Beatus Cartons invests in a highly specified KBA Rapida 106

Based in Porth in the Rhondda Valley, Wales, Beatus Cartons specializes in providing printed folding cartons in solid board, litho laminated flute and plastic packaging for the food, pharmaceutical, confectionery, motor, glassware, health and beauty industries.

The KBA Rapida 106 has a top speed of 18,000sph and features fully automatic plate changing technology. It is also equipped with KBA’s unique sensoric infeed system (SIS) and roller declutching. In addition, the press is being shipped with simultaneous roller washing, which allows a set of rollers to be washed whilst the press is running ensuring rapid change overs for special colors.

It can handle a broad range of substrates as it is equipped with both a CX package and a plastics package, allowing printing of materials up to 1.2mm in thickness. The press is being supplied with capability for production with both conventional and UV inks and coatings, and is equipped with a water cooling facility to reduce heat in the press hall, and reduce wear and tear on peripheral components. UV lamps (including a special white cure lamp) are equipped with UV sensors which monitor the levels of UV energy directly from the lamp.

For in-line color control, the press is equipped with QualiTronic ColorControl, KBA’s in-line color measurement system, alongside the Ergotronic Colour control desk for standardized print, quality analysis and reporting. The performance data of the press will be automatically captured for analysis via KBA’s LogoTronic Professional, extended to include Logotronic Cockpit to provide detailed reports on the presses OEE performance. The LogoTronic system also provides the link to pre-press, an MIS system and allows the storage of the color quality data produced by the press via KBA’s Qualitronic QualityPass and QualiTronic ColorView. Further, the investment sees Beatus Cartons become the first company in the UK to have a Rapida 106 supplied with KBA’s QualiTronic PDF system. This feature allows automatic, inline comparison with customer supplied PDFs.

These assisted Beatus Cartons in its investment decision, with the company looking at alternative options from both Heidelberg and Komori during the process.

The new press, to be installed in Autumn 2017, will replace an existing Heidelberg CD 102 5 plus coater, and has been extensively specified to meet the exact requirements of the Beatus Cartons technical team following testing at KBA’s sheet-fed equipment facility in Dresden, Germany. The press is the latest stage in an investment program that has seen a brand new, state-of-the-art innovation center constructed to house a new carton design studio and recently purchased digital proofing equipment.

Beatus Cartons managing director Clive Stinchcombe said: ‘We may be 77 years old but we prefer to think of the business as 77 years young. We are a forward-thinking company, proud of our longevity, but equally excited by the future that lies ahead. With our investment in the Rapida 106 we will now be able to offer 7-color printing for the first time, greater running speeds, significant reductions in make-ready times and waste, and in addition we are able to offer a great range of special coating finishes for our clients.

‘We believe the new press with all its automation and the move to one-pass productivity has the potential to increase our turnover by at least 50 percent.’

KBA (UK) sales director Chris Scully concluded: ‘Beatus Cartons is a proud company with a long history and the exciting features for both quality control and efficient make ready on this press will help to truly set it apart from the competition, and to ensure that the business continues to thrive and grow.’