Gerhardt to present new flexible dies at Labelexpo Asia

Gerhardt International will present seven new flexible die innovations at Labelexpo Asia 2009 in Shanghai in December, on stand F18.  

Participation at Labelexpo Asia follows the opening of Gerhardt’s Hong Kong office earlier in 2009. The office has been established in order to support global customers who are moving production to China, as well as to supply flexible dies to local label converters. 

‘There is great potential for Gerhardt’s flexible dies in the Chinese market. Our seven new innovations mean that we can offer the converters flexible dies that significantly and cost-effectively improve their productivity,’ said Klaus Damberg, CEO of Gerhardt. ‘That helps the converting industries enter attractive new business segments, such as automotive, medical devices, electronics and small packing.’ 

Onyx, a new flexible tool treated with a long-life coating, has been developed for continuous converting in abrasive materials like thermal paper and thermal cardboard. According to the company, test runs show a performance improvement ‘amounting to some 1,000 percent’ in comparison with ordinary laser-hardened flexible dies.  

The company will also show a new flexible die construction which is said to eliminate problems during continuous cutting. It cuts through materials up to 0.9 mm thick, which enables converting materials to be made into seals and gaskets, medical devices and small boxes, to name a few applications. 

Air-Flex, the flexible air die, combines the benefits of a flexible die and the existing Shock Air System that Gerhardt launched in 1989. The system removes the waste, ensuring that the converting machine remains free of contamination. The new Air-Flex system can replace solid Shock Air dies in up to 80 percent of the jobs, says the company. A global patent application has been registered and several customers have already have installed Air-Flex.   

Furthermore, a non-stick coating for Gerhardt’s flexible dies has been developed for the conversion of open-face adhesives, like double-sided self-adhesive pads where the cutting has to be done directly through the adhesive layer. 

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