How Weisert + Daur increased its performance in the sheet-to-sheet lamination process with a NOVASTAR from BOBST

"We traditionally process both laminated materials and folding cardboard. If necessary, we combine both areas. As a result, we are very flexible when it comes to developing individual solutions for our customers," explains Robert Esenwein, Managing Partner of Weisert & Daur GmbH & Co. KG, based in Heilbronn. "For example, during promotions, our customers can't go to market with 0-8-15 packaging or displays. They don't sell."

This company’s more than 125 years of practical experience, its fully equipped technical facilities and its creativity are the primarily the reasons its mostly medium-sized customers have felt themselves in good hands — some for decades. “After all, the packaging and display market has seen everything. The task is to bring the ideas together so skillfully that something attractive and new comes out of it." With these words, Esenwein pointed to a sales display in tube form that Weisert + Daur has on display in its meeting room. The company developed this display about six years ago for a cosmetics manufacturer — at the time, the first display of its kind in the world.

Opportunity seized
"We were delighted in late 2020 when BOBST asked us if we’d be interested in beta-testing the new NOVASTAR sheet-fed laminating machine. This opened up an ideal opportunity for us to reposition ourselves technically in the laminating sector — and to be able to produce more cost-effectively here with higher productivity and stable quality," Esenwein recalls. Thus, the world's first NOVASTAR was commissioned at Weisert + Daur in March 2021.

The GAPRO NANO gluing unit with foaming technology is unique on the market, and BOBST offers it as an option for the machine. It played a key role in the packaging and display manufacturer's decision. Unlike conventional solutions, the metering roller on the GAPRO NANO rotates away from the applicator roller. This means that both glue rollers rotate in the same direction, which brings considerable advantages: Instead of pressing the glue through the glue gap, the metering roller prevents excess glue from flowing through. In addition, the air bubbles in the foamed glue are not crushed, but find their way onto the glue undamaged. The result is a very uniform glue film across the entire width of the applicator roll, which guarantees consistently high quality of the laminated sheets. Moreover, the precise metering means that considerably less glue needs to be applied in sheet lamination.

The NOVASTAR sheet-to-sheet laminator from BOBST allows fast production changeovers and stands out for its superior operating convenience

A significant competitive advantage
"At the time, we calculated adhesive savings of up to 50%," recalls Esenwein. "These savings have actually materialized quickly for us in our day-to-day business." This alone will pay off the machine at Weisert + Daur within about three years. But this is not only a competitive advantage from an economic point of view. In fact, the massive reduction in adhesive consumption has also improved the environmental footprint of laminated packaging and displays. The same applies to the laminating process.

And that's not all: Thanks to the significantly decreased glue application, the laminated sheets have very good flatness properties. They can be perfectly stacked with no need to turn the sheets during drying. And because they dry quickly, they can soon be further processed. This all benefits productivity in sheet-to-sheet lamination and allows shorter delivery times, when necessary.

"At the time, we took a look at the NOVASTAR in live operation at Bobst Grenchen in Switzerland. It struck us as highly robust. This also spoke in favor of the compact machine," says Esenwein. "BOBST machines stand out for their very stable continuous operation. Depending on the job size, sheet format and movement direction, Weisert + Daur produces at speeds of up to 6,000 sheets per hour with the NOVASTAR.

The NOVASTAR enables fast production changes. This also supports the high productivity and flexibility in lamination. Production Manager Jörg Gerstenlauer: “Because the machine runs stably, we’re fast." This means that Weisert + Daur can produce displays profitably with the machine, even in shorter runs. This applies to sales displays, for example, which are laminated for retailers in quantities of 1,000 to 2,500. Typical examples include merchandise-holding displays, counter displays and countless other quarter-pallet POS displays.

Flexibility in materials
With its NOVASTAR, Weisert + Daur can offset-laminate printed cover sheets with grammage from 180 g/m2 to 500 g/m2 onto cardboard from 0.7 mm thick or 380 g/m2 onto open and covered corrugated board between 0.6 mm and 10 mm. As a rule, the company uses F, E and B corrugates as substrates. As a top sheet, it processes GD 2 liner and kraftliner from 180 g/m2 to 250 g/m2 of any quality. Depending on the application, covered corrugation can be laminated on the front and on the back. In short: The machine allows the company to process a wide range of different materials, giving it the flexibility it needs. Their register accuracy also meets the high quality requirements.

"Whether we are laminating sheets for corrugated packaging or displays, basically, these applications don’t differ. Both work perfectly," Gerstenlauer notes.

BOBST