Uflex Limited displayed its comprehensive range of packaging/converting machinery and value-added flexible packaging solutions signaling new business opportunities for the company at PackPlus 2017. At the event, the company’s engineering, holography and cylinder divisions displayed the latest developments in their respective segments. Four machines were displayed by the engineering division while the holography division displayed some highly efficient path-breaking brand protection solutions for fighting counterfeiting or body-doubling as well as for increasing the aesthetic and decorative quotient of products sold in the market.
The company’s engineering division displayed its state-of-the-art electronic line shaft printing station and the improved version of its Pick Fill and Seal (PFS) machine for packing products in preformed pouches at the event. The PFS machine is a fully automatic, intermittent motion, 10-station rotary indexing filling and sealing machine to pack powder, granules and pastes in pre-formed pouches like center seal pouch, 3-side seal pouch, stand-up pouch and zipper pouch to name a few. “The improved PFS machine displayed at the exhibition is a low-noise machine. The noise of filling the pouches by air pressure has been significantly reduced by introducing vacuum pulling for opening the pouches,” said Ajay Tandon, president and chief executive officer – engineering division, Uflex.
The other machines on display included the Form Fill and Seal (FFS) collar type machine and Eco Slit 450 slitter machine. “We have improved the speed of FFS collar type machine,” shared Tandon. The Eco Slit displayed at the exhibition has marked improvements over its previous version in terms of quality aspects, robustness of structure and better reliability making it a value-for-money slitter for mid-range converters. “Today high-end slitters can run anywhere between 600 and 700 meters per minute while Eco Slit can run up to 450 meters per minute at half the price of those high-end machines. Thus, it is a very good value-for-money proposition for mid-range convertors,” added Tandon.
Summing up his talk with Packaging South Asia, Tandon said, “The engineering division of Uflex manufactures a whole gamut of converting (like rotogravure and CI Flexo printing, laminating, slitting, and rewinding machines among others) and packaging machines (like HFFS, VFFS, etc.), making us more competitive and solution-oriented for convertors and brands alike.”
The Uflex holography division displayed security holograms, security paper labels and other high-quality brand protection and aesthetic enhancing security packaging material during the exhibition. It also showcased new innovations including Fresnel lens, zinc sulphide holography, sterling lens and complex impregnable hybrid holograms produced by combining 2-3 holographic designs together to name a few. Some other products on display were convertors for carton packaging. These included transparent, metallized and semi-metallized films. The company’s holography division manufactures several security features like different types of security tags, various texture designs, holographic transparent films, thermal films, hot stamping foil, Fresnel lens for convertors of flexible packaging and cartons (secondary packaging).
“Our new products received a good response at PackPlus,” said GP Pathak, vice president – operations and new product development at holography business, Uflex. “All the displayed products have a number of security features for brand owners as well as end users.”
The cylinder business of the company showcased special purpose laser-engraved embossing cylinders at the event. “It can be seen that people are gradually moving towards laser-engraved cylinders for saving on ink. The laser-engraved cylinders offered by Uflex with modified cell structures result in significant reduction of ink consumption at the convertors’ end,” shared Rakesh Jain, general manager – marketing, cylinder division, Uflex. Speaking about the gravure industry, Jain said that the number of good and efficient gravure printing presses is steadily increasing in India; therefore, the demand for rotogravure cylinders is quite promising.
