A. Hatzopoulos increases lamination capacity with Bobst

A. Hatzopoulos, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, supplies flexible packaging rollstock, both printed and unprinted, to a wide variety of sectors, including dairy and meat products, coffee and other beverages, confectionery, salty snacks, dry nuts and fruits, and personal care products. The company recorded a turnover in 2020 of EUR 91 million, with 73 percent of production exported to customers in more than 30 countries.

The company is a long-term Bobst customer with three of the Swiss manufacturer’s gravure lines currently in operation at the Stadiou plant in Kalohori, Thessaloniki, Greece, including a high-speed RS 6003 HS put into operation just over a year ago as part of the company’s ambitious expansion plans.

‘Even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, our company has stayed true to its ingrained philosophy for the continuous improvement of the products and services it provides to its partners. For this reason, we have committed to a bold EUR 20 million plan, with a series of strategic investments in new facilities, machinery, and state-of-the-art equipment, to be implemented by the end of 2022,’ commented Lefki Prountzou, marketing and communications manager for A. Hatzopoulos.

The latest investment with Bobst is a multi-technology Vision TD 850 tandem laminator that can run as two separate duplex machines or work in-line to produce triplex laminates in one pass at high speeds.

‘With the installation of the new Bobst Vision TD 850 laminator, we are intensively reinforcing our technological infrastructure,’ added Prountzou. ‘This important addition to our laminators fleet is expected to increase our annual lamination capacity by 90 million sqm, to secure flexibility and preservation of high customer-service levels for our partners and to support further expansion in the markets that we are currently mostly focused on.

‘This is the second Bobst wide web laminator that we have acquired, mainly selected for its unique capability to work as a tandem machine, which can operate either as a triplex-in-line laminator or easily switch to two separate duplex ones. Thanks to its high production speed and its ability to apply all types of adhesives and cold-seal in register on a wide range of films, it fully matches our requirements for operational efficiency and flexibility in the production of high-performance, custom-made laminates that can meet different customer needs.’

‘The Bobst Vision TD 850 tandem configuration is quite simply a gamechanger for converters, as evidenced by loyal Bobst customer A. Hatzopoulos, which has chosen to invest in an additional triplex machine. By widening the applications that they can address, while simultaneously lowering waste, the laminator will undoubtedly play a central role for this industry leader, and we look forward to continuing our great partnership,’ added Nanni Bertorelli, product line director of coating and laminating at Bobst.