Stora-Enso Invests in Bobst Masterline to Maintain High Graphics Growth.

Leading Swedish corrugated packaging producer Stora Enso Packaging AB, part of the worldwide Stora Enso Group, has installed a Bobst MASTERLINE flexo post-print and diecutting line at its plant in Jönköping, Sweden. The investment will allow the plant to make further inroads into the growing market in Scandinavia for corrugated packaging with high quality graphics.

“The demand among our customers to improve the look of their corrugated packaging has been growing year on year. The MASTERLINE puts high quality flexo post print in our toolbox together alongside our offset printed packaging,” said Fredrik Stensson, Marketing Manager for the plant. “The Bobst MASTERLINE is the perfect production tool for us at this critical time because it will let us produce larger volumes of high quality post print, produce it more efficiently, and push the quality of the print that we produce further than ever before.”  

Consisting of a LOADER-ML, six-color MASTERFLEX-L, and 2.1 meter MASTERCUT, the Bobst line delivers high quality print along with highly accurate flat-bed diecutting, features which make it ideal for a wide range of applications including the growing market for retail ready packaging.

“Our customers are starting to see the benefits of branding their products through the whole logistics chain and right up to the point of sale,” explained Fredrik Stensson. “The quality of the printing on the MASTERFLEX-L and the accuracy of the diecutting on the MASTERCUT mean we can deliver great looking products in a single process and do it more cost effectively than litho or screen printers can.”

Although corrugated packaging makers worldwide use the MASTERFLEX-L very successfully as an off-line printer, it was originally conceived and designed by Bobst for in-line use - the ‘L’ in MASTERFLEX-L standing for ‘Line’. Bengt Lindstam, Production Supervisor at Stora Enso Packaging said that the decision to go in-line was made to maximize the cost effectiveness of the investment. “We had several choices of format and process, but we went with the MASTERLINE because it will allow us to produce high quality CMYK work, but at the same time have the flexibility to run 3 colour jobs when we need to.”  

Fredrik Stensson said that Bengt Lindstam has brought together all of the suppliers involved in the plant’s print process with a view to maximizing the possibilities of the new line. “We have seen the amazing work being produced around the world using MASTERFLEX-L lines, so Bengt got Bobst, Flint Inks, our pre-press people, plate suppliers, and our anilox manufacturers working together so that we can replicate that as quickly as possible.”

The MASTERFLEX-L and MASTERCUT will allow Stora Enso Packaging to print and diecut a larger format than their existing equipment. “Up until now we have been restricted by the smaller formats of our printing and diecutting capabilities,” explains Fredrik Stensson. “Now we will be able to run sheets up to 2.1m x 1.3m, which means that we can run larger work, or run with more boxes on the sheet. Neither would be possible if it was not for the excellent register of the MASTERFLEX-L all the way to the edges of maximum sized sheet.”

Staff at the plant have been delighted with the speed at which the line has been delivered and made operational “The various elements of the line arrived exactly on time, the installation and commissioning  process has gone according to the schedule, and the training of the operators starts next week,” said Bengt Lindstam. “Bobst have done everything exactly as they said they would.”

The Jönköping plant is one of the longest established corrugated plants in Sweden and, along with the other two Stora Enso Packaging plants in the country, accounts for a quarter of the Swedish market for corrugated. It also exports its printed packaging to Norway and Denmark. “We have kept our customers satisfied by constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible with flexo post-print,” said Bengt Lindstam. “The Bobst MASTERLINE investment is the next stage in that process.”

Bobst Slashes Prices on Thousands of Spare Parts.

As part of a worldwide initiative, Bobst has reduced the price of over ten thousand spare parts and consumable items, some by as much as forty percent. The parts cover a large range of regularly used items. In the UK, a new stock management system has enabled many more critical parts to be held and dispatched directly from Bobst Group’s UK facility, saving customers valuable time.

Bobst SA, the world-leading manufacturer of equipment for the packaging manufacture industry, has reduced the price of 10,350 spare parts and consumable items for its diecutter, folder gluer, flexo printer, and hot foil stamping ranges of equipment. The average price reduction of the parts involved is 23%, with some items being reduced by as much as 40%. The parts that have been reduced include many regularly used items such as belts, chains, clutches, brakes, motors, bearings, drives, and electrical parts.

Neil Jones, Managing Director of Bobst Group (UK & Ireland) Ltd said, “Previously we were buying perhaps ten of something from our suppliers, but now we are buying in the thousands. It means that we pay less and so we pass that saving on to our customers. We’ve also streamlined many of our internal processes, and again we can pass the benefits of that on to our customers.”

Bobst Group customers are also benefitting from a new common inventory management (CIM) system for spare parts and consumables implemented at a number of worldwide Bobst Group locations, including the Bobst Group site at Redditch.

Neil Jones said, “Based on worldwide parts usage data, CIM works out which critical parts we should keep in stock for the installed base here in the UK and Ireland. The system has been on line for about 18 months now and the upshot has been that last year we supplied 30% more parts from our Redditch stock than the year before. Being able to do this both cuts lead times for our customers and reduces their delivery costs. Many of our customers have said to us that they would like Bobst Group to be a one-stop shop for all their spare parts and consumables buying. Initiatives like the price cuts and CIM mean that we can be exactly that.”