Saudi Arabian printer boosted by offset investment

Noor Carton & Packaging is a member of the Salman Group, which operates not only printing plants serving the commercial and flexo segments, but also companies for medical and IT products. The individual business units are described as being ‘committed to continuous process improvement and the integration of cutting-edge technologies’.

For package printing, the company has established a completely new packaging facility in Dammam, where the two Rapida 16 presses, one 5-color and one 6-color, are installed. The overall project comprises several phases and will soon be continuing with a further increase in the company’s capacities.

Noureddine Amalou, MENA sales manager at Koenig & Bauer, said: ‘It is an exciting challenge to plan a printing plant from scratch. For the Saudi Arabian market and for the target group of Noor Carton & Packaging, productivity and integration were essential aspects. Many very long repeat jobs are printed, which is why all the presses are configured with automatic non-stop pile changing and extended logistics. The vision is to automate board transport from the stores, via the printing press and die-cutting machine, through to shipping to the customer. This is an innovative solution which is unique in the MENA region, based on the models of existing Koenig & Bauer partners in Europe. After all, labor costs are also increasing dramatically in the Middle East and must thus be taken into account in major investment projects.’

Baker Al Nasser, general manager of the Salman Group, commented: ‘There are many presses which deliver good and saleable quality. And we ourselves grew with other presses until 2014. But the reality on the market is today unfortunately different to a few years ago. Today, it is imperative for us to use only the most productive presses with the highest levels of technical availability. That is the only way to grow further. In this connection, the Rapida series leaves no technical wishes unanswered. Furthermore, Koenig & Bauer and Kharafi convinced us with the best advice and service concept.’