Following a severe fire, the Indonesian flexible packaging company has quickly resumed production with a new Bobst Nova RS 5003 to maintain its leading position in the market. The press was chosen to replace a Bobst gravure line from 2012 that had been the foundation of its exceptional growth over the last decade before it was destroyed.
Saranaprima Nusantara Abadi supplies flexible packaging products to many of the major food and drinks manufacturers in Indonesia, including Indofood, Mayora, and Foresa. Some of the region’s most well-loved brands are sold in packaging applications printed and converted at the company’s large facility in Bekasi, on the eastern border of the capital Jakarta, in West Java.
With a total of four gravure lines and a raft of lamination machines filling up the 10,000 square meter factory floor, Saranaprima is now well placed to continue on its growth trajectory. As the jewel in the crown, the Bobst Nova RS 5003 has taken over from Bobst RS 4003 that had been running here since 2012.
“When we lost the RS 4003, there was no doubt in our minds that we would need to replace it with another Bobst machine right away,” said Director Irwin Handoko. “That press was the heart of our operation for many years, and it was imperative that we were back to full production capacity as fast as possible. Our clients rely on us, and we simply could not afford to let them down.”
Within just a few months, the replacement gravure line was installed, despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Bobst managed to build and ship the machine in a perfect configuration much faster than we had anticipated, and we are very grateful for the effort of the whole team,” said Saranaprima’s General Manager, Gatot Dedy Triprabowo. He added that the new press had exceeded expectations in terms of quality and production too. “Even during the commissioning phase, we were printing sellable products,” he said.
Double-digit growth with Bobst RS 4003
Initially founded in 2005, Saranaprima has experienced double-digit growth since the Bobst RS 4003 was installed just under ten years ago. Today, it posts an annual turnover of almost US$18 million and employs over 150 staff. The expansion also includes a sister company nearby, which has been set up to produce LDPE, CPP, and metalizing film laminates with a Bobst vacuum metallizer.
Introduced to the market in 2019, the Nova RS 5003 is the technologically advanced evolution of the popular RS 5002 gravure press. Over 100 of these two machines are printing flexible packaging globally, having been welcomed by companies throughout India, South-East Asia, and many other countries.
The Nova RS 5003 has been specifically engineered to deliver superior performance with water- or solvent-based ink on a wide variety of flexible packaging materials, including new eco-friendly substrates. It also offers fast setup and register setting, short makereadies, and high productivity thanks to a range of innovative automation features.
Running at up to 350 m/min, the new Bobst Nova RS 5003 has been delivered with a double set of trolleys, which has enabled Saranaprima to print an extra job per shift and cut make ready time in half. The company has also benefited from a more sustainable operation, saving some 3–5% of waste in raw materials due to the shorter web path, smaller amount of ink in circulation, and highly efficient twin flow dryers and ventilation system.
“One of the highlights of the new press is the TAPS (Total Automatic Pre-register Setting) system, which makes setup much faster and more efficient,” said Sudarno, who is head of printing. “We lose much less substrate, ink, and time at the start of each job, and it is very simple to operate. Within just 1,3 of the machine’s length, we can achieve perfect registration thanks to the compact design and powerful TAPS system. My team loves it, and our productivity has gone up.”
Relying on partnerships in times of crisis
Gravure printing remains the preferred technology for most flexible packaging printers throughout China and South-East Asia due to its superior print quality. However, as brand owners’ demands for more sustainable processes increase, and some governments are starting to regulate the packaging industry further, printers and converters need to invest in less wasteful solutions and more efficient to future-proof their business.
“Our vision is to continue to develop new solutions to meet demands for high quality, faster delivery and more sustainable packaging from our customers, and to do that we invest in the most advanced technology,” said Handoko, “Thanks to Bobst and the new Bobst Nova RS 5003, the disruption to our flexible packaging production was only brief, and we are back stronger than ever with a bright future ahead of us.”
“Saranaprima is a great example of a company that is looking to improve their green credentials with best-in-class technology, and the Bobst Nova RS 5003 is the perfect fit for them,” said Sebastien Geffrault, Region Business Director – South East Asia Pacific. “We have built an excellent relationship with the team at Saranaprima over the past decade, and I’m very pleased that we were able to help them get back to full production with our machine in only a few months after the fire accident at the factory.”
