Martin Automatic’s LDR helps boost Flexiprint’s productivity by 300 per cent

Flexiprint Pvt Ltd, one of the largest converters and exporters of flexible packaging for tea, has boosted its productivity by 300 per cent by installing the new Martin Automatic LRD non-stop rewinder. The Colombo, Sri Lanka, company supplies tea bag tags and envelopes in reel form for its own packaging operations as well as for tea packagers in Asia, Africa and Australia.

The LRD is installed at the end of an 8-color Gidue Combat press. This two-spindle automatic rewinder enables the press to run continuously, winding finished rolls up to 12 streams across without stopping to change rolls. According to Peter Deckker, Flexiprint’s director, the benefits of continuous rewinding are ‘far better even than what we expected’.

Three primary benefits Flexiprint has realized from the Martin rewinder are an increase in productivity, a reduction in material waste and an improvement in product quality. Output on the press has tripled, from 6 million pieces to 18 million pieces per month. The rewinder has reduced by six per cent the cost of material waste. And, says Deckker, ‘The tension control is very good, and the rewinding quality very precise.’

Deckker also notes that the addition of the Martin LRD rewinder has also enabled Flexiprint’s customers to be more productive and efficient. David Ho, general manager for Martin Automatic Asia Pacific, explained: ‘Before Flexiprint installed our rewinder, the material near the cores of finished rolls was often not very good. This required Flexiprint’s customers to stop their packaging lines frequently, costing waste and extra effort. Now, every piece in a roll is good, helping their customers reduce down time and increase productivity.’

‘This is our first installation of Martin Automatic equipment,’ said Flexiprint’s Deckker. Based on the productivity, waste and quality improvements, ‘we look forward to more cooperation with Martin in the future’.