Finishing & Screen Printing

PRINTPACK INDIA 2011 was a resounding success for Steinemann Technology

Thursday 17. February 2011 - Several laminating systems sold / Expansion of the position in the folding-box sector / Meetings with many potential new customers / 'Swiss Engineering' wins out against low-cost suppliers

Its presentation at PRINTPACK INDIA 2011 (New Delhi, 16 – 21 January) enabled Steinemann Technology AG, St. Gallen/Switzerland, to further expand its position on the Indian packaging market. For example, the company’s successes at the event, which was attended by roughly 50,000 visitors, included the sale of LOTUS 102 SF laminating machines to packaging manufacturers Can-Pac India and TCPL Packaging Ltd. A third LOTUS 102 SF had already been sold in the run-up to the exhibition and was shipped directly from PRINTPACK INDIA to packaging manufac-turer Pragati Offset in Hyderabad. Three more deals are to be concluded in the immediate future. The company also had meetings with numerous other potential customers at the event and has corresponding expecta-tions regarding follow-up business after the exhibition.
“This year’s PRINTPACK INDIA has decisively expanded our position on the Indian packaging market – particularly in the folding-box packagings sector. Despite the massive presence of various low-cost suppliers from the Far East, ‘Swiss Engineering’ continues to win out. Our machines have a very good im-age, especially on the Indian market. People have started to re-think. Until recently, many printers used water-based laminating systems from Taiwan, in particular. To improve cost-effectiveness, many of these machines are now being replaced by LOTUS SF systems. The great interest in Steinemann’s laminating technology is indicated by the simple fact that every single com-pany of standing on the packaging market here came to visit us during PRINT¬PACK INDIA,” says Albert Fässler, Sales Manager at Steinemann Technol-ogy, in a first assessment of the exhibition, where the company placed special emphasis on the lamination of metallised polyester films for folding boxes. Two other leading manufacturers of machines for the packaging sector, Bobst and manroland, exhibited in the direct vicinity of the Steinemann stand.
The criteria that swung the decision of the various packaging manufacturers in favour of the LOTUS 102 SF were all very similar. The Indian market, too, is increasingly demanding machines that offer high productivity, great reliability and favourable operating costs when it comes to manufacturing visually high-quality packagings. The LOTUS 102 SF laminating machine is constantly be-ing improved by Steinemann Technology and is the ideal answer to these re-quirements.
For example, the LOTUS 102 SF applies a mere 1.8 to 3.5 g solvent-free polyurethane adhesive per square metre, depending on the substrate and the laminating film used. Moreover, the system’s power consumption is relatively low, since it does not need a drier. Compared to other laminating systems, these two aspects together usually add up to direct cost savings in the region of 20 to 30% for the customers. In addition to which, the production quality is consistently high. A double sheet-cleaning brush with an additional, heatable, chromium-plated calender makes for dependably smooth, dirt-free substrate surfaces. Furthermore, the ‘cold’ laminating process ensures that the sheets lie flat throughout the entire production process. The Steinemann Hot Knife, in turn, guarantees that the films are cut precisely and without tension. In New Delhi, the Swiss machine manufacturer demonstrated the high performance of the LOTUS 102 SF on the basis of lamination with metallised polyester and acetate films, for example. This is an application that significantly increases the value of products, but is not easily realised with other machines.