Increasing capacity for high-quality flexible packaging with QuadTech

Pranesh KankanwadiIn order to minimize waste and production downtime, Positive Packaging United (Dubai) chose QuadTech’s Autotron 2600 with Clear Logic Register Guidance System on new Cerutti gravure press. A key factor in the decision to invest in the Autotron 2600 system was the close relationship that Positive Packaging has enjoyed with QuadTech for many years. “QuadTech’s technical support crew provides training sessions so that the operators can exploit the full potential of the system from the beginning. We also receive on-line remote diagnostics, to prevent any problems from emerging,” commented Pranesh Kankanwadi, managing director of Positive Packaging United.

Headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Enpee Group, Positive Packaging has become one of the large flexible packaging suppliers, with monthly output of over 4,000 tonnes (approximately 8.8 million lb) across manufacturing facilities in India, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Factory, Positive Packaging United supplies a host of major global brand owners, such as Henkel, Mars, Nestle and Unilever, as well as many niche brands.

The company is boosting its capacity with another state-of-the-art press to meet the growing demand for high-quality flexible packaging in the Middle East. “We see the inclusion of automated press controls as vital, in order to assure consistently high quality standards demanded by local consumer goods customers, whose brands depend on distinctive, high-impact packaging to succeed,” said Pranesh.

The Autotron 2,600 with ClearLogic enables the Positive Packaging United team to meet the increasing demand for design complexity, where precise control over trapping, repeat length and pattern consistency are vital. Sophisticated surface finishes, a greater number of colours, reverse printing and finer design detail are standard requirements on printing jobs. ClearLogic, the user interface, features user-friendly screens that require fewer touches, removing much of the complexity potentially involved in the set-up process. The packaging-specific software accompanying the system is compatible with a wide range of materials and die-cutting processes. This is highly beneficial to a company like Positive Packaging, which converts many opaque, transparent and reflective substrates, such as BOPP, metalized film, high-gloss cast polypropylene film. The system offers fast set-up times of just a few minutes, even when changing to a different substrate type and thickness. This simplicity is ideal for an environment like Positive Packaging where productivity depends on minimal downtime as nearly half of the company’s jobs are between 25,000 and 30,000 linear meters.