Ever since delivering the first folder-gluer machine, the original PCR 382, to clients in Switzerland and France way back in 1942, Swiss giant BOBST is celebrating its eighth decade of development and progress.
Back in those days, the PCR 382 together with the brand-new BOBST AP900 die-cutter was able to create a complete converting line for folding carton boxes with consistent high quality on an industrial scale. Many of the customers who had invested in the first folder-gluers in the market are still working on the BOBST equipment.
Swiss company Säuberlin & Pfeiffer SA is one of those customers still using the PCR 382, despite having the latest generation of BOBST’s folder-gluers. “Setting up the PCR 382 is a world apart from the setup of a modern folder-gluer,” says CEO Gérard Autajon.
Changeovers have become a crucial stage in packaging production. In addition to delivering the quality and consistency that customers expect, Säuberlin & Pfeiffer has to deal with faster and shorter job runs. “Efficiency is the key and reducing setup time is and will be an essential factor in staying competitive,” adds Autajon.
The need for non-negotiable quality is also a topic for Carlos Labori, CEO, Envase Gráfico Industrial SA (EGISA). Manufacturers and distributors of packaging products, the company was one of the first in Spain to invest in BOBST’s PCR 800 folder-gluer in the 1960s, and continues to partner with BOBST to this day with newer technology.
“Of their many great qualities, we particularly appreciate their durability, modularity, and reliability,” says Labori. As of today, EGISA makes great use of the high level of automation and increased productivity and accuracy of BOBST’s latest folder-gluers.
In 1963, BOBST expanded its folder-gluer portfolio, introducing DYNAMIC 130, the first machine for processing corrugated board boxes, marking the beginning of the development of a portfolio dedicated to corrugated and litho-laminated converting. The DOMINO 145 bought by Italian packaging converter Fag Artigrafiche SpA in 1999 to improve the company’s gluing capabilities is still in use today.
Head of Product Line Folder-gluers at BOBST Pierre Binggeli says, “We are proud of what we have achieved in those last 80 years. The human element will always be an important factor in the folding-gluing process, but today’s machines are much more productive, precise, and flexible, while offering an ever-increasing level of automation, ease in use, and operator security.”
With different devices, modules, and peripherals added to folder-gluers over the years, BOBST has focused on matching the customer’s individual needs with recent machines including digitalization and connectivity needed to allow customers to shift to Industry 4.0.
“Although BOBST is celebrating its 80th anniversary of folder-gluers this year, we are fully focused on what lies ahead and committed to the four pillars of the company’s vision: automation, connectivity, digitalization, and sustainability. Though the economic and ecological challenges are huge today, we are determined to continue to innovate, stay ahead of the curve, and engineer the future of the packaging industry,” adds Binggeli.
