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DS Smith Packaging proves that one BOBST MASTERCUT can replace two die-cutters

After analyzing three years of production data, the DS Smith Packaging plant at Contoire - Hamel, France has established that the BOBST MASTERCUT 2.1 die-cutter is twice as productive as previous generation equipment.

Yves Durand, Technical Director of the French division of DS Smith Packaging, said, “We have analyzed three years of production data from our Contoire - Hamel plant and the output of the MASTERCUT installed there regularly reaches twice the production of the type of die-cutters it replaced”.

 Yves Durand, Technical DirectorThe 7,500 sheet per hour BOBST MASTERCUT at the plant converts on average 6,500 m² of packaging per open hour, while the machines it replaced – two BOBST SPO-2000’s from the 1990’s – averaged between 3,200 and 3,400 m² per open hour each.
  
 When specifying its new die-cutter for the plant in 2008, the company set down a need for a high-speed, high-productivity machine that was capable of competing with the productivity of rotary die-cutting, while retaining the flute preserving benefits of flat-bed die-cutting. The company chose the 2.1 meter version of the BOBST MASTERCUT so that they could maximize the format of their blanks and so achieve the greatest possible productivity gain. Mr. Durand said, “By doing this we have seen an increase in our average blank size to 1.8 m² and it has helped us achieve the productivity objectives we set for the machine”.
  
 Investing in the MASTERCUT has allowed the plant to rapidly develop its products for the shelf-ready market, the most buoyant sector in large-scale retailing. “Flat-bed die-cutting using the BOBST MASTERCUT offers a technically attractive solution to address a market that wants lightweight packaging with near-perfect die-cutting quality and increasingly complex shapes. These forms of packaging are particularly suitable for conversion on the MASTERCUT. Our group has a substantial presence in these markets and it is clear that in future we will have further contracts for this type of product. In particular we can put forward a strong case to the majority of our customers in terms of caring for the environment by reducing weight and waste”.

MASTERCUT 2.1" title="BOBST MASTERCUT 2.1" txdam="8" height="188" width="300" /> BOBST MASTERCUT 2.1
The MASTERCUT features BOBST’s Power Register system which positions every incoming sheet based on the print instead of the sheet edges. Mr. Durand said,”An important factor in the MASTERCUT purchase was its Power Register system. It enables very accurate print-to-cut register to be achieved,  which is of great benefit to our business as it gives our sales force an additional sales tool. The high degree of accuracy achieved by the MASTERCUT lets us effect a substantial reduction in print-to-cut tolerances and offer our customers much more sophisticated products in terms of printing as well as die-cutting”.

The MASTERCUT range has proven to be a robust and reliable product despite the sophisticated electronics utilized by the Power Register system. Philippe Bougeard, Sales Manager for Bobst Sheet-fed products in France said, “Our designers went to great lengths to industrialize every part of the MASTERCUT, paying particular attention to the high resolution cameras that read the print on the sheet. We know from listening to our customers that it can be an aggressive environment inside a die-cutter for such sophisticated technology and the reliability of the Power Register, and the MASTERCUT range as a whole, reflects the success our designers achieved”.
Bobst Group (UK & Ireland) Ltd, August 2011