Following last year’s purchase by Indian film manufacturing film company SRF of a third Bobst metallizer for its Thailand factory, the company has recently invested in a fourth machine, most likely for its Indore factory in India. The latest Expert K5 with a width of 3650 mm will be up and running next year according to a press release from Bobst. SRF is one of the largest manufacturers of a spectrum of standard and specialty Bi-axially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate (BOPET) and Bi-axially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) films worldwide with six manufacturing sites in four countries.
The new wide web machine will be used for the production of metalized BOPP and will be fully equipped with Bobst’s unique AluBond, AlOx GEN II, and Hawkeye Pinhole Detector innovations. The Expert K5 is designed to run large diameters at high speeds with its winding mechanism producing virtually wrinkle-free film. Bobst says the Expert is rated as the highest productivity metallizer in the world for the packaging industry with the lowest production costs available in the market.
The AluBond and AlOx GEN II metalizing processes will allow SRF to produce both opaque and clear sustainable BOPP films with high oxygen and water barrier. The Hawkeye Pinhole Detector finds any defects in the film during production and alerts the operator ensuring no interruptions to production.
The Expert K5 will be built at Bobst’s primary vacuum metallizer production site in Manchester, United Kingdom. In addition to this site which has been in operation for nearly 40 years, the Bobst vacuum metallizing division has expanded due to growing demand with a second site in Pune, India where the recently launched Vision K5 HS machine is produced with the same high standards as the production site in the UK.
Commenting on the investment, Prashant Mehra, president and CEO of SRF, and Hari K Singh, executive vice president and head of SRF’s Global Operations said, “We are delighted to have signed the contract to purchase our fourth machine from Bobst and to further strengthen our relationship. When our new Expert is installed in 2026, it will allow us to increase our capacity of metalized BOPP in India”
SRF Limited established in 1970, has grown into a leading, diversified chemicals conglomerate with over 9,000 employees, 16 plants across four countries, and exporting to over 100 countries worldwide. Its Packaging Films business has operations in 4 countries providing flexible packaging solutions to a wide gamut of applications ranging from food to non-food for fast-moving consumer goods and industrial products.
