Nampak Corrugated has reaffirmed its leadership position in the industry with the announcement that the company has invested in the new generation Bobst Mastercut flat-bed die-cutter. Recently installed at the Nampak Corrugated Wadeville facility, the machine is only the sixth in the world and the first outside Europe.

The Bobst Mastercut 2.1 die-cutter has many unique attributes.

Of particular interest to Nampak Corrugated is the machine’s speed, which runs at 7 000 feeds per hour. This is 1 500 feeds per hour more than the nearest technological rival.

Another key feature is that the die-cutter is equipped with a power register, which reads the sheet edges or printed marks, and guarantees unequalled precision die-cutting. For Nampak Corrugated MD, Willie Wiese, the power register is a major advantage and enables the company to deliver what he calls ‘more intelligent packaging’.

‘As soon as there’s a misalignment, the machine throws out the sheet and automatically corrects itself. When you’re running at 7 000 feeds per hour, you need this level of quality assurance,’ he says.

The die-cutter is expected to make a significant contribution to the Nampak Corrugated strategy, which is focussed on producing more shelf-ready packaging. Underpinned by several product-specific initiatives, such as a focus on Otor, low grammage and E-flute conversions, and more complex, delicate graphic design applications, Nampak Corrugated aims to combine primary and secondary packaging, thereby facilitating more cost-effective merchandising at the retailer level.

The company has already taken a number of strides in these areas. A supply of low grammage paper is being supported by a R500 million paper mill, which is under construction in Rossyln, Pretoria and the Bobst Masterflex printing presses, which were acquired in 2005, have set extremely high standards for corrugated print quality.

The new die-cutter, which is valued at over R15 million, will be in full operation from July.

Wadeville was chosen as the machine’s home because the largest demand for Otor cartons is in Johannesburg. The company also has an established flat-bed die-cutting capability at its Cape Town factory.

To find out how your brand can benefit from Nampak Corrugated’s enhanced offering, phone Raymond Lund on 011 234 2461.