Leo Designs & Packaging ups label production capacity with a Gallus ECS 340
Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh-based packaging and label converter Leo Designs & Packaging has recently invested in a Gallus ECS 340, a nine-colour flexo press in a bid to offload the order pressure on its existing three narrow-web flexo presses.
27 May 2019 | By Noel D'Cunha
The Gallus ECS 340 flexo press is equipped with a screen printing and cold-foiling units.
Vivek Rao of Leo Design & Packaging, said, “With increased capacities, we are able to give better client satisfaction. Our clients and their positive growth trajectory and newer growth opportunities prompted the investment.”
Rao, a lawyer, started Leo Designs & Packaging in 2008 along with his brother Varun Rao, an MBA working with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Rao is responsible for the production and Varun Rao heads sales and finance. More than 200 people work in the four-acre plant of Leo Packaging.
Rao said that he opted for the Gallus ECS 340 despite good offering by global market leaders in the pressure sensitive labels segment, because “it is the best and the elite of the flexo world’. “Besides, Team Gallus came across very professionally in the entire exercise,” he said.
Leo services customers from cosmetics, food, beverage, pharmaceuticals and electronics industries.
Varun Rao said the brothers decided to venture into packaging as it seemed to be the right industry as it caters to a motley group of industries. “We started with an offset machine in 2008, and in the last 11 years, we have installed five offset printing presses along with shipper carton set-up and four narrow-web flexo machines and soon will add lamitube manufacturing machinery,” Rao said.
According to Pravin Mahajan, AGM (Gallus) - Heidelberg India, an increasing number of label printers are opting for Gallus ECS 340, primarily because of its diverse applications. “The equipment meets critical challenges of the label market, which faces rising cost pressures, complex designs, shrinking run lengths, and on-time deliveries. The Gallus ECS 340 rises above and beyond these demands of label printing, ensuring maximum productivity with cost efficiency. Exceptionally short web path of just 1.1m, reduce considerable wastage, provided cost-effective production. The modular design of the ECS 340 helps accommodate embellishing techniques such as flexographic and screen printing, cold foil and rotary die-cutting.”
Mahajan also mentioned that the industrial grade construction of ECS 340 gives the equipment an edge over its peers. “Automated job data recall, electronic presetting function, short web paths and lightweight sleeve systems improve setup times significantly. Advanced features like dynamic print pressure, zero gap print, enclosed ink tray systems, chilled impression cylinder helps to deliver quality print with minimum waste.”
Leo’s production shopfloor is equipped with multiple Heidelberg printing presses, narrow-web flexo printing presses from Nilpeter and Mark Andy, plus solvent-free thermal CTP from Kodak, fully automatic inspection systems and an ERP system from a UK-based developer.
Rao of Leo, said, “The idea was to provide a single-point offering to our clients. We continue to strive to work in that direction. Of course, managing multiple verticals has its set of challenges, but there are opportunities as well. Our focus remains client service and client satisfaction.”