KBA 7-color Rapida 106 with double coater and foiler for Saima Packaging

Karachi packaging giant buys high-tech full UV sheetfed offset

December 6, 2015

In January 2016 KBA will be delivering a 7-color Rapida 106 raised press with double coater combination press for UV and conventional printing on board and plastics with an in-line cold-foil transfer system to Saima Packaging in Karachi in Pakistan. The company, founded by Muhammad Yousuf Tinwala in 1972, is today one of Pakistan’s largest producers of high-quality packaging.

The past 40 years have seen the company grow into a major player with over 250,000 square feet of production floor space. With more than 450 employees Saima processes 21,000 tonnes of board and flexible substrates each and is a supplier to the tobacco, food and beverages, FMCG and pharmaceuticals industries in Pakistan.

Multiple curing systems for triple extended delivery

A KBA Rapida 105 universal 5-color plus coater press has been running at Saima for the past two years. Muhammad Yousuf Tinwala recently signed for an 18,000 sheets an hour Rapida 106 with 11 printing and finishing units which is also the first press with in-line cold-foil transfer in Pakistan. The new 7-color plus double coater and foiler press includes automation from KBA including fully automatic plate changers, a CleanTronic Multi combi washing system, and a CleanTronic UV and EES extraction in the delivery. The two intermediate drying units are configured with VariDry infrared hot-air dryers, followed up with VariDry infrared hot-air and UV dryers for final drying and curing in the triple-extended delivery. The DriveTronic feeder with dedicated drives, DriveTronic SIS sidelay-free infeed, disengaging of the unused inking units, an ErgoTronic console with wallscreen and the new TouchTronic operating concept are also standard features of the press. The presetting data for fast job changeovers are supplied to the press via LogoTronic CIPLinkX. For Saima the new press is key to short makeready, high productivity in in-line finishing and reduced energy consumption.

Specialty cartons and flexible packaging

F2 DSC7481 g — L-R: Akhlaq Khan from KBA sales partner Imprint
Packaging Solutions, Abdul Aleem Tinwala, and
Muhammad Yousuf Tinwala with the management
team at the ErgoTronic console of the KBA Rapida 106. Photo KBA

Saima Packaging produces both rigid and flexible packaging on eight sheetfed offset and two rotogravure presses. The substrates used range from paper to polypropylene and polyethylene with run lengths varying from 200 to 1.5 million sheets. On the carton side with its innumerable finishing options, clients include Philip Morris, Abbott Laboratories,
Unilever and McDonald’s. Water-based coatings (matt and gloss), UV coatings (matt and gloss), printing and finishing on metallized board, embossing, window cut-outs and additional security features are daily business for the company. And the new Rapida 106, with its seven printing units, twin coaters and cold foil transfer, is an ideal press for efficiency in value addition and innovations.

Pioneer in ecology and quality

Saima Packaging is setting high standards in Pakistan – all ink canisters are recyclable, the company’s premium substrates consist of recycled paper for 80% of the production and the top priorities throughout the production process are reduced resource consumption and minimized wastage.

Another important criterion for Saima is compliance with the highest quality standards with tests performed at every production stage. Modern quality labs with the latest measuring equipment permit exact monitoring, and the quality management system is certified to ISO 9001:2008. In addition, Saima meets all food safety requirements specified in ISO 22000 and holds corporate supplier accreditation from clients such as Philip Morris Pakistan and McDonalds Pakistan. Whether its just a 100 folding cartons or 1 million printed sheets, Saima Packaging supplies finished and fully converted packaging products on a just-in-time basis, and in doing so it naturally attaches great importance to longterm partnerships with its clients.

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