Intergrafipak invests in Mark Andy Evolution Series E5

Family-owned Intergrafipak (IGP) has installed a Mark Andy Evolution Series E5 at its production facility in Nieuw-Vennep, the Netherlands, to grow its label business.

Established in 1938 as a printing house, the company transitioned into pharmaceutical packaging in 1954 and has since specialized in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and cosmetics sectors. Today, IGP offers a unique combination of carton packaging, insert printing and folding and label production as a specialist one-stop shop for many of Europe’s leading brand owners that demand the highest standards.

Klaas Kruiswijk, managing director of IPG, said: ‘Our business is founded on long-lasting partnerships and high operational performance. We believe the company’s ‘DNA’ allows us to mitigate risk and maintain quality and OTIF at the highest level, which is crucial, especially in the pharma sector.’

These quality claims are independently verified by a range of internationally recognized accreditations, including ISO 9001 and 14001, cGMP, and ECMA Pharma Best Practice, and on the sustainability front by Ecovadis (Silver Rating), FSC SCS-COC, and EEP.

Production at IGP’s plant is currently split into three divisions: folding cartons, insert leaflets and labels. The first two are printed sheet-fed offset and finished/converted on a variety of off-line equipment from leading manufacturers. The label section, currently accounting for 10 percent of the total business, shows the most potential for growth, which is the reason for the recent investment in a Mark Andy flexo press.

Initial contact was made through Packtion, Mark Andy’s agent in the Netherlands. Maarten van Bergeijk commented: ‘Intergrafipak is a well-established and highly respected supplier of printed packaging, inserts and labels with a reputation for top quality, so I knew Mark Andy would need to offer a convincing print test and a well-specified press.’

‘With quality and accuracy at the top of our shopping list, we ran multiple print trials with all the leading press manufacturers, but Mark Andy was the clear winner – and its superior ergonomics made it the operator’s preferred choice too,’ added Kruiswijk, who deliberately included the operators in the trial and selection process, and appreciates the facility the Evolution Series E5 offers for fast call-off of work and the speed and ease with which it can change jobs and be made-ready.

The company selected the Mark Andy press, a 8-color model with a 430 mm (17 in) web width, equipped with a double-sided Vetaphone corona treater and a Teknek web cleaner. To facilitate the use of filmic substrates, it has chilled impression rolls and complete GEW Aero LED/Arc curing, making it a hybrid UV system. Fitted with an overhead rail that includes web turn bars and Mark Andy’s web translator (Gizmo) for multi-layer label production, the E5 has the QCDC die cutting station for easy die changeover through the side frame, advanced wind-up of waste and a K&B GapMaster.

The press was supplied with SmartLink Production Monitoring (now called ProWORKZ Analytics), two rewinds, a double peel-off rail, and BST TubeScan 100 percent inspection. All of which makes it a very highly specified machine indeed, and best suited to the extremely demanding market segments that IGP serves.

‘We are very proud of our installed base of technology from brand leaders in their own rights. We invest heavily in the machinery that keeps us up to date, efficient and competitive,’ commented Kruiswijk. ‘One of the benefits of being a mid-size company is the speed and decisiveness with which decisions can be made, unlike many of the larger corporations I previously worked for, where bureaucracy often stifles progress. Here at IGP, we have a far more straightforward and pragmatic approach, and I like the honesty of it all.’

‘We are pleased and proud to be part of Intergrafipak’s growth strategy, and the benefit of a Mark Andy press is its scalability that allows users to adapt to market changes. This makes investment in Mark Andy technology as future-proof as it can be,’ concluded van Bergeijk.