Mumbai-based SP Ultraflex has made a significant presence in the slitter rewinder market in India with its latest offering, the ROBOSLIT dual turret slitter rewinder in 2014, and with the installation of its first machine at GLS Industries, Gurgaon the same year. In May-June 2015, the company organized an Open House to showcase the ROBOSLIT dual turret slitter rewinder to the industry at large. During the three years since its launch, the ROBOSLIT has recorded tremendous success in the Indian market with some of the leading convertors opting for the more efficient dual turret technology over traditional duplex slitters. SP Ultraflex has supplied 15 ROBOSLIT dual turret slitter rewinders to customers across the length and breadth of the country. The most recent installations include Paharpur 3P in Ghaziabad and Sysco Industries Limited in Surat.
The ROBOSLIT has a capacity to unwind reels with diameters up to 1000 mm and web-widths up to 1300 mm. It is possible to produce rewind reels with diameters of up to 600 mm at speeds up to 800 mpm. The ROBOSLIT comes in three variants—ROBOSLIT RL, ROBOSLIT OHP and ROBOSLIT FSU, differentiated with respect to their web paths.
Overseas breakthrough
After having supplied more than 15 ROBOSLIT dual turret slitter rewinders in India, SP Ultraflex has recently moved to the next level by exporting the first ever dual turret slitter rewinder. What is significant is the fact that the machine was supplied to Thailand, which is a mature market and has who are quite reluctant to look beyond Japanese, European and Taiwanese machines which largely dominate the market.
“Having exported our first ROBOSLIT to a developed market like Thailand indicates that we are ready to take on competition from European and Japanese manufacturers and make our mark in the global arena,” says Biku Kohli, director, SP Ultraflex.
SPC Interprint Co. Ltd. is Thailand’s leading converter and as an immediate fallout, SP Ultraflex is looking to penetrate the South-East Asian market in the coming months, Kohli adds.
Better order flow
With the ROBOSLIT brand now established in the market and the benefit of dual turret technology well known, order flows continue, both new and repeat. “We have good orders for these machines, from customers who, intent on turret technology, have found excellent value in the ROBOSLIT series from SP Ultraflex, with the only other alternate being higher priced European machines,” informs Kohli.
New ROBOSLIT version in the offing
Encouraged by the market feedback and export enquiries, SP Ultraflex now plans to launch another version of the ROBOSLIT series, which will be more advanced in terms of performance, output levels and operator friendliness, shares Kohli. This model will be targeted mainly at overseas, developed markets.
