Saica Flex Deeside invests in automatic coating machine

Saica Flex Deeside has invested a significant GBP 2.2 million (USD 2.9 million) in a new, fully automatic coating machine, reinforcing its commitment to innovation, sustainability, and market leadership in the UK label industry. 

The coater increases the site’s previous coating capacity and represents a major technological upgrade as it is capable of coating wider materials at significantly higher speeds and with enhanced precision, delivering improved efficiency and product quality.   

This investment positions Saica Flex Deeside to expand into a broader range of linerless products, an increasingly important segment of the grouping bands and pressure-sensitive label market that eliminates the need for release liners, enabling customers to reduce both material costs and environmental impact by cutting waste associated with liner disposal. 

By enhancing operational capabilities and sustainability credentials, the new coater further strengthens the site’s competitiveness in an increasingly cost-conscious market. This investment supports Saica Flex Deeside’s ambitious targets for excellence in labeling products while making a tangible contribution to the sustainability strategy by reducing raw material usage through the elimination of the disposable liner. In recent years, demand has steadily grown, encouraging the company to invest further in this expanding market. The impact of this investment is both operational and strategic: with four times the capacity, the new machine positions the site to take on new business, pursue larger contracts, and respond confidently to market demand. This expansion enhances its ability to meet customer lead times consistently and reinforces its capability to plan for long-term growth.

The project was championed by Paul Brewer, operations manager, and Paul Mayall, technical manager, who conducted extensive research into global coating machine manufacturers before selecting the advanced automatic coater as the optimal solution for the site’s strategic growth. 

‘This investment marks a major step forward for our Deeside operations,’ mentioned Andy Salisbury, Saica Flex Deeside general manager. ‘The new coater enables us to deliver greater value to our customers through improved performance, cost efficiency, and sustainable solutions. It underlines our long-term commitment to innovation and leadership in the UK label market.’ 

The installation is now complete, and the machine is fully operational.