Bobst has announced its latest portfolio of products and services to help converters and brand owners to navigate through a new packaging environment.
Jean-Pascal Bobst , CEO, Bobst Group said, “While it was impossible to predict world events of recent years, like the pandemic, global conflicts, and subsequent consequences for our industry such as shortages of materials and manpower, we did correctly identify the overall packaging industry trends.”
“While these trends have undoubtedly been accelerated, Bobst has implemented a strategy and built a portfolio of solutions and services that enables converters and brand owners to thrive even in this new packaging world,” added Pascal.
The press release received by Packaging MEA states, “Back in 2020, Bobst revealed an industry vision based on four key pillars – connectivity, digitalisation, automation and sustainability. Now, these four pillars have become the cornerstones not only of the Bobst strategy, but the entire packaging environment.”
Meanwhile, to further improve parts logistics services, Bobst to open a new logistics hub for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. The new EMEA hub located in Genk, Belgium joins existing hubs in the US and Asia Pacific. The logistics center, with 100 000 parts for all product lines are available for immediate dispatch, and it will significantly improve the service level to Bobst ‘s EMEA customers with faster delivery times including a 24/7 dispatch service.
Bobst Connect
The new, updated Bobst Connect, provides digital solutions to prepare, produce, react to, maintain, and optimise the production workflow of a job. The newly launched version of Bobst Connect offers a host of features and functionality to help customers optimize their packaging at every stage. By linking up every single step of the process, Bobst Connect heightens efficiency, control, and data knowledge, improving quality and efficiency across the value chain.
Bobst Helpline Essential
The new Bobst Helpline Essential for non-connectable machines is a remote assistance service that allows customers to have access to video streaming and high priority connection with Bobst Technical Services Specialists for quicker trouble shooting and issue solving. It is estimated that around 50% of cases will be solvable via streaming.
Accucheck Recipe Editor
The new Recipe Editor allows users to create and edit Accucheck recipes remotely within the Bobst Connect platform and to send these recipes to several ACCUCHECKs on the production floor. Leveraging the PDF data of the packaging artwork, this solution simplifies and significantly shortens set-up. As a result, it enables higher shop floor productivity, while also increasing quality and reducing waste by limiting the potential for human errors.
All-in-One Digital Master 340 and Digital Master 510 label presses
These machines were launched in March of this year, fully digitalised from the PDF, with 100% inline inspection as a closed loop, to the final embellished and finished labels across one unified workflow.
Expertline
For corrugated board sector, The new Expertline, a large format converting line combining flatbed die-cutting and post-print flexo process, ideally suited to producing e-commerce solutions. Short setup times combined with TooLink technology ensure maximum uptime and a productivity of up to 20 million square meters per year. With its low TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), it is a solution for business to process the ultimate variety of e-commerce and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) boxes.
SpeedSet
For folding carton sector, Bobst has announced the new SpeedSet, an enhanced set up time reduction pack available on all flatbed die-cutters. This pack considerably reduces changeover times and increases output. SpeedSet includes improved ergonomics, such as an additional 15″ screen at the feeder for faster setup of the optical registration system. Increased automation is also part of the pack, like pallet lifting for each new job setup and a motorised micrometric system to perfectly center die and counter plate to ensure perfect matching between cut and creasing positioning. TooLink is included to digitally connect the tool with the machine to exchange job data within seconds.
Other highlights from this year include MASTERLINE DRO, a new rotary die-cutting solution that offers more performance, more value, to equip converters in the corrugated industry with a versatile, automated, connected and an ergonomic solution in the market; MASTERCUT 1.65 PER, the only flatbed die-cutter able to process folding carton, corrugated and litho-laminated board, from 0.5 mm to 2,000 g/m2, single or double flute; EXPERTFOLD 165 e-commerce, a new folder-gluer designed specifically to meet the demands of digital retail; and NOVAFOLD 50 | 80 | 110, a new folder-gluer for guaranteed reliability and performance.
Sustainability and responsibility
R-Cycle
As part of Bobst ‘s commitment to the cross-industry consortium R-Cycle and its mission to ensure the traceability of single-use plastics through Digital Product Passports (DPP), the company has completed a pilot at its Competence Center in Manchester, where a demo machine is R-Cycle ready. This project will now be extended to other product lines (Coating, Laminating, Ci Flexo printing, Gravure printing).
Flexible packaging solution
As part of the CEFLEX (Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging) initiative, Bobst has recently introduced an exciting new high barrier flexible packaging solution designed for recyclability – a metallised, high barrier, mono-material, flexo printed new recycled polypropylene (rPP) pouch. It is the first surface printed pouch with barrier, produced using rPP household collected recycled material on the market.
The company is also working on a home compostable packaging solution in partnership with Tipa, a specialist developer of sustainable packaging – and a fully paper based, high barrier, recycle ready solution, called FibreCycle. The latter is part of oneBARRIER – a family of new alternative and sustainable solutions that Bobst is developing with its partners.
Jean-Pascal Bobst , CEO, Bobst Group concluded, We have chosen the right strategy back in 2020 and now converters and brand owners can really benefit from that. Together, we can embrace a better future with confidence.”