We are happy and satisfied with the investment in the Heliostar SL. Thanks to our own efforts, but also to the level of support provided by W&H we have managed to achieve our financial goals by improving print quality and increasing output and reliability, says Syed Hyder Ali, director of Packages in Lahore, Pakistan.
The company, created in 1956 as a joint venture between the Ali Group of Pakistan and the Swedish company Akerland & Rausing, has from the beginning done pioneering work in the field of flexible packaging. And so it was only logical that Packages not only invested in, what is currently, the most successful gravure printing machine Heliostar SL, but at the same time installed the first gravure printing machine from W&H in Pakistan. Packages is the only packaging company in the country that can offer the complete range of packaging solutions, including flexible packaging. Their clients include major brands like Unilever and Pakistan Tobacco Company. Packages employs over 1,500 people and generated more than US$ 140 million in sales in 2013.
Shortly after the start of production of the Heliostar SL, the highly motivated machine team succeeded in achieving the maximum production speed of 450 metre per minute, so that only after three months the first shift record of 230,000 metre of printed web in 8.5 hours was set. Today, the machine produces up to 10 million metres a month, even with demanding print jobs with high ink limits and low residual solvent content,says Asim Shamim, area manager at Packages. But Packages do not owe this success only to the high printing speed.
A decisive contribution was made by the three well-trained operators, who are able to make the best use of the machine’s advantages in terms of short job changeover times and minimal waste of substrate and ink, says Gerhard Schoone, regional manager, Packages. Since its launch in 2008 more than 100 Heliostar S have been sold to customers around the world. The installation by Packages in Pakistan is a good example of high-quality gravure printing results produced in an emerging economy.
