Label convertors from across India gathered at Nilpeter’s technology center in Chennai on September 2 to participate in the Open House organized by Univacco and Nilpeter. The event showcased the latest technology in coil foiling techniques. The half-day long event was attended by partners Flint Group, UPM Raflatac, Kodak, Cosmos Films, Dhana Impex, RotoMetrics, Veepee Arts and Biesse. The event registered good attendance from the industry people and saw convertors not only from South India but also from places such as Pune, Indore and Kolkata. The guests were a good mix of existing convertors, people who
have just entered the label converting segment and people interested in venturing into the business.
The Nilpeter FB3300 Servo press ran two jobs, one showcasing Univacco’s double side gold and transparent holographic foils and the second displaying a specialized foil for in-mold labels. The double side gold and transparent holographic foil job, called Golden Empire, ran at a speed of 60-70 meters per minute. The plate thickness was 1.14mm. Label material supplied for the job was by UPM, inks by Flint, foil by Univacco-Dhana Impex, sticky back by Biesse Tapes, prepress by Veepee Arts, plates by Kodak, die by RotoMetrics and doctor blades by Swedcut. The second job showcasing the specialized foil for in-mold labels, called Deer Cold Feat, also ran at a speed of 60–70 mpm and had plates with thickness of 1.14 mm. Inks were supplied by Flint, foil by Univacco-Dhana Impex, sticky back by Biesse Tapes, pre-press by Veepee Arts, plates by Kodak, die by RotoMetrics and doctor blades by Swedcut. The label material was supplied by Cosmo Films.
labels. Photo PSA
The 10-color Nilpeter press that ran the jobs had short web path, chill drums, two movable cold foils, automatic plate positioning system, pre-register, automatic register, repass system, sheeting station, conveyor and web inspection system. The press has been sold to Sonepat-based Sai Com Codes Flexoprint. “The press will be going to the company’s Guwahati plant. This will be the first Nilpeter press at that location. The order was placed three months ago and the installation is expected to happen later in September. Sai Com Codes already have four Nilpeter presses at the Sonepath plant,” said Manish Kapoor, country sales head for Nilpeter India.
Talking about the idea behind organizing the Open House, Nilpeter India managing director Alan Barretto said, “We wanted to show our press while Univacco wanted to show what their foils can do to a label. We were discussing about this event for some time. Also, it was great to have other partners as well. A gathering like this helps in ideating, which leads to problem solving.”
After the Open House, the action shifted from the Nilpeter technology center to Hotel Green Park. The evening program began with Kamalakannan T, CEO of Dhana Impex, giving a vote of thanks to all the partners. This was followed by representatives from Univacco, Flint, UPM and RotoMetrics talking about various solutions and technologies that they
can offer to the label convertors. Nilpeter’s Kapoor gave an extremely insightful presentation on the current state of the industry and the challenges and opportunities existing in the narrow web label converting space. His underlying message to the audience was that there are many opportunities beyond pressure-sensitive labels. “It is time to graduate from being a label convertor to becoming a packaging solutions provider. This can be done by thinking out of the box and looking at exploiting weaknesses of other technologies. It is time to unleash your hidden muscle power. And that hidden muscle power is your combination press,” he said.
Nilpeter India will be moving to a much bigger 2.5-acre facility by March 2018, as it is looking to globalize its production. The new facility will have the same capabilities as other Nilpeter plants globally.
“So far we have been assembling presses in India and now we want to get down to full scale manufacturing. By that I mean actually cutting some metal,” said Barretto. “We can produce presses in India which can be exported to Denmark or the US or anywhere in the world.”
