Unusual Fuego gluing machine

Bridger Packaging is the first carton manufacturer to introduce the latest Bobst Fuego folder-gluer. For this British family business, is this a successful move?

Bridger Packaging is the first carton manufacturer to introduce the latest Bobst Fuego folder-gluer. For this British family business, is this a successful move?

“We are not just investing in technology investments,” said Alain Babb, production manager at Bregie. “Investment must bring real benefits to the company, and this is where the new Fuego gluing machine is... Things to do."

Since moving to a new site built specifically for production two years ago, the company has achieved satisfactory growth performance in terms of production scale and sales. At the same time, however, bottlenecks have gradually emerged in the pasting session.

Mr. Babu explained: “The design of the factory is very good. After the cardboard enters from one entrance, the whole work is carried out in a circular route of printing, cutting, creasing, window dressing (if necessary), and gluing. The final product is finished. And then send it out from the entrance when it comes in. If something goes wrong, the workflow will be interrupted immediately and the problem will emerge."

Solve the bottleneck bottleneck constraints

The company was determined to solve the bottleneck problem of gluing boxes and began looking for various solutions that would help improve its capabilities. "We looked at various machines on the market, integrated various factors, and finally chose the Fuego folder-gluer." Babu said, "First of all, Bobst's name is almost synonymous with postpress, its history is better than mine. We’ve been working in this industry for a long time, and we’ve used two Bobst gluing machines (one of which is a Domino 90 Matic) and I’ve always felt Bobst’s service is second to none, but the most important thing is that Fuego has reasonable prices, good performance, faster operation and shorter adjustment time. This is exactly what we need."

In December 2004, the company introduced the Fuego 80 A2 folder-gluer with a computer control system. The machine can handle carton widths up to 800 x 800 mm, with a maximum production speed of 300 m/min.

The high speed of the Fuego folder-gluer is due to the short print-adjustment time, in part because of its built-in computer control system. The operator can enter the size information of the carton in the system or recall the data retained by previous work. The CUBE control system of the Fuego folder-gluer calculates the distance and direction each carrier needs to move, and transmits this information to the LED indicators next to each carrier. "What the operator needs to do is to set the carrier in the direction shown until the LED indicator goes to zero. After this step is completed, the carrier can work. This greatly improves the adjustment time, even for new jobs. It is no exception," Babu explained.

Another feature of the folder gluer is the electronically controlled pressure function. "The folder-gluer's transfer system applies constant pressure on the adhesive wafers at regular intervals to complete the high-quality gluing process. If necessary, we can also apply pressure in two different areas," said Babb. Another feature of the transmission system is the automatic control and gathering device, which allows the paste carton to form a continuous, well-ordered product flow.

Deal with diverse market demands

The cartons produced to meet a wide range of uses, such as food and beverage, home, gift packaging, electronics, automotive, pharmaceuticals, handicrafts, gardening, toys and office supplies, etc., means that the company’s production equipment and processes are diverse. Change.

The company’s general manager, Lawrence Bregi, stated: “We have a diverse philosophy. As a small-owned company, we do not have to compete for high-volume but low-margin supermarket orders. Instead, we have established a hybrid production model. It applies to a variety of market needs.Obviously, this mode of production can mitigate the impact on a business caused by a market downturn.However, it also means that we must have a great deal of flexibility. Work can also adapt to small batches of work; it can produce simple prints and livelihoods as well as complete complex print jobs."

For this reason, the company selected the A2 Fuego folder-gluer, which can handle straight boxes and self-locking boxes. In addition, its high speed is suitable for long-lived work, and the quick adjustment time helps short-lived replacement. Mr. Brég said: “The Fuego folder-gluer has a lot of power. Many of the original jobs that needed manual gluing can now be completed with it. Now we have completely solved the bottleneck in the gluing process and returned to a balanced production state. ”

High efficiency wins customers appreciation

In addition to the two Bobst gluer machines, Bric also owns two BOBST die cutters, model SP102-E and SP102-SE, a windowing device and two 5-color Roland presses. The company is located in Letchworth, 40 km north of London, and prides itself on being fast and flexible but not detrimental to the efficiency of its work, and considers clients to use this as a benefit to family businesses. Mr. Brége said: “Customers always say that the experience with us is very pleasant. This can be reflected by a fact that when the old company’s company relocates, we can not only keep the original order, the new move Businesses often become our customers too!"

Mr. Brége believes that customer loyalty also comes from the services provided by the company. He illustrated the company's high-efficiency system for the rapid development of new products. “We are involved from the initial stage, the design phase. This helps to avoid any restrictions in the production process and can therefore quickly develop and implement their ideas.” For this reason, the company’s on-site innovation department hired a Built-in concept designer. Mr. Brég also added: "Our company is strong enough to try anything from the smallest carton to the large promotional two-piece carton."

Self-reflection and continuous improvement

As a company with nearly 80 years of history, Brayig expanded its sales department for the first time, reflecting the increasingly fierce market competition in the UK. “We think the outlook for the UK folding carton market is optimistic, but like others, we are also facing two problems that come with the rising cost of raw materials and the downward pressure on prices.” Bregi said: “We have solved this problem in two ways. First, try to be more active in the early stage of sales – in this way we can balance different production models and maximize the efficiency of each machine. Second, we examine each production process, See if we can expand profit margins in a better way."

To this end, Mr. Bab has carried out continuous improvement activities and regularly convenes a summary meeting to encourage employees not to accept only the existing work model and to raise doubts about each link. At present, the response from the production workshop is very good. “The staff are very happy that they can participate in every production process of each of India to see if there is any improvement. The initial results are very encouraging.”

Mr. Bab is very clear that the active participation of 35 working departments is an important factor for the company's continued success. "We are very clear that without the full participation of our employees, we can't succeed. That's why we insist on extensive training during the introduction of the Fuego folder-gluer so as to maximize the production of the machine." The training will be the latest Technological advances were passed on to employees' standard operating procedures so that they could follow Bobst's basic production principles.

What are the future prospects for Brayj Packaging? Mr. Brege said: “When our company becomes the best carton manufacturer in the UK, the vast majority of the carton in the UK will be marked with our mark.” He exemplifies this, such as the company's prepress and production The level of customer service, as well as the huge warehouse with a return inventory, can help customers reduce inventory rates. "We don't want to control the entire global market," he added. "But we do want to provide services with competitive prices for a long period of time, and our investments in technology and people can ensure this."

Source: "Global Box Industry"