Flint Group opens Global Innovation Centre in Malmö

The center has been specially designed to focus on the development of products that will shape the future of paper and board printing.

The 8-color Soma printing press is equipped with the latest web handling, and both water-based and UV printing capabilities. It is available for product benchmarking and customer trials. The press is equipped with features such as the Soma Ink Cartridge System, Falcon II intelligent job setting, and Inkstorm auto wash-up, along with sleeves, aniloxes and doctor blades manufactured by flexo market leaders, including Flint Group’s own Flexographic Products division. Flint and Soma recently cooperated on a project to highlight an evolution in quality for flexo printing.

Kim Melander, vice president of sales, EMEA and global strategy, Paper & Board at Flint Group, said: ‘The investment in our new state-of-the-art Soma printing press is a significant milestone and a clear demonstration that we are fully committed to invest in our industry and support our customers’ growth through an innovative development workflow.’

As well as the CI press, the center features: a 590 sqm space for press demonstrations with a sound proof collaboration room; a new GSE ink dispenser and Flint Group’s unique Vivo Colour Solutions toolbox provide the full integrated press room workflow; development and testing labs with advanced analytic testing and proofing equipment; an ‘Academy’ room, which can hold up to 25 people and an adjacent free-thinking lounge area for mapping future ideas. It is staffed by experts with more than 300 combined years in the packaging industry and more than 170 years with Flint Group.

Paul Winstanley, technical director, Paper & Board, EMEA at Flint Group, commented: ‘With the Global Innovation Centre, Flint Group provides a unique customer centric R&D facility focused on developing next-generation products for our core global market segments. This truly state of the art facility – with its innovative workflow, analytic tools and new contemporary printing press supported by our international technology team – has created a future template in product innovation and customer support.’

Stuart Duffy, director, Professional Services within Flint Group Packaging & Narrow Web, added: ‘In June of 2016, Flint Group presented the market with its Global Colour Centre in Poland and its solution-based competencies, Vivo Colour Solutions. The new Global Innovation Centre in Sweden is a second step, and a calculated complement to the Global Colour Centre in Poland. The demand for brand equity and integrity solutions by brand owners helped shape our strategy to create and deliver these two global centres of excellence. Both facilities focus on innovation, service development, education, with experts who deliver crucial day to day technical support for customers.  Every element is targeted to ensure our customers’ businesses continue to develop and prosper.’