Irish Flexible Packaging invest in Bobst Upgrade for Legacy Press
Irish Flexible Packaging, which has been part of ProAmpac's European network since late 2021.
Bobst said it enhanced the 20-year-old Schiavi EF4040 press by installing new drives on the rewinder module, ensuring improved uptime and performance while addressing obsolescence issues.
Specifically, digital Unidrive M AC drives have replaced the existing ones, whilst the operator panel has been upgraded to a Siemens TP900.
A Profibus encoder has been installed in the rewinder turret to further modernize the press.
Pat O'Brien, flexographic print supervisor, said: "We were encountering issues with the drives in the rewinder module. There are two drives, and one wasn’t running. Due to age, parts are hard to find and repairs difficult to make. If the other drive went down, the machine would be at a standstill. We were advised by the BOBST team that was an inevitability. When we started to experience intermittent breakdowns of the rewinder, it became necessary to upgrade the drives."
The packaging specialist had begun to experience major downtime with the old rewind system; over the course of a 20-hour shift, in a full production run and when swapping 10-12 reels over manually, it was experiencing 2-3 hours of downtime.
Maurizio Trecate, sales director, Bobst Firenze, said: "Legacy flexo machinery continues to hold significant value in the packaging market, with many machines in operation for 30 years or longer. These machines collectively produce millions of square meters of printed material each year, requiring careful maintenance to remain effective production tools for converters worldwide."
O'Brien added: "The Bobst team's intervention to ensure our Schiavi EF4040 remains fully operational has been priceless. It has made a huge difference by improving our output, bringing massive savings in maintenance costs and lost production time, and helping us remain competitive. I can't reiterate enough the benefits we've experienced with the upgrade and the experience of working with Bobst on this. We're already looking at where the next upgrades might take place to continue this and look forward to working with Bobst again."