South Korean label converter installs two Mark Andy P5 flexo presses

South Korean label converter Tomatec has celebrated the installation of two Mark Andy Performance series presses with an Open House at its facility in Seoul.

Pictured (from left): Yoo, Jong-Sun (operator, Tomatec); Lee, Jin-Won (chief operator, Tomatec); Jeon, Seak-Yong (owner and CEO, Tomatec; C. B. Park (Phil-Tech); Yoo, Jeong-Hee (technical director, Phil-Tech; Lee, Geo-Chang (factory manager, Tomatec)

Tomatec’s two Mark Andy P5s, one with five color print stations and the other with seven, both have a 250mm (10in) web width. The 7-color P5 is fitted with a Meech web cleaner, Vetaphone corona unit, turn bars, cold foil, delam/relam, constant tension laminator, web translator, GEW UV and BST inspection, and will be used to target high-end added-value markets.  The 5-color P5 will be used to produce pressure-sensitive labels for the general and industrial sectors.

The two Mark Andy presses replace three older European manufactured flexo lines, and initially the intention was to replace like with like. However, Tomatec was persuaded to switch supplier after seeing Performance Series technology in action at Labelexpo Europe 2015 in Brussels.

In welcoming more than 30 label converters to the Open House to mark their installation, Jeon Seak-Yong, who founded Tomatec in 2001, explained that the two P5 flexo presses were chosen for their outstanding ability to handle short run work with quick and easy changeovers.

Mark Andy co-sponsored the Open House along with its Korean distributor Phil-Tech. During the event, Mark Andy and Tomatec operators demonstrated the capabilities of the P5 platform, running three different jobs to show the speed with which the press can be made ready, and then invited the visitors to try for themselves. A second print demonstration produced a sophisticated prime label with cast & cure and multi-layer techniques to show converters how to add value for their customers, and differentiate themselves from other label converters.

According to Mr Jeon, there were three features of the P5 demonstrations that really caught the eye of visiting converters: the production speed of 180m/min, even when running the cold foil unit; the low level of waste, at just 13m on a 6-color job change (carried out in three minutes); and the tight register maintained during press slow down and ramp up to full speed.

According to C B Park of Phil-Tech and Shaun Pullen, Mark Andy’s Asia-Pacific region sales director, Tomatec was sceptical of the need for servo technology and conducted numerous tests before entering into negotiations for the two P5s.  However, since being installed early in 2016, the Mark Andy presses have more than proved their worth, according to Tomatec, with running speeds of 100m/min on short run jobs, with 20 percent more promised when the operators are fully familiar with the technology.

The P5 platform can also handle a variety of substrates, including pressure-sensitive paper, PP and PET. This will allow Tomatec to extend its business into the prime label and in-mold markets, which yield higher margins.

Further investments are expected by Tomatec as Mr Jeon seeks to grow the company further and even faster, It is currently growing at around  20 percent per year.

Pictured (from left): Yoo, Jong-Sun (operator, Tomatec); Lee, Jin-Won (chief operator, Tomatec); Jeon, Seak-Yong (owner and CEO, Tomatec; C. B. Park (Phil-Tech); Yoo, Jeong-Hee (technical director, Phil-Tech; Lee, Geo-Chang (factory manager, Tomatec)