While the Lila folder-gluer was installed in June 2018, the Novacut will be commissioned by the end of September 2018, informed director, Nitin Singhania.

The company, which specialises in high-value cartons, has seen a rise in demand for E-flute litho-laminated cartons over the last three years so much so that today 30% of its paperboard conversion is E-flute cartons.

With four Mitsubishi multi-colour offset printing presses, Bobst Speria 106 and Yoco die-cutter, a Yoco foil stamping machine, Wen Chyuan lamination machines and two Bobst Ambition folder-gluers, the company has been converting 800 tonnes of paperboard per month.

The Lila folder-gluer installed at Singhania has a unique design with both upper and lower driven conveyors and special features focused to process demanding micro-flute E-, F-, B-fluted boxes. The maximum running speed of Lila is 250 metres per minute.

Singhania said, “While we have been currently running the mico-fluted cartons on our Ambtion folder-gluers, going forward as higher quality and throughput required with the growing business of micro-fluted cartons, we decided to invest in the Lila 106-II and be more productive. We evaluated and found Lila more specifically designed to handle the micro-fluted boxes while it also has the capability to handle a solid board of medium and large sizes efficiently.”

Moreover, the maximum blank width that Ambition can handle is 760mm, whereas with Lila it is 1,060mm. “Therefore, some of the print jobs with 1,000mm width, which we had to fold and paste manually, can now be comfortably produced on Lila. Also, thanks to Lila’s blank aligner, unique corrugated kit system on folding, the squaring device at the delivery and the front blank aligner device on the transfer section, we have a better control over disproportionate lock-bottom cartons.”

According to Singhania, the overall output has increased by almost 25%.

“When we started working with Lila, we observed that makeready time and set-up wastage have drastically reduced because there’s no manual movement of conveyor and makeready has been simplified,” added Singhania.

Need for automation

Automating processes, streamlining operations and minimising wastage is Singhania’s mantra.

Singhania’s idea is to automate the operations in such a way that the company can “turnaround any job in 24 hours”.

“Work-in-progress material lying on the shopfloor is waste of money. Five years down the line, I want to see my printing plant run like a manufacturing line. Today, every customer's every job is yesterday’s job. So we have to be equipped.”

That’s the reason it has invested in Bobst Novacut 106-E die-cutter with stripping capability. The machine is equipped to handle three-ply micro-fluted sheets up to 4mm thickness. “That way my E-fluted carton line is highly-automated with minimal manual touchpoints and minimal wastage,” said Singhania.

He has also realised that minimising wastage can significantly benefit bottomline of the business.

Flexible venture

Singhania Printers has made a significant investment to set up a flexible packaging plant that comprises of a Bobst RS 5002 eight-colour rotogravure printing machine, a Nordmeccanica laminator and a blown-film extrusion line.

The one-lakh square feet plant is being constructed besides Singhania’s existing plant and the operations are expected to go live by the third quarter of 2018.