Flexolabels fuels growth in new markets with BOBST VISION M1 flexo press investment

Led by CEO Izabela Harczuk and son Patrick Harczuk, Flexolabels produces self-adhesive labels using digital and flexographic printing technology, supplying customers across Europe, including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden, and also offers finished own-brand products, such as self-adhesive sheets and thermal labels, in its online store.

Although Flexolabels’ Wrocław plant had both flexographic and digital production lines, CEO Isabela Harchuk explains: “Though out business has grown, technological limitations have made certain markets, customers and products unattainable for us for a long time. The result was that although we had a great relationship with our customers, we were only doing a percentage of their label orders. In addition, the label printing market is becoming more volatile. Price increases on raw materials are cutting the bottom line, and customer demands for speed and quality are also increasing. We needed to increase our sales volume, and expanding into new markets was the challenge, so investment in an efficient, modern and flexible press was a clear need.”

The BOBST technical team helped Flexolabels to identify the ideal solution based on existing capacity and what the business wanted to achieve. Flexolabels’ decision to invest in a BOBST VISION M1 arose from a combination of factors including the machine’s extraordinary print quality and speed capabilities, as well as its ease of operation. The business was also impressed by the machine’s agility, with fully automated print runs and rapid digital set-up times.

To demonstrate, an example machine at the BOBST Competence Center in Florence, Italy, ran a complex sample order. A job that would typically take Flexolabels several days to complete on its existing machines, could be produced on the BOBST VISION M1 flexo press in just one day.

Patrik Harczuk, Technologist at Flexolabels, adds: “We specialize in the production of self-adhesive labels using flexographic technology with UV inks on coated paper, and films made of PE, PP and PET. A key advantage with our new BOBST VISION M1 flexo press is that it makes it easy for us to replace our UV curing system with low-energy LED UV lamps, supporting our business-wide sustainability goals, as well as saving the business energy costs. From a production standpoint, we also benefit from the machine’s compact dimensions. It has a smaller footprint than its predecessor, while giving us more performance. Our configuration is an 8-color machine with two die-cuts, in just seven metres.”

The modular and versatile BOBST VISION M1 flexo press offers an impressive combination of print quality, speed, ease of operation, and savings in energy and material consumption. Its automation and clever solutions for day-to-day operations showcase the BOBST vision of automation, digitalization, connectivity and sustainability in action, which greatly appealed to Flexolabels.

The BOBST VISION M1 flexo press is characterized by its productivity with printing speeds of up to 180 m/min, and stability delivered through solutions such as DigiGap for digital automatic control of die-cutting pressure, servo drive on the inlet and outlet of the web and die-cutting sections, and chilled rollers. Available in web widths of 370 mm and 430 mm, the BOBST VISION M1 supports virtually all substrates used for label printing, including self-adhesive stock paper, PET, BOPP and PVC.

Since installation, Flexolabels has seen multiple crucial benefits from the BOBST VISION M1 machine. Izabela adds: “We are extremely satisfied with our new BOBST machine. It gives us the capacity to enter new markets, which was the top priority for us. We have also seen an important reduction in our production costs, as well as in the waste generated through our printing processes, unlocked by a very short web path. Ultimately, it’s making our daily work easier. The efficiency also means we can offer our customers a better price while also improving the quality of our products.

“Our customers, including one of our largest international customers, are now placing more orders and are seeing that we can handle jobs of increased complexity with top tier quality. We are now also able to supply new products, such as multilayer, pearl and reveal, and highly embellished labels. Many new doors are now open to us, and we are already seeing new, highly promising orders as a result of the BOBST VISION M1’s performance.”

Looking to the future, Flexolabels is keen to further expand its capabilities. The business anticipates rising customer interest in digital printing and plans to explore this with advanced BOBST solutions.
 

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