Castle Colour installs Bobst Expertfold 80

UK packaging manufacturer Castle Colour has installed a Bobst Expertfold 80 folder gluer to enhance its operational excellence.

Paul Densley, operations and technical director at Castle Colour

Expertfold 80 features an integrated detection system and barcode reader. The Accufeed feeding system ensures alignment of every box entering the machine. It handles both corrugated and synthetic materials. The new Expertfold 80 is the company’s second Bobst folder gluer and sits alongside two Bobst die-cutters.

Established in Norwich in 1991, Castle Colour has built a reputation for delivering high quality carton and blister packaging options to the food, personal and household care markets.

Paul Densley, operations and technical director at Castle Colour, said: ‘To stay ahead and compete with the rest of Europe, it’s important to work smart. By utilizing the latest operational techniques, we are maximizing efficiency and delivering the best solutions for our customers.

Prior to the Expertfold 80 being installed, Bobst delivered a comprehensive training program at Castle Colour’s facility.

Densley continued: ‘We really appreciated Bobst’s input and are now running the business with highly skilled, quality staff and modern business and operations practices. The mindset change, as a result of the training Bobst delivered, was outstanding.

‘We are as thrilled with the machine as we were with the training. Its potential is huge and has already provided a 50.7 percent improvement in our folder gluer running speed compared with our old line. We are now running two-day shifts and achieving up to 400m/min or 60,000 per hour on the machine with ease, creating at least a 50 percent capacity uplift. The Expertfold 80 has delivered more than the team anticipated in terms of sheer running speed and efficiency savings.’

Craig McGowan, Bobst area sales manager, added: ‘One of the benefits of training the Castle operators, prior to any new machine investment at the site, was that we understood their process flow, any production issues and opportunities for improvement, as well as the skillsets of the operators.

‘It’s great to see a company really think through their investment plan and understand what they need to do from a people and process perspective, long before they get the kit on the factory floor. So many times, we see companies invest without truly thinking through how they can maximize the opportunity they have with their new technology and then not achieve the full potential of the investment.’