IPAMA BULLETIN PRINTPACK INDIA 2019
South India Paper Mills team with
the Bobst FFG 8.20 Discovery flexo
folder gluer
SIPM TARGETS 15,000 CORRUGATED CARTONS AN HOUR ON BOBST FFG MACHINE
South India Paper Mills’ world record using FFG 8.20 Discovery
I
n a world record breaking feat,
the printing and packaging
division of Nanjangud-based South
India Paper Mills produced 106,113
corrugated boxes in eight hours on
19 September 2017 on its Bobst FFG
8.20 Discovery flexo folder gluer. The
achievement is even more remarkable
because five separate jobs had to be
set up and changed within the eight
hours.
“The average of 13,264 boxes per
hour includes the set-up and cleaning
time during the shift,” says Pratik
Patel, manager – marketing and
product development at SIPM Printing
& Packaging Division. The record-
breaking shift involved a fortuitous
combination of jobs and customer
requirements. Patel explains,
“There were in total five job changes
performed in this particular shift. One
of the jobs was 2-color and the rest
were single-color jobs. In particular,
one was a beer carton, which is a very
lightweight board construction, ie 100
gsm and three layers with B-flute.
This kind of job adds more value to us
as well as our customers if processed
at the fastest speeds with maximum
accuracy, so that it runs flawlessly in
the fast case erecting and filling lines
at the customer’s end.”
SIPM’s printing and packaging
division was founded in 2007-08 to
specialise in corrugated box making.
Situated near the paper mill site on a
22 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 | SUPPORTED BY IPP & PSA
48.5 hectare plot, the main production
takes place in a single-storey 16,000
square meter factory. It supplies to
multi-national consumer product
companies including GSK, RB,
Britannia, ITC, UB, USL, RSIL, Adani
Wilmer, Nestle, American Power
Conversion, Unilever and Coca Cola.
“We have a much diversified
portfolio, with our carton boxes are
supplied to various industry segments
such as food, beverages, alcohol and
spirits, edible oils, copier paper,
fresh agricultural produce, white
goods, automobiles, footwear, textiles
and many others,” says Patel. Most
deliveries are within a 250 to 300 km
radius, though some special orders
may travel up to 1,000 km away within
India.
The division employs 97 people in
production, maintenance, sales and
administration. It has certification
for ISO 9001:2008, FSC and an SGS
Social Compliance Audit. It operates
a state-of-the-art 1.8 meter-wide
5-ply automatic corrugating machine
from Agnati and also has a range of
converting machines from several
manufacturers, handling flexo and
litho printing, diecutting, printer-
slotting, flexo folder-gluing and litho-
laminating.
The Bobst FFG 8.20 Discovery flexo
folder gluer was installed earlier in
2017 and is the company’s first Bobst
machine. Supplied by Bobst India, it
takes sheets up to 2,180 mm wide and
has four flexo printing units. Running
at full speed it can produce up to 300
boxes a minute (18,000 an hour) on
coated and uncoated duplex board
with white or kraft liners of all types.
It is run inline with a Mosca strapper/
palletizer.
“We have a range of single-color, two,
three and a few 4-color jobs,” explains
Patel. “The Bobst machine is intended
to be effectively used in changing many
single or 2-color orders, to cater for a
wide range of segments with a just-
in-time supply concept. This ensures
the best use of available resources
to retain a competitive edge in the
market.”
The operating crew on for the record-
breaking production shift were BM
Jagadish and HK Santosh. “To hold
a record for producing good quality
boxes can never be an accident,” says
Patel. “Neither can it be an effort only
of the operating crew. The first thing
that comes to all of our minds while
running the machine at the fastest
speeds is a feeling that we are walking
on the path and vision given by our
managing director, Manish Patel. We
the managers have an opportunity to
show our skills and planning abilities
under the constant guidance of our
top management. But surely for that
day all credit goes to the supervisory
team and the operators Jagadish and
Santosh!” z