, a development from the company’s current MPC III Matic and MPC-IV lines. In Lyon, MARTIN exhibited a Midline 924 NT Rapidset FFG running a range of jobs to demonstrate the machines excellent registration in printing, slotting, and diecutting, at all speeds and in one pass, along with the unsurpassed folding quality that has made the worldwide reputation of Martin FFG’s.
Twenty partner companies of BOBST GROUP also presented their new developments to the packaging community in an exhibition area within the BOBST factory. Cutting die suppliers Atlas, Lasertec, and Marbach; foil and foiling die makers API, Hinderer and Muehlich, Kurz, and Universal Engraving; adhesive and adhesive system suppliers Baumer hhs, Forbo, Henkel, Nordson, Valco, and Leary; along with peripheral equipment manufacturers ATS, Gerber, Hunkeler, and Longford, all supplied equipment or consumables and maintained displays throughout the week. Finance providers Deutsche Leasing and trade body IADD were also both present.
