SPECIALISED MAGAZINE FOR THE COATING AND CONVERTING INDUSTRY

Issue 84 International December 2020 International film, nonwovens and paper converting

WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT ADHESIVE TECHNOLOGIES & INNOVATIONS

DIE CUTTING, EMBOSSING & PERFORATING

Insight: BOBST Insight: AST Converter of the Month:

Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH • Mainzer Landstr. 251 • 60326 Frankfurt am Main / Germany • www.coating-converting.com 251 • 60326 Frankfurt GmbH • Mainzer Landstr. Deutscher Fachverlag Panoval

EDITORIAL | 3

www.coating-converting.com

C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 / December 2020 / 14th Edition Publis­hed by: Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH Postal address: Mainzer Landstr. 251 60326 Frankfurt/Germany  +49 69 75 95-01,  +49 69 75 95-2999, www.dfv.de Executive Management Board: Peter Esser, Sönke Reimers (Speakers of Management Board), www.c2-europe.euMarkus Gotta, Peter Kley Supervisory Board: Andreas Lorch, Catrin Lorch, Peter Ruß, Angela Wisken Publishing Director: Dirk Lehmann,  +49 69 7595-1291,  [email protected] Publisher: Franz Hermann,  +49 40 30712170,  +49 40 94775247  [email protected] Editor: Martin Hirschmann,  +49 69 7595-1546,  [email protected] Director Finances and Media Services: Thomas Berner,  +49 69 7595-1147 Production: Hans Dreier (Ltg.),  +49 69 75 95-2463 Logistics: Ilja Sauer (Ltg.),  +49 69 75 95-2201 A new start with innovation and continuity Graphics: Nadine Bauernfeind Advertising Director technical publications: Heidrun Dangl,  +49 69 75 95-2563,  [email protected] Dear Readers, Advertising Manager: Nina Pirchmoser,  +49 69 7595-1227,  [email protected] In this last C2 issue of 2020, the new/old C2 core team greets you: Nadine Bauernfeind, Advertising fax:  +49 69 7595-2960 Subscription and Reader Service: Petra Petrasch, Martin Hirschmann and Nina Pirchmoser (from left to right). First and foremost, I would like to  +49 69 75 95-1973,  [email protected] underline our joint pledge that we will continue the C2 media platform in its proven form and – [email protected] Distribution fax:  +49 69 75 95-1820 wherever possible – optimise it. For more than 14 years, C2 has built up its reputation as the Frequency of publication: bi-monthly leading trade journal for the converting industry – and we want it to stay that way. Correspondent bank: Frankfurter Sparkasse, Frankfurt/Germany, BIC: HELADEF1822, IBAN: DE56 5005 0201 0000 0349 26 Even though we don't want to give away everything today: we have a lot of plans! In strong Front Cover: KAMA association with the packaging titles of the dfv Media Group (Packreport and Packaging 360°) The handing over the manuscript by the author to the editors and our sister magazine OPE journal, you can look forward to podcasts, digital talks and other transfers all publishing rights to C2 Magazines. innovative concepts. This issue already presents you with a refreshed layout – and these are Rights of use: This journal is distributed in printed and digital form and is available from databases. Any use of just a few of the small and large adjustments we have made. copyrighted articles and images, especially through duplication, distribution, digitalization, storage in database systems or inter- and intranets is prohibited and punishable, In view of the still extremely tense Corona situation here in Europe and in many parts of insofar as the copyright law does not provide otherwise. Should you wish to reprint, copy to your internet site or the world, the question of the fate of our industry trade fairs still remained until fairly recently. intranet or send this journal out via e-mail articles, you can obtain the necessary rights from the Deutsche Fachverlag At the time of going to press, drupa and interpack have been cancelled entirely. ICE Europe, GmbH. Your request can be sent to content-syndication@dfv. de. For further information call +49 69 7595-2042. on the other hand, has just been moved to 22-24 June 2021. Therefore, we unfortunately had For the acquisition of articles in your internal electronic press, to do without detailed previews on the trade fairs. Nevertheless, you can look forward to an the necessary rights can be obtained under www. exciting issue." presse-monitor.de or by calling the PMG Presse-Monitor GmbH on +49 30 284930. The following technical trade journals are also published by Enjoy reading, Happy Holidays and a good start into the New Year! the Deutscher Fachverlag: Wochenblatt für Papierfabrikation, PackReport, Entsorga Magazin, Chemical Fibers International, Technische Textilien/Technical Textiles, Melliand Textilberichte, Melliand International. Yours Information in accordance with § 5 sec. 2 of the Hessian Press Law (HPresseG): Shareholders of Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH are Mr. Andreas Lorch, Heidelberg (42,1908%); Mrs. Catrin Lorch, Königswinter (10,9358%); Mrs. Anette Lorch, Büdingen (10,9367%); Mrs. Britta Lorch, Berlin (10,9367%) and Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main (25%).

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 4 | CONTENTS

THE BROADER VIEW 14

My colleague, the robot...... 7 What will the factory of the future look like? How will it be organised? In this C2 article, we once again venture­ to look beyond the horizon and present FPT Industrial's Driveline factory in Turin, Italy, where drives and axles for heavy vehicles are manufactured. Robotics is already a matter of course here – a role model for the converting industry, too?

MARKET REPORT On the way to number one in surface density measurement ...... 9 Prof Dr Daniel Eggerath has been appointed as new managing director of MeSys (Greifenberg, Germany). In an interview with C2, he talks about his new tasks and goals

Diversified and well-networked...... 11 C2 in an exclusive interview with Dirk Schröder, sales manager at Erhardt+Leimer GmbH (Stadtbergen, Germany)

From flexo printing into the converting industry...... 13 Laserclean (Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands) discusses why laser cleaning of anilox rollers can also be attractive for users from our sector 22 Comprehensive package for web inspection ...... 14 Grafikontrol was founded in 1969 in Milan, Italy. From the beginning, the company focussed its activities on the development and production of systems for quality control during the production processes in the printing and converting sectors. C2 presents the supplier in detail

New non-contact allrounder...... 18 Meech International (Witney, UK) presents the new CyClean-R: a non-contact web cleaning system for webs with low tension

Flexible and fully integrated...... 19 Polytec GmbH demonstrates how non-contact speed measurement and digitisation can go hand in hand today

‘Future concepts’ in strip flatness measurement...... 20 26 Achenbach Buschhütten has unveiled an innovative CFP measuring roll for the plastics industry

Sustainable and food-safe...... 22 In an exclusive interview with C2, Cristian Furiosi, CEO of SAPICI (Milan, Italy), shares insights into his company’s offering in high-performance polyurethanes for packaging & print, coating, industrial applications, and others

Sunny perspectives...... 24 CMC Klebetechnik (Frankenthal, Germany) supplies a range of adhesive tapes for the production of solar modules

Secure storage...... 26 For flat and rotative die-cutting tools, Marbach (Heilbronn, Germany) offers its Die Storage System

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 CONTENTS | 5

Die-cutting the smart way...... 27 Berhalter AG (Widnau, Switzerland) shows how die- cutting systems can be made even more productive thanks to digitalisation, automation, and networking

50 years of British-Japanese partnership...... 29 Back in the the 1970’s before emails or Instagram, RK PrintCoat was spotted for a news article by Matsuo Sangyo, Japan. Interested in RK’s K Hand Coater equipment, they made contact by handwritten letter

A successor for cylinders...... 30 The new ComCut 76 from KAMA (Dresden, Germany) is reported to have a quick return-on-investment and enable efficient further processing

How to truly ‘understand‘ a production line...... 31 LAE Engineering GmbH (Wiesloch, Germany) discusses model- based engineering in control and automation technology

INSIGHT Why battery technology and slitting and winding machinery actually are a perfect fit...... 32 KAMPF (Wiehl, Germany) and Kampf LSF bundle and increase their activities for the production of lithium-ion batteries

Dynamic Duo...... 34 BOBST has introduced to the market two brand-new laminating lines 32 in 2020: the solvent-less NOVA SX 550 LAMINATOR and the multi- technology NOVA D 800 LAMINATOR, which is also available in the NOVA DA 800 variant with automatic winders

With the experience of seven decades...... 36 Monomatic (Strasbourg, France) offers un- and rewinders for technical webs and other web-type materials, which are used globally in numerous industrial sectors.

Celebrating the 30-year milestone...... 37 At AST Beschichtungstechnik (Rot am See, Germany), the 30th anniversary marks a moment in time to look back at the successful history of the company, but also to look forward to new goals. C2 talked to managing director Reiner Weidinger

Revolutionary UV coatings...... 38 The Welsh company Nu-Coat uses pretreatment systems from Vetaphone (Kolding, Denmark) for the production of UV polyacrylate adhesives 42

CONVERTER OF THE MONTH

Extraordinary labels from Far East...... 39 Our current Converter of the Month comes from the aspiring country of Vietnam. Panoval Label S.A. was founded in 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City and owns highly modern coating lines as well as an ISO class 6 certified cleanroom

THE LAST WORD

Packaged in algae...... 42 An EU research project involving the University of Hohenheim in Germany is looking for new, sustainable food additives and packaging materials from algae and seaweeds

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 6 | EVENTS

Event Date Location

Interpack 2021 Messe Düsseldorf, Germany 25 February – 3 March 2021 www.interpack.de cancelled Organiser: Messe Düsseldorf

LOPEC digital All-digital event in 2021 23 – 25 March 2021 www.lopec.com Organisers: OE-A, Messe München

Shenzhen World Exhibition & Conven- Chinaplas 13 – 16 April 2021 tion Center, PR China www.chinaplasonline.com Organiser: Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd.

drupa 2021 Messe Düsseldorf, Germany 20 – 28 April 2021 www.drupa.de cancelled Organiser: Messe Düsseldorf

Messe Frankfurt, Germany techtextil 4 – 7 May 2021 Organiser: Messe Frankfurt Exhibition www.techtextil.messefrankfurt.com GmbH

Donald E. Stephens Convention Labelexpo Americas 8 – 10 June 2021 Center, Chicago www.labelexpo-americas.com Organiser: Tarsus Group

Messe Munich, Germany ICE Europe 22 – 24 June 2021 Organiser: Mack Brooks Exhibitions, www.ice-x.com part of Reed Exhibitions

Hotel Hafen Hamburg 7 – 9 July 2021 Organiser: Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH Converting Summit 2021 www.coating-converting.de/summit

INDEX Palexpo Geneva, Genf 7 – 10 September 2021 www.indexnonwovens.com Organiser: Palexpo SA/edana

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 THE BROADER VIEW | 7

My colleague, the robot

What will the factory of the future look like? How will SPECIAL KNIVES it be organised? In this C2 article, we once again FOR FOILS IN ­venture to look beyond the horizon and present FPT l LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES Industrial's Driveline factory in Turin, Italy, where l ACCUMULATORS drives and axles for heavy vehicles are manufactured. l SEPARATORS Robotics is already a matter of course here – a role l CAPACITORS model for the converting industry, too? WE ARE EXPERTS IN AND he department, which is concerned controlled by them if necessary. In particular, PRECISION with the assembly of steering knuckles AURA takes a part from the loading trolley QUALITY. Tfor heavy vehicles, is working with absolutely independently and carefully pas- AURA (Advanced Use Robotic Arm): a robot ses it on to the operator with whom he sha- designed and developed by Comau and used res the workstation. Now the human opera- in the HuManS (Human-centered Manufac- tor takes command of the work and controls turing System) project, which was created the robot via a corresponding handle so that as a result of the Piedmont Region's call for the mechanical arm approaches the part on tenders for the Intelligent Factory Platform the workbench, where the coupling is made and in which FPT Industrial, Comau and 17 with a lever. other companies specialising in the sector participated. A project that places man at the Man and machine in harmony centre of the production system, where they A perfect cooperation and synergy, are surrounded by machines that help them where each of the parties involved can give and with which they share space in complete their best. The robot carries out the heavy safety. work with method and without effort. It is Almost three metres high and weighing the only collaborative robot on the market The advantages at a glance: around three tonnes, AURA is a collaborative that can lift up to 170kg, while the delicate industrial robot capable of assisting people assembly phase is controlled by man, exploi- l circular knives in different without barriers and in the same workplace, ting its ability to adapt to operating situations material qualities, special helping them and taking on more demanding and assembly strategies that often vary grea- collars, bottom knives, knife and repetitive tasks, as well as being manually tly from one model to another. holders, cutting cassettes and robot slitting systems for various cutting methods l smooth, clean cutting edges and narrowest cutting width tolerances l long service life l worldwide regrinding service l kaizen analysis & seminars l slitting laboratory

Do not hesitate to contact our slitting experts.

TEL. +49 2206 605-0 [email protected] WWW.DIENES.DE

The robot reacts to the presence of humans in its environment

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 8 | THE BROADER VIEW

But monitoring INFORMATION power is not of the effec- the only gift tive industrial Comau, a company of the FCA that makes validity of the Group, is a world leader in industrial AURA an results, thus automation solutions and systems. Its unparalleled facilitating extensive portfolio includes techno- robot. As a their tran- logy and systems for the production of collabora- sition from electric, hybrid and conventional vehic- tive machine, scientific to les, industrial robots, collaborative and it must be application. portable robots, self-controlling logi- able to detect “We are stics solutions, dedicated machining the presence delighted to centres and networked digital services of another have taken and products to transmit, elaborate machine or this pro- and analyse machine and process data. a flesh-and- ject forward With more than 45 years of practical blood person together with experience and a presence in every in its work- an outstan- leading industrial country, Comau space and ding partner helps manufacturers of all sizes in vir- modulate like Comau,” tually every industry to achieve higher its behavi- affirms Gius- quality, increased productivity, shorter our accordin- eppe Daresta, time-to-market and lower overall costs. gly. And to do manufactu- In addition to project management and this, it makes ring mana- consulting, the company offers main- the best pos- ger for FPT tenance and training for a wide range sible use of its Industrial. of industry segments. Comau, based “senses”. “The configu- in Turin, has an international net- A “sen- AURA in use at FPT Industrial ration produ- work, seven innovation centres, five sitive skin” – ced at the Dri- digital hubs, and eight manufacturing soft and inspired by human skin – allows veline plant in Turin is a strong innovation, as plants in 14 countries with more than him to decide whether to reduce the speed it improves the ergonomics of manual assem- 9000 employees. at which he moves or stop completely. bly operations of heavy parts thanks to the “Eyes” in the form of a 3D camera are used support of a robot capable of sharing space by the robot to scan the part to be remo- with the human operator in safety. It is also ved in order to find out where it is located. an important means of disseminating the And finally “the sense of touch”, a pair of new technologies developed thanks to its pliers with which he can lift the component integration into a real production context.” to be moved with a firm but at the same “The synergy between two leading high- time careful grip. But that is not all. In order tech companies such as FPT and Comau has to be able to work barrier-free at the side led to an innovative solution focused on of a human being on FPT Industrial's Drive- the AURA collaborative robot. Comau has line assembly line, AURA has been equip- always been committed to the development ped with a veritable “sixth sense”: a modern of products and systems aimed at improving and complex laser scanning system that customers' production processes in terms of examines and checks the workplace when flexibility, quality and efficiency,” says Pie- the arm is in operation. tro Ottavis, CTO of Comau. “The 'robots' and the digital instruments are some of the Ergonomics and efficiency most important technologies developed by FPT Industrial and Comau have been Comau, in line with its own approach to actively involved in the HuMAnS project Industry 4.0 called HUMANufacturing, in from the initial phases, with the definition order to realise a complete and safe coope- of the requirements and the areas of appli- ration in the production activities between cation in 2017, in order to improve and make man and machines, which are called to sup- the processes more efficient thanks to the port man in the works that require more implementation of new technical solutions speed, power and repeatability, as well as in specifically aimed at factory ergonomics. the more dangerous ones.” Furthermore, the two partners, as end users, have continuously guaranteed efficient Image sources: Comau / FPT Industrial create COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 TransFormation www.conslitter.com WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT | MARKET REPORT | 9

On the way to number one in surface density measurement

Prof Dr Daniel Eggerath has been appointed as new managing director of MeSys (Greifenberg, Germany). In an interview with C2, he talks about his new tasks and goals

C2: Dr Eggerath, you have now been wor- king for MeSys GmbH as the new technical managing director for several weeks. What convinced you to move to this company?

Daniel Eggerath: First of all, thank you very much for the opportunity for this inter- view! Well, I knew MeSys and especially the founder of the company, Mr Helmut Knorr, very well. A very good relationship has developed over the years. Furthermore, as a user of ultra- sound technology, I was enthusiastic from the very beginning. The first points of contact were during my doctoral thesis, which was about measuring the thickness of falling fluid films. Now that Mr Knorr has unfortunately passed The MeSys management: Eva Knorr and Prof Dr Daniel Eggerath away, I would like to do my part, together with Ms Eva Knorr as a further managing director, than when the employees are absolutely con- D. Eggerath: The company MeSys has to continue to position MeSys strongly on the vinced of their own product. grown strongly in recent years to meet the market as a supplier of radiation-free surface high demand. The structural growth of the density systems. The company and its emplo- C2: Which tasks and goals will be the focus company that goes hand in hand with this yees deserve it! There is nothing more beautiful of your work in the near future? requires appropriate attention. I would like to

create TransFormation COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONALwww.conslitter.com 84 | DECEMBER 2020 10 | MARKET REPORT | WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT

D. Eggerath: It is a special year, of course. On the one hand, we used the spaces that were created at times to optimise internal structures (processes, etc.) in terms of effici- ency and effectiveness. On the other hand, we were able to benefit from strong and good partnerships, as well as the increasing demand in the battery sector, so that we can financi- ally record a good year 2020. Nevertheless, I would like to see more life in the business world again, which, despite all the advan- tages of video conferencing, requires some travel opportunities. There is no substitute for personal contact. Let us hope for the best. MeSys’ ultrasound array measurement system C2: MeSys is a global company with sales and service locations in America, Europe and Asia. To what extent has the interaction bet- ween the various branches changed during the Corona period and how do you stay close to your customers when travel is often impos- sible and trade fairs cannot be held?

D. Eggerath: There is no question that this poses a challenge for almost every company. On the one hand, we switched to the new system at the right time and thus gained the opportunity to connect to all MeSys systems in the world in order to provide support to our customers – in a fast and efficient way. On the other hand, measures have been taken to enable the customer to carry out upgrades to systems himself or to install the measuring frames by means of instructions. This was first tested internally and is now being applied A MeSys system in use internationally. address this topic more intensively. In addition, Another aspect is our array systems. In C2: Let's take a look into the future: Where our measuring equipment has been converted contrast to the traversing single sensor, the do you see your company in ten years? to a new control and visualisation system in array system has a large number of fixed order to take into account the latest technical sensors which allow almost 100% of the D. Eggerath: Oh dear, in ten years' time developments in the field of control techno- product (battery foil, etc.) to be measured my 50th birthday will be waiting for me [grins]. logy and visualisation. Here, it is important (depending on how many sensor rows are Due to the outstanding measurement con- to further develop and optimise the products used). Especially in the field of battery pro- cept, there can be no other goal than to be close to the customer. duction the product is very popular, because the number one in the field of surface density the measuring frame can also be used in measurement (coating and film extrusion) in C2: MeSys is mainly known for its non-con- wet areas and the adaptation of the wet ten years. Lake Ammersee will continue to be tact, non-radiometric measuring systems. layer (cross and longitudinal profile) is done the technology hub with various production Which highlights from the product range directly behind the coating unit before dry- facilities in Asia and America. A close customer would you like to emphasise for our readers? ing. With radiometric systems this is often relationship with a forward-looking under- only possible in the dry area. standing of the market will pave the way for D. Eggerath: On the one hand, it is the us. Many thanks to all customers who already already mentioned change to a new control C2: Of course, unfortunately we cannot avoid trust in MeSys! and visualisation system, which sets new talking about the corona crisis: How did your standards, especially in the areas of software company experience the year 2020 and what Image sources: MeSys stability, error detection, interface flexibility opportunities may arise in this challenging and flexible, customer-oriented user interface. time?

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT | MARKET REPORT | 11

Diversified and well-networked

C2 in an exclusive interview with Dirk Schröder, sales manager at Erhardt+Leimer GmbH (Stadtbergen, Germany)

C2: Mr Schröder, we usually meet regularly at D. Schröder: Like many other companies, tradeshows and events both in Germany and we have had to accept a drop in new orders abroad. How much do you miss travelling and due to the Covid-19 crisis. However: at the the personal contacts with your existing and beginning of the year, when almost the entire prospective customers? company was in lockdown, we discussed this crisis and its potential impact on the rest of Dirk Schröder: For me, the personal con- the year at management and departmental tact with all my business partners and friends level. Fortunately, the “dark thoughts” that has always been essential. In the Covid-19 we had at that time did not come true in time, which we are currently experiencing, one this form, because we as a company are very becomes even more aware of how important diversified and operate in many, many sectors. these contacts actually are. Nevertheless, our Let's think, for example, about the hygi- business continues to run relatively well overall. ene sector, which of course has been parti- Unfortunately, business is “only” business at cularly popular in this crisis, but also about the moment – and the emotional, personal the topic of battery production, where we component is missing. are represented as a supplier in various pro- duction plants! The crisis has not repla- C2: In October, your company set up a virtual ced the debate on climate change and the exhibition stand that largely corresponds to the future of the automobile, but at best has actual planned drupa 2020 stand. Can you tell delayed it. Especially in the second half us more about this – and what feedback have Dirk Schröder of the year we were able to record many you received so far? orders, for example in the battery sector. If we look at the area of plastics and D. Schröder: This is the first time that we, packaging, the industry certainly benefi- like many other companies, have set up a vir- "We want to make our systems ted from the fact that people were no lon- tual trade fair presence of this kind, and we even more userfriendly, integrate ger able to go to restaurants so often and have put a lot of effort into it. When I “go” to them even more into the machine, therefore packaged food was all the more this stand myself, it actually seems to me as if and provide our customers with in demand. We were also able to record a it were a reflection of our real stand. Even our more information than is normally relatively high number of new orders in the stand staff has been integrated in 3D – so you available, which they can then use plastics and converting sector. can meet my very own avatar there, among in their machine environments for Somewhat surprising for us was the other things! But that was actually just the pre- better and more precise production development that many machine manufac- liminary work. We have started a very exten- turers started to work in the mask produc- sequences." sive advertising campaign for this virtual stand, tion sector. In some cases, new machines both directly and via print media, telephone were developed or spin-offs from existing campaigns, emails, etc. From a raffle at the lines were realised – our systems were also stand to advertising for our online shop and used here. So the crisis shifted economic the presentation of new products, we were D. Schröder: We are still in the analysis issues, but did not shut them down. able to offer many things to interested parties phase – the “virtual drupa” is still ongo- in the virtual space. All in all, our campaigns ing at the moment. We are continuing to C2: In the recent past Erhardt+Leimer has – including revised brochures and a live chat exchange information with our customers focused on new market segments in battery offer – were very well received. and internally. Whether it pays off to attend production and printed electronics. What are an “official” virtual event organised by a trade your plans for the future? C2: Many trade fair organisers offer such vir- fair company has yet to be proven. tual concepts themselves. Has the realisation D. Schröder: As a supplier of components of these concepts on your own ultimately C2: What is Erhardt+Leimer's overall assess- we are dependent on the fact that there are paid off for you? ment at the end of this difficult year? companies that start large battery production

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 12 | MARKET REPORT | WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT

Networking concepts for production plants are becoming increasingly The DN 40 data network centre from E+L sophisticated and then buy machines on which our compo- The ability to retain this production qua- to survive in the market. What changes are nents are installed. Especially in Asia, but also lity over and over again without having to perhaps already foreseeable for the coming here in Europe and America, we are strengthe- drive too much waste is based on being years? ning our battery production offerings. Plant able to draw as much information as possi- manufacturers in the battery sector should ble from the process in real time. This infor- D. Schröder: As already mentioned in this know our services and ultimately buy them. mation can then be used when the process interview, among other things, the way we We are now very well positioned here. So if the is repeated or adjusted. All components – communicate with our customers and how we transformation of the automobile and mobility including our sub-components – must be present our services has changed. However, in general continues as it has been observed integrated into the system network in such I would like to emphasise that our company in recent years, order intake will continue to a way that everything can be implemented has been able to position itself early on in rise here as well. quickly and smoothly with the entire integ- recent years by using a consistent, globally On the one hand, I would like to high- ration and depth of information. identical IT platform, so that it is no longer light in particular the area of delivery vehic- This is also our credo for the future: we dependent on fixed workplaces in the office les and trucks, which has not yet been tackled want to make our systems even more user- or at home. We are able to communicate with on a large scale in Europe. Many companies friendly, integrate them even more into the our customers at any place in the world in a in Asia are ahead of us here. On the other machine, and provide our customers with very flexible way. hand, the home energy storage topic is very more information than is normally available, In view of the pandemic, the ques- exciting, where larger battery packs are used which they can then use in their machine tion was raised in March as to how quickly in a decentralised manner in the home envi- environments for better and more precise I could send my department of 15 emplo- ronment. For instance, the electric car can be production sequences. yees into their home offices. This took just charged with electricity produced by the user. three days for us! Thanks to our good prepa- C2: Which trends did you observe in the ratory work, our staff was always available C2: Let's take a look ahead: As of today, ICE automation sector in the recent past? even during home office hours and did not Europe 2021 is scheduled to take place in experience any bottlenecks. It is also worth March. What are your plans for the leading D. Schröder: At the moment I observe an mentioning that we want to serve the boom trade fair for the converting industry and which increasing electrification – I am particularly markets even more. Besides the aforementi- products would you like to focus on in your alluding to the topic of electric drives. In the oned battery production and printed elect- presentation? last few years we have seen the development ronics, this also includes the hygiene indus- that even systems that used to work with try. Here, too, we intend to intensify our D. Schröder: In the converting sector, our pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders are incre- market activities significantly and address focus is on new, networked technologies. asingly being solved electrically. The reason necessary changes within the company in Realistically speaking, it is difficult to revolu- for this is the availability of very powerful yet order to position ourselves for the future. tionise the function of a web guiding system compact motors. In this context, we have also Finally, I would like to refer to the new – in the end it is all about positioning a web at decided to break completely new ground in networking concept for our components, a certain speed and with a certain accuracy at this area. which we have named EL.NET. It is based a certain point. In addition, we also offer web on Ethernet technology and typical data tension and surface inspection systems, which C2: On the occasion of the 100th company exchange formats. We will also be fully in are also participants in specific production anniversary in 2019, company president line with this trend! lines that are used to manufacture a specific Hannelore Leimer said that a company must product at a specific quality. shed its skin at least every ten years in order Image sources: Erhardt+Leimer

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT | MARKET REPORT | 13

high. If the roller gets dirty, not only does the volume of ink transferred by the roller decre- From flexo printing ase, but the surface tension changes as well. When this surface tension is almost the same as the polymer plate, not enough ink is trans- into the converting industry ferred. Laser cleaning brings the surface ten- sion back to the original dyne values. This is the great advantage that only laser cleaning Laserclean (Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands) can achieve.” discusses why laser cleaning of anilox rollers can also A practical example be attractive for users from our sector Three years ago, Laserclean received an enquiry from a paper manufacturer regarding the cleaning of four rolls. These are used to n the flexo printing apply quick-drying glue to the paper. There- sector, laser cleaning fore the glue dries very quickly on the rol- Iof anilox rollers is ler. Every six months these rollers therefore generally known and had to be re-coated. The rollers themselves a recognised cleaning were not worn, but the glue could not be method for parts made removed. of chrome, as well as With laser cleaning it was possible to ceramic anilox rollers. remove the glue within one hour per roller. Laserclean also uses Instead of applying a new coating twice a this innovative cleaning year, laser cleaning is now done twice a year. method for the conver- A total of 12 rollers are in use at this com- ting sector. pany. This has reduced the annual costs of “It is virtually always €120 000 by 80%. a topical issue: how to get the roller clean wit- Innovation for the hout damaging the sur- converting industry face – in a limited period Last year, Laserclean also developed a of time,” explains Mar- Laserclean’s service truck unique application for the converting indus- tin de Wit, founder and try using a laser cleaning device. It concerns owner of Laserclean, “Traditional cleaning with the anilox roller manufacturer Zecher rollers that have PU contamination on the methods reach their limits in terms of cleaning and also cooperates with almost all Zecher surface. PU is very difficult to remove, but power and are often no longer able to clean agents. This enables Laserclean to rely on a the Dutch experts have developed a pro- the roller sufficiently homogeneously. Fur- worldwide representation by local agents. cess to remove this PU layer. As far as Laser- thermore, many companies do not want to clean is aware of, no other company offers use strong chemicals that can be dangerous Technical details this service. for their employees during cleaning.” The principle of laser cleaning works as follows: a pulsed laser beam is directed at The process Specialised supplier the soiled surface. The very short laser pulses Laserclean has a service van that can clean Laserclean b.v. has specialised in the (20ns) are absorbed by the dirt and heat it up. rollers up to 320cm at the customer's site. In cleaning of anilox rollers by laser since 2003. The very intensive heating leads to an evapo- most cases it is also possible to clean rollers In the first 10 years of its existence, the com- ration of the contamination. The underlying directly in the machine – without dismant- pany mainly offered cleaning and service on substrate has a higher evaporation value. As ling. The system is mounted in parallel along site. This service is provided by the Dutch long as the laser beam does not exceed these the roller. The roller rotates and the laser company itself throughout Western Europe, values, it is possible to selectively evaporate gun moves from left to right along the rol- or via service agents in other regions. From the contamination. Once the contaminated ler. Thanks to certain safety measures, the rol- 2013, Laserclean has started to develop a area is removed, the laser beam has no effect ler cannot be damaged during laser cleaning. portfolio of several laser machines. on the substrate, as it is mainly reflected by “We have over 25 years of experience with This portfolio consists of machines for the that substrate. laser systems,” summarises de Wit. “In recent label sector, flexible packaging and corruga- Concerning the necessity of cleaning, de years we have seen an increasing interest in ted board manufacturers. These systems can Wit says: “Laserclean has a lot of experience laser cleaning. It is the most environmentally be used offline – the Laserclean systems are in the flexo printing industry. It is important friendly method in roll cleaning!" offered for sale to companies. to printers that the rollers transfer enough Since 2019 Laserclean has been working ink, so that the ink density is sufficiently Image source: Laserclean

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 14 | MARKET REPORT | WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT

Comprehensive package for web inspection

Grafikontrol was founded in 1969 in Milan, Italy. From the beginning, the company focussed its activities on the development and production of systems for quality control during the production processes in the printing and converting sectors. C2 presents the supplier in detail

pplications of Grafikontrol systems TQC360° platform and visualisation of coatings and lacquers range from printing presses to What enables Grafikontrol’s success, are and for defect reporting and tracking. Acoaters and laminators, from slitters products such as their innovative modular The main pillars, on which Grafikontrol to doctor rewinders, from metallizers to platform, the TQC360°. Developed internally, claims to have based its growth and success extruders. More than 70% of the resources it offers printers a complete solution for their over all these years, are described below by based at Grafikontrol’s Milan headquarters is quality assurance. With TQC360°, Grafikon- the family owned company: dedicated to technical activities: R&D, tech- trol presents itself as a broad spectrum sup- „ Flexibility, in order to deliver tailored nical department, technical service, remote plier for printers and converters: high perfor- solutions to different customers assistance, production. mance products, applications, processes, and „ Technical assistance, because a produc- Grafikontrol North America, based in excellent services. The aim is to become an tion machine should never stand still Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, manages the North “full service provider” in the eyes of the cus- „ Proprietary software, because American market, guaranteeing a strong pre- tomer. The TQC360° products are highly fle- customers should be able to rely on sence with a local technical service and a net- xible and adaptable to any printing proces- a supplier that owns and masters the work of sales representatives that covers the ses, allowing the customer to start with a solutions that it offers to the market whole territory. configuration and implement it at any time „ An extremely user-friendly multi-tasking “Large international groups have been later on. interface and a 24” multi touch screen, impressed and excited by the novelty and the Grafikontrol systems can be interfaced to be used just like the screen of a smart performance in inspection and quality con- with one another, with the ERP system of the phone, because operators must be able trol, which have led them to choose Grafi- customer, or sold as standalone devices. In to use all different features of the system kontrol as their preferred vendor,” emphasi- addition to the 100% inspection devices, as from the very first moment. Thus, they ses Paolo De Grandis, director and co-owner well as the web inspection systems, or the in- can reduce set-up times and save on of Grafikontrol. line spectrophotometers, Grafikontrol offers expensive material wastes, while also state-of the art systems for the inspection reducing the impact on the environment

The PROGREX system from Grafikontrol MATRIX C/S on the running web

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT | MARKET REPORT | 15

Versatile area cameras MATRIX C/S is a dual camera system shows the image of the cold-seal superim- The MATRIX area camera is a typical that allows instantaneous displaying of the posed and synchronised with the image of example of the industrial solutions that Grafi- front and back of the print for verifying the the front print for a precise evaluation of kontrol wants to be able to offer. Its primary register overlap. The equipment is compo- the out-of-register of the cold seal. One function is to provide a very high image qua- sed of two opposite digital monochrome available option is a dedicated software lity and zoom. The 6 Megapixel colour digital matrix cameras (1.3 Megapixels) with fixed that warns the operator when the register camera combined with a new generation of magnification which move synchronously between front (print) and back (cold-seal) high efficiency LED illumination allow snapshots on two cross beams, controlled by a single exceeds the set tolerances. of the running web with dot-sharp images from motor. The system is equipped with pola- PARVIX is a smart area camera equip- any printing process and substrate. rised optics with geometry designed after ped with a 1.3 Megapixel digital colour The powerful hardware and the new Grafikontrol specifications, and particularly camera that displays a 150x110mm field multi-touch operator interface guarantee suited for the inspection of any kind of sub- of view on a 24” multi-touch monitor. The high performance, fast settings and quick strates, including metallized webs. The LED high-brightness optics equipped with 10X operations. Intuitive graphics, similar to illuminators used on the MATRIX C/S sys- motorised zoom combined with the newest tablets, makes it easy to operate even for tem belong to the fourth generation, which generation of high efficiency LED illumina- beginners. is more performing and efficient, and able tion allow snapshots of the running web Its modular design offers a high freedom to guarantee better light distribution on any providing the operator with clear and dot- of configuration to the customer. MATRIX can substrate. sharp images of all printing processes and act as a simple web viewer or can be expan- The combination of optics and lighting substrates. The 10X motorised optic dis- ded with multiple functions and options that has enabled Grafikontrol to obtain the best plays the printed images with magnifica- transform it into a powerful quality control performance in terms of visualisation of the tion of the details to dot level. The power- device. When fully equipped, MATRIX ena- transparent lacquers, varnishes and cold- ful hardware and the new HD multi-touch bles operators to detect the most common seals on any substrate, including the white/ operator interface guarantee high perfor- print defects, as well as to verify the prin- pearlised films even when coated with a mance, fast settings and quick operations. ting consistency and register, and the pre- white cold-seal. A special “image enhance- Intuitive graphics, similar to tablets, make sence of UV enhanced lacquers or of over- ment” feature improves image contrast on learning operations simple and intuitive print varnishes. both sides of the web. The system instantly even for beginners.

A KROENERT MACHINE IS GOOD FOR ANY TASK.

For the thinnest application of only 200 nm to the maximum coating weight of 2.000 g/m² – KROENERT has a wide range of self-developed application systems. The various applications allow extremely homogeneous and constant coatings with low application weight tolerances.

9 – 11 March 2021 Munich Trade Fair Centre, Germany Visit us at Stand 210, Hall A6 ice-x.com/europe

T +49 40 853 93 01 www.kroenert.de

The Coating COATINGMachinery & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL Experts 84 | DECEMBER 2020

20201126_KROENERT_Imageanzeige_210x140_EN_Beschichtungen_RZ_ICE.indd 1 26.11.20 13:46 16 | MARKET REPORT | WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT

100% print inspection Combination with image LYNEX: In roll-to-roll packaging printing processing algorithms the demand for defect-free products and PROGREX is Grafikontrol’s solution to tight regulations obligate printers to equip achieve high quality standards. The combi- their presses with systems that can guarantee nation of the different technologies, linked a total quality control. LYNEX is a 100% print to image processing algorithms, provides inspection system developed by Grafikon- a complete and simple instrument to sup- trol to assure total quality control during the port the operator. The solution combines printing process. The continuous inspection two high end technologies in one single of the entire print repeat, with programma- system: ble sensitivities, allows the automatic detec- „ LYNEX for the 100% inspection of the tion of all print or substrate defects and a real entire web with full print repeat display time evaluation of the production. The imme- „ MATRIX area cameras for an accurate diate warning, when a flaw is detected, gua- visualisation of the details rantees the elimination of defective material which optimises customers’ processes and These parallel functions allow control avoids claims. LYNEX can use different came- of the printing process from a single user ras and be built in different configurations; its interface. According to the Italian supplier, modular architecture, combined with pow- the interactive functions between the two erful hardware and dedicated algorithms for EASY TRACKER facilitates the traceability of systems make PROGREX the most ergono- image processing, make it a flexible and easy errors mic inspection equipment on the market to use instrument for inspection on gravure, today. flexo, digital and offset presses. It is also pos- performance in a unique and unrepeatable EASY-TRACKER is the latest defect sible to set quality standards based on cus- way, offering real-time control/visualisation coding system for the traceability of tomer needs and specifications. LYNEX can of the job on both sides of the web. Both defects during the entire production pro- operate as stand-alone module in multiple sides of the web are displayed individually on cess (printing, lamination, slitting). The use processes, as a print or substrate inspection 24“ multi-touch monitors and, at the same of innovative hardware and software, enti- device, or in combination with MATRIX. time, the images for the front and backside of rely developed by Grafikontrol, allows an LYNEX C/S is a 100% inspection system the web are shown superimposed on a 32” or accurate removal of defects in the slitting dedicated to detecting defects related to 55“ UHD monitor so as to have information in phase. In the first working process a varia- coating processes for varnish, lacquers and real time on the quality of the job. ble code (sync-code) is printed with an INK- cold-seal. Equipped with 4K monochromatic LYNEX B/W: Its versatility allows mul- JET marker at regular intervals on the roll linear cameras, the system allows the user to tiple configurations depending on the type web edge; the sync-code contains the prin- check the correct printability of varnishes/lac- of application and requirement, for the ins- ted roll data: job number and roll number. quers and cold-seals, detects defects in the pection of extruded films before or after slit- Whenever a defect is detected by substrate, categorises them according to the ting. The system is equipped with high per- the 100% inspection system (PROGREX / different types and creates individual reports formance 4k pixels monochrome cameras LYNEX), its position on the web length is for a subsequent quality control. The system with high brightness optics. To provide maxi- immediately paired with the closest sync- is equipped with polarised optics designed mum performance, state-of-the-art high- code. At the end of each produced roll, the after Grafikontrol specifications, particularly efficiency LED illuminators have been inclu- system generates a data-report containing for the inspection of metallized and white/ ded; this allows acquiring information from all the detected defects and the associated pearlised materials. the moving substrate in greater detail and sync-codes. The purpose of EASY-TRACKER The LED illuminators used on the LYNEX providing the operator with clear and reli- is to track all the defects detected during C/S system belong to the fourth genera- able images on any substrate being pro- the different processes (printing, coating tion, with higher performance and effici- cessed. Thanks to an efficient software it is lamination etc.) and save them in a data ency, which guarantees better light distri- possible to use different types of high-reso- file. An editing station allows the quality bution on any substrate. The geometry of lution cameras, up to 16K pixels, for the ins- control to discriminate and filter the diffe- the optics and illuminators combined with pection of wide-web substrates. The system rent typology of defects according to cus- the detection angles of the cameras made it allows detecting defects such as gels, holes, tomers’ requirements (criteria). After the possible to obtain the best performance in insects etc. Other defect categories can be editing phase, the roll moves to the final terms of visualisation of the transparent lac- added upon customer request. For each job process where the selected defects will be quers, varnishes and cold-seals on any sub- an individual report is produced for a qua- removed. With this innovative system, the strate. A special “image enhancement” fea- lity control that can also be viewed later. A processing speed and the efficiency of the ture improves image contrast on both sides 24” full HD multi-touch monitor allows the entire process are increased; thanks to the of the web. The LYNEX C/S can be integrated operator to have real-time information about automatic stops in the slitter, the removal with the 100% LYNEX inspection system ins- the quality of the job and constantly moni- of the defects is extremely easy. talled on the print side, improving inspection tors the process.

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT | MARKET REPORT | 17

Exact colour measurement worldwide. For this reason an accurate colour the customer’s colour standards much faster. CHROMALAB: In the pressroom envi- measurement during production is extremely CHROMALAB provides more detailed and ronment one of the most common causes of important to guarantee consistent, high qua- more accurate colour monitoring. colour management issues stems from mate- lity output. CR33 register control systems gua- rial fatigue, whether it is a doctor blade that CHROMALAB in-line colour measurement rantee a very high accuracy and reduction wears, a plate that needs to be changed or allows real time precise evaluation of colour, of waste during all phases of production: an anilox that needs to be replaced. When providing immediate warnings when colour make-readies, acceleration, and splices for any of these pieces of equipment change trends exceed the tolerance, so the operator both mechanical and e-shaft presses. The over time, eventually it will affect the colour. can take immediate actions for correction. superior electronic technologies and dedi- It is well known that brand owners adamantly Using exclusive software, CHROMALAB ana- cated software algorithms guarantee steady want harmonisation of their colours across lyses spectral variations in colour measured register between the colours for the entire all substrates, applications and geographies, on the print. CHROMALAB’s automated mea- press run resulting in maximum operator and to communicate brand equity to consumers surements reduce start-up waste by hitting press efficiency. CR33 can be easily adap- ted to different printing processes (gravure, flexo or offset). It can function on all regis- tered printing units or as single control for a downstream station. The systems are desi- gned to fit on new or existing presses and are adapted for in-line or tandem configu- ration presses. The fibre optics scanners are specially designed using high sensitivity RGB sensors which automatically adapt the amp- lification to detect very low contrast colours on any kind of substrate.

Continuous further development Grafikontrol focusses on the constant and continuous development and improve- ment of its in-house systems and technolo- gies – both in the hardware and software area. New solutions are currently already in the beta test phase at customers. They will be presented at important industry events in the coming year.

The 100% inspection system LYNEX C/S Image sources: Grafikontrol

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 18 | MARKET REPORT | WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT

New non-contact MEECH EXPANDS ITS PREMISES Meech International, as one of the allrounder world’s leading manufacturers of static control, web cleaning and compressed air Meech International (Witney, UK) presents the technology for the printing, packaging, new CyClean-R: a non-contact web cleaning automotive and textiles markets, is expan- ding its production facilities to nearby system for webs with low tension Tungsten Park in Witney, Oxfordshire, UK – a 25 acre development site currently being n extension to Meech’s extremely constructed by Tungsten Properties. popular non-contact CyClean The additional 22 000 sq ft Unit 2 at Arange, CyClean-R incorporates Tungsten Park, only metres from Meech’s advanced computational fluid dynamics current facilities, will provide it with greater that allow converters to thoroughly clean space to continue developing its products low-tension webs. Ideal for use in a wide and evolving its business. The new unit will variety of applications, including narrow, house all of Meech’s production, while its mid and wide web, CyClean-R is available headquarters will retain its commercial and as a single-sided and double-sided web administrative offices, and engineering and cleaner. From its position on the web R&D departments – though the potential roller, it delivers optimal, consistent CyClean-R from Meech for R&D capacity to increase is now in place removal of dry, unbonded contamination with this expansion. from any web material (particle removal be used across a wide range of installa- Chris Francis, chief executive at Meech, to 0.5 micron is achievable). tions and applications. Able to be ins- says: “We have seen substantial growth as “The CyClean-R was designed after talled as either a single or double sided a company over the years, and this expan- we became aware of a need in the unit, it is also suitable for a variety of sion to new property gives us a platform market for an advanced web cleaning web widths up to 9000mm. Every sys- to continue developing our R&D resource system that can be used on web that tem also has Air balancing and Auto to meet future demand. We’re delighted sits around a roller,” says Adam Bat- airflow adjustment, which means it can to be taking up space in Tungsten Park – trick, sales director at Meech. “This be set for a specific application and will it’s very close to our headquarters and vital makes the CyClean-R ideal for use in then automatically maintain optimum to our local workforce. We’re proud to be many applications, especially those cleaning performance, without ope- based in Witney and are delighted to have with low-tension webs – this type of rator intervention. CyClean-R is availa- the opportunity to continue growing as a web has always been difficult to clean ble with a number of different opening business in the community. We’re excited as effectively as a high tension web – configurations to suit a wide range of to see what this development will do for with CyClean-R, this issue is now elimi- production lines and budgets. the business and what opportunities will nated – and as it’s a non-contact clea- “Meech is always striving to deve- arise from it.” ner, there is no risk of surface damage, lop the perfect solutions to issues that Meech is scheduled to move into Unit 2 or interference with web tension and can hamper production in a variety at Tungsten Park in July 2021, following tracking.” of sectors,” concludes Battrick. “The completion of its fit-out. CyClean-R, much as with our other Air handling unit with filter technology, has been developed fol- “Our reliable Meech Air Handling lowing close consultation with indus- Unit (AHU) forms part of the package, tries that utilise web materials and possessing a filtration system while we’re delighted to be presenting this providing the vacuum pressure and highly advanced and supremely effici- blowing pressure airflows that creates ent technology to the wider market.” a unique cleaning technique. CyClean-R CyClean-R is available in three configu- also has low noise output and requi- rations: fixed, manual operation and res no consumable products, making pneumatic. All versions incorporate it a cost-effective, energy-saving web Meech’s well-known Hyperion static cleaner.” control bars, designed to eliminate sta- With a compact, space saving tic charges from web materials. design that enables it to be installed The new Meech building at Tungsten Park onto most machinery, CyClean-R can Image sources: Meech International

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT | MARKET REPORT | 19

throughput and output, while ensuring maxi- mum cost-effectiveness through minimal cut- Flexible and fully integrated ting tolerances. When laminating, it is essen- tial to synchronise the speed of the foil and the Polytec GmbH demonstrates how non-contact base material as precisely as possible. Speed differentials mean that the foil is not applied speed measurement and digitisation can go smoothly and cleanly to the base material. The hand in hand today product quality decreases, and the reject rate increases. To prevent this, the speed of the foil is measured with one LSV, and the speed of t a time in which networking, the base material with another. This enables efficiency and industrial digitisation the process control to adjust both speeds and Aplay an increasingly important to optimise the process with regard to product role in manufacturing processes, users are quality and output. faced with increasingly complex challenges in the selection of suitable measurement technology. A sensor not only has to meet the metrological requirements; it must also be seamlessly integrated in the existing pro- cess environment. Today's process control systems offer a large number of signal inputs Fig. 1: ProSpeed LSV-2100 length and speed and outputs, as well as communication sensor interfaces, which have to be operated by a modern sensor with an appropriate interface maximum flexibility for integration in modern concept. process control systems. The comfortable The latest generation of laser-based parameterisation via web interface can also Fig. 2: Integration flexibility, thanks to the length and speed sensors from Polytec – Pro- be provided completely wirelessly from any extensive interface concept Speed LSV-2100 (Fig. 1) – not only meets the mobile device without additional software. highest metrological standards in accuracy The applications in the converting indus- The unwinding and rewinding of strip and reliability, but can also be flexibly inte- try are just as diverse as the comprehensive goods requires high-precision length measu- grated in any process environment, thanks interface concept. rement, to ensure that exactly the right length to its comprehensive interface concept. The of material is unwound from the primary roll proven measurement principle, based on the Speed measurement – as to the secondary roll. Complaints may arise if laser Doppler method, is completely non- accurate as possible the length is shorter than required. Material in contact and therefore avoids mechanical When coating, it is essential that the quan- excess of the specified length is given away for wear on the measuring instrument, as well as tity of coating applied is kept at an ideal value free and therefore reduces profitability. Length slippage and damage to the material surface. that is as constant as possible. Quality fluctu- measurement with the LSV is the solution. Fur- Unlike contact-based measuring methods, ations, increased material usage and scrap are thermore, if material is invoiced by length, a such as measuring wheels, which stretch fle- the result if the value is exceeded or not met. legally calibrated measurement according to xible materials due to the required contact It is therefore particularly important to deter- Directive 2014/32/EU is required in the EU. pressure, the non-contact LSV always mea- mine the speed of the material to be coated as The extensive LSV product family also offers sures the true surface speed of piece goods accurately as possible and to control the pro- the ideal solution for this requirement with the and strip goods. High-precision measure- cess accordingly. The same applies to conti- LSV-2000 MID (Fig. 3). ment results are therefore achieved without nuous thermal drying processes. In addition to any impact on the valuable material, espe- the oven temperature, the throughput speed Image sources: Polytec cially in the case of sensitive materials, such and drying time are the most important factors as foils and paper. for product quality. For cut-to-length control of strip goods, both the material length and the Proven technology, speed, i.e. the two measurands of the LSV, are modern interfaces required. Firstly, the LSV provides the material The ProSpeed LSVs also combine proven length since the last cut, to trigger the next technology with modern interfaces (Fig. 2): cut at exactly the required nominal length. An encoder output and various digital inputs Secondly, it simultaneously provides the ins- and outputs offer the highest degree of reli- tantaneous speed of the material. This allows ability and reaction speed for traditional the cutting process to be controlled so that the process integration. Ethernet, a serial inter- strip stops only briefly or not at all, in the case Fig. 3: Legally calibrated length measurement face and various field bus protocols ensure of an on-the-fly cutting process. This increases with the LSV-2000 MID

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 20 | MARKET REPORT | WEB INSPECTION, TEST & MEASUREMENT

‘Future concepts’ in strip flatness measurement

Achenbach Buschhütten has unveiled an innovative CFP measuring roll for the plastics industry

rue to the motto ‚Technology for Future Concepts‘ the continuous development Tin machinery and process technology is a key factor in Achenbach Buschhütten´s success at being a specialist and global leader in rolling mills and foil slitting machines for non-ferrous metals. It is crucial to focus on such technology components that are of key significance for quality, productivity, as well as for energy and resource efficiency of pro- ducts for maximum customer benefit. These include a range of high-precision flatness measuring rolls for various purposes, which have been developed at Achenbach over decades. Thus, Achenbach UniFlat measuring rolls are an indispensable factor in rolling non-ferrous metals. By means of these radi- ally and axially drilled massive measuring rolls it is possible to measure the strip flat- ness precisely from a range of a strip thick- ness of several millimetres up to the thin- nest foil with a final thickness of 4.5µm. Achenbach’s innovative UniFlat CFP Flatness Measuring Roll Over time, about 400 of these massive measuring rolls have been put to use world- wide; and, due to their high-accuracy mea- surement, they form the basis for all flatness control systems.

A new type of measuring roll Based on this pool of experiences, Achenbach has developed a new type of roll for foil seperators and strip processing lines: the Achenbach UniFlat CFP measuring roll, which is a low inertia roll, where piezoelec- trical sensors with extremely high sensitivity in connection with high signal resolution allow particularly precise flatness measure- ments. A great advantage is the light but at the same time very robust design of the roll body: CFP (carbon fibre reinforced plastic) is characterised by a particularly high stiffness with simultaneously very low weight. Due to its very low roll weight, only very small Current measured flatness of a plastic film and flatness trend over a period of time

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www.westland.eu

Wear resistant Wear

Flatness measurement in an extrusion line for plastic film using the Achenbach UniFlat CFP roll drives are necessary to run the roll synchronously non-ferrous metals, it is also suitable for flatness to the strip. As it is a tactile measuring principle, measuring of plastic film, paper and other web- the strip to be measured is redirected in a speci- shaped materials. As a further advantage, the fic angle to the flatness measuring roll. In order to measuring roll can be used as an equivalent repla-

measure the forces, piezo-force sensors are ins- cement for a seperate deflection roller and is thus ANTI TAC D659-03 talled under the roller surface as the CFP-measu- upgradable at many existing machines. Solvent resistant ring roll is made of a hollow cylinder. The closed In particular, the extremely high resolution surface of the roll prevents any damages of the and sensitivity of the CFP-roll guarantees that the strip. measurement system can be used for the ten- Up to 96 sensors can be installed in each sile distribution over the whole strip width for all measuring roll. The individually adjusted and ins- kinds of materials. Even the flatness of very thin talled sensors guarantee an optimum measu- plastic foil can be measured and analysed with rement accuracy regarding the respective pro- this highly precise measuring technology. Up duct range. The high measuring resolution of till then, this was not possible by using a tactile only 0.0003N per sensor with regard to the radial measuring system. forces affecting the roll explains the very fine and highly precise flatness measuring. The sig- Substantial measurement results nals recorded by the sensors are already amplified In this context, in the manufacture of web-

and digitalised on the rotating roll side and sub- shaped plastic film the use of the Achenbach Adhesive-repellent sequently transmitted contact-free to the statio- UniFlat CFP measuring roll achieved substantial nary side of the measuring chain. The exchange measurement results for the first time. Although of data between measuring roll and computer sys- the forces measured with this innovative flatness tem happens via standard network connection. measuring roll are very small, for example cyc- lic fluctuations in flatness due to diagonal stripes Maximum operational safety and could clearly be identified (see illustration). Thus, highest maintenance friendliness manufacturers now have an instrument that can New rubber covering for tension rollers in the label industry The encapsulated electronic construction and not only measure the flatness with great reliability, robust design ensure both, maximum operational but also make a positive impact on the outcome safety and highest maintenance friendliness and by varying the system parameters. On top of that, therefore guarantee a high measuring roll availa- this technology allows a much better understan- bility during operation. ding of the production process overall and can Due to its modular design the Achenbach optimise the machine setup in whole. UniFlat CFP measuring roll is not only limited to finishing lines of flat-rolled products from Image sources: Achenbach Buschhütten 22 | MARKET REPORT | ADHESIVE TECHNOLOGIES & INNOVATIONS

CASE HISTORY – PRACTICAL APPLICATION Sustainable and food-safe OF ULTRA-LOW MONOMER TECHNOLOGY In an exclusive interview with C2, Cristian Furiosi, CEO The recent release of European of SAPICI (Milan, Italy), shares insights into his regulations for food contact mate- company’s offering in high-performance polyurethanes rials, EU 1245-2020, establishes new restrictive limits on primary for packaging & print, coating, industrial applications, aromatic amines migration from and others the packaging to the food. The new regulation also defined a very short deadline to align to the new limit, as indicated in this direct quote C2: Mr Furiosi, can you shortly introduce The company is a global innovation and from the text: “Plastic materials SAPICI to our readers? How did the company full-quality driven developer and manufactu- and articles complying with Regu- develop over the years, and what are its core rer of advanced and high-performance poly- lation (EU) No 10/2011 as appli- markets today? urethane products for applications such as cable before the entry into force flexible packaging, inks & coatings, industrial of this Regulation, and which were Cristian Furiosi: S.A.P.I.C.I. was establis- adhesives, prepolymers, and more. first placed on the market before hed in Italy in 1936. Over the years Sapici has We combine our product offering with 23 March 2021 may continue to followed an organic growth by first expan- direct and tailored services to our customers be placed on the market until 23 ding the production capacity in Europe with worldwide including continued technical September 2022 and remain on a new cutting-edge site and then building a assistance, research and development, and the market until the exhaustion of new site in China. At the same time, we deve- industrialisation. SAPICI’s technical know- stocks.” loped new technologies and applications in how, testing and analysis equipment allow Industry has to face an urgent the R&D field, thus managing to diversify our its highly qualified workforce to anticipate new set of restrictive migration product portfolio. and satisfy the needs and requirements of limits in a very short time. SAPICI has designed a solution to this new requirement: the unique zero mig- ration laminating SF adhesive. This enables its customers to comply with the new limit in all the applica- tions and conditions, no matter the structure of the material, the ther- mal treatment or the filling. On the other hand, the new regulation EU 2020-1149 has been released to reduce the hazard coming from the use of diisocya- nate in the working environment. SAPICI’s zero migration techno- logy is also the state-of-the-art in terms of safety for the user as it is labelled without any hazard state- ment in the safety data sheets and already in line even with these new requirements.

Cristian Furiosi

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 ADHESIVE TECHNOLOGIES & INNOVATIONS | MARKET REPORT | 23

its most demanding customers, which con- C2: It appears that Sapici is truly a global pro- tributes to paving their way to further susta- vider in its markets … inable success. Over 160 SAPICI employees located in the company’s commercial offi- C. Furiosi: We have a global sales network ces and in the three production sites in Italy and we also established strategic alliances and and China serve their customers supported made new partnerships in order to better deve- by a capillary technical and commercial glo- lop new markets all around the world. bal organisation. C2: How do you see the near future for your C2: As you mentioned, SAPICI produces high- company? performance polyurethanes. Where can these materials be used, and what makes your pro- C. Furiosi: The next company milestones will ducts stand out from the competition? be related to further developing and promoting green products and to new investments desi- C. Furiosi: Polyurethanes are well known as The Sapici plant in Cernusco, Milano, Italy gned to increase our production capacity and high end and very versatile products for high better serve our customers in different regions performance applications. We at SAPICI can fully comply with the new regulations related to of the world. develop the PU system starting from its building the coronavirus risks and we developed further blocks as we have a strong R&D tradition; we actions in order to protect our workers and Image sources: SAPICI can customise the solution according to the guarantee the supply continuity. specific needs of our clients and we can even test the application together with them. SAPICI has the experience and the licence to handle SAPICI’S R&D APPROACH toxic isocyanate raw material and was the first company to develop specialty products in the In 1999, the SAPICI team started in sustainability and food safety and adhesives and coating business with free isocy- an ambitious project aimed at produ- thanks to the strong experience gained anate monomer content <0,1%; thus, avoiding cing isocyanate prepolymers at very over years of intense research, SAPICI the risk to the human health and enhancing low residual monomer content. In can now offer a revolutionary range of the final products’ safety. 2004, they were the first company in flexible food packaging adhesives: the world to introduce these pionee- „ 100% solvent free C2: What can you offer to the coating, adhesi- ring products into the coating market, „ Very low free monomer content, ves, and flexible packaging sectors in particular? thus anticipating the upcoming Euro- complying with the recent restric- pean regulations. tions enforced on isocyanates C. Furiosi: SAPICI is a supplier of raw mate- Furthermore, in 2012, the Italian „ Ensuring no migration of danger- rials for flexible packaging adhesives, coating experts developed and introduced ous substances into food and inks. We are also developers of our own 100% bio-source products into the „ Compostable (EN13432 high-performance flexible packaging adhesi- market that were aimed at formula- certification) ves portfolio. SAPICI, leveraging up its strong ting polyurethane systems for the coa- „ Very high levels of bio sources and capability to develop and produce ultra-low ting resins, sealants, and elastomer biodegradables in ranges from 75 monomer PU products, was the first company industries. “In the meantime, our team to 92% (bio-based carbon content) to introduce to the market the migration-free further expanded its ultra-low mono- „ Immediately aligned with new technology which allows the achievement of mer aliphatic and aromatic isocyana- safety standard introduced by new standards in terms of human health and tes for several applications including the Regulation for food contact food safety. Furthermore, we recently intro- flexible food packaging,” explains Atti- material EU 2020-1245. duced our ground-breaking solvent-free com- lio Borlenghi, business unit manager at postable adhesives revolutionising the flexible SAPICI. “We thus anticipated the 2020 The company is also working on packaging market. Diisocyanates restriction adopted by additional research strands: the REACH Committee, which aims at „ Barrier coating systems for C2: 2020 has been a difficult year for all of us. implementing safety measures on the recyclable flexible food packaging How did your company experience the corona use of standard products.” „ The revolutionary „Zero migrations crisis? What measures did you apply to keep In 2015, SAPICI introduced its mig- technology“ opens new paths in the business running? ration-free adhesives for flexible food the circular economy: it makes it packaging. These unique products are technically feasible to reuse multi C. Furiosi: We belong to the group of com- reported to completely ensure food layers structures in application panies that has been considered ‘strategic and safety and protect the production with direct food contact. essential’ and we never stopped running. We chain. In line with recent mega trends promptly defined safety protocols in order to

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 24 | MARKET REPORT | ADHESIVE TECHNOLOGIES & INNOVATIONS

Sunny perspectives

CMC Klebetechnik (Frankenthal, Germany) supplies a range of adhesive tapes for the production of solar modules

ot only the VDMA in Germany with technology, including bifacial modules. Gua- Temporary repairs its specialist department “Photo- ranteed lifetimes of over 25 years allow a after hailstorms Nvoltaic Production Equipment”, but positive return over a long period of time. Despite improved glass technology, front also many other research associations (e.g. It is therefore not surprising that initiati- glasses of solar modules can be damaged Fraunhofer ISE) and business associations ves such as “Solar Manufacturing Accelera- during a severe weather event. Breaks or (e.g. BSW-Solar, BSI) are convinced that a tor” are driving the rapid expansion of Euro- punctual shattering of the glass are possi- resettlement of solar module production pean production capacity. ble. At these points, moisture and atmosphe- is possible. The demand for solar modules ric oxygen can penetrate the internal struc- in Europe is estimated at approx. 100 GWh Junction boxes ture of the solar module. The consequences per year (source: VDMA, Dr Jutta Trube). The CMC Klebetechnik offers a high-strength are corrosion of the conductor paths and majority of the solar modules required for double-sided adhesive tape for mounting degradation of the silicon wafers. As tem- this are currently procured from Asia. junction boxes for solar modules. The ext- porary protection until the affected modu- The recent supply bottlenecks during the remely weather-resistant acrylic adhesive in les are replaced as part of a major mainte- Corona crisis have made it clear that Europe various material thicknesses adheres perma- nance project, adhesive tapes made of ETFE has the chance to cover this billion-euro mar- nently to glass and plastics. It can be pre-ins- (CMC 77701) can be a solution. The film is ket with modules produced here again. Even talled (e.g. on the bottom of the housing). In highly transparent for the entire light spect- without subsidies, the production costs for order to apply it, one just has to pull down rum down to the UV range, provides a relia- solar fields have now fallen to such an extent the protective paper and will achieve a very ble seal and, above all, is weatherproof in the that a return of investment is possible within good anchoring by simply pressing it on. No long term, thus preventing further destruc- a few years. Moreover, other renewable tech- further processing steps are necessary. tion of the module. The self-cleaning sur- nologies (e.g. energy storage using hydro- face (Teflon-like) prevents the accumulation gen) will require large amounts of additional Frame bonding of dirt. electricity. With electricity generation pri- Glass modules are bonded to the alumi- ces of less than 4 cents/kWh, solar power is nium support frames with double-sided adhe- High temperature resistant now the cheapest form of electricity (apart sive tapes. Extremely weather-resistant pure adhesive tapes from e.g. hydropower in Norway or geo- acrylic adhesive tapes from CMC Klebetech- In places where soldering or resistance wel- thermal energy in Iceland). Within a few nik fix and seal at the same time. This prevents ding is carried out, for example, adhesive tapes years, the price of modules is expected to capillaries from forming and moisture from made of Kapton film can be used as protec- fall by a further 25% with further optimised penetrating into the modules from the side. tion. The polyimide film is temperature-stable

Kapton films and Kapton adhesive tape from CMC Klebetechnik Adhesive tapes are indispensable in solar module production

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 ADHESIVE TECHNOLOGIES & INNOVATIONS | MARKET REPORT | 25

REPAIRING ETFE FOILS MADE EASY

Birds, vandalism, construction defects, Klebetechnik, which has been tried and from the carrier film. Similar to a sheet storms and falling branches endanger buil- tested for 30 years. All adhesive foils of the full of labels, repairs can now even be car- ding envelopes and other constructions CMC 777xx product family are extremely ried out with gloves. This makes even the made of ETFE foil. However, the robust durable, highly transparent, do not yellow application of a larger number of repair foil can withstand a lot and does not tear and are not infiltrated by water when pro- patches a breeze. No more fiddling with further even under tension. That is why perly installed (suitable for outdoor and scissors or knives, no more unnecessarily most damages remain relatively minor at indoor use). large material consumption, because the first. From a preventive maintenance point However, whole rolls of adhesive tape correct format for the repair can be selec- of view, however, it is necessary to react are very impractical, especially when repai- ted on site and does not have to be estima- to such damage. Replacing an entire mem- ring minor damage at great heights. Many ted from below, no more laborious fumb- brane cushion is cost-intensive and time- industrial climbers therefore cut strips of ling around with the protective cover. consuming. In most cases, the damaged the material already on the ground. How- Repair patches with EASY Peel-Off component can only be removed with the ever, even with such pre-cut strips, it was System facilitate repairs of damage in ETFE help of a specialist company (e.g. facades previously tedious to carry out a repair foils, significantly reduce maintenance or roofs at great heights). The damaged somewhere freely suspended, as it was costs and save operating costs, where membrane cushion has to be made new necessary to laboriously remove the pro- ETFE membrane bodies are stabilised with by the manufacturer himself, because the tective cover from the adhesive layer. compressed air. repair of whole membrane cushions made The size of the repair patches made of ETFE is technically demanding. The new solution for of CMC 77735 can be varied according So it is an obvious wish to be able to simple repairs to customer requirements. Even for small close a damaged area (puncture, hole, CMC Klebetechnik has developed a quantities from 500 pieces. The size can crack) with a “patch”. This repair patch new version of the well-known ETFE adhe- be freely selected between 30x30mm should be as easy to apply as possi- sive tape CMC 77701 especially for the to 300x300mm. Sheet material can be ble, be permanent and remain as invisi- maintenance and repair of ETFE memb- individually adapted from 100 sheets ble as possible. These requirements are rane structures. Punched parts made of upwards. met by the ETFE adhesive tape from CMC this material can be very easily removed

above 450°C for a short time and thus pro- Kapton tapes can also be used as frame stability of the Kapton film, the completely tects underlying layers from the effects of tapes in the autoclave process. They stabilise assembled modules can be ventilated and bon- heat. Kapton films are used worldwide in elec- and seal the layer structure of the solar modu- ded in the autoclave without any problems. tronics production because of their dimensio- les during the production process and protect nal stability during soldering processes. the sensitive edges. Due to the high thermal Image sources: CMC Klebetechnik

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INSPIRING ENGINEERING – CONVINCING TECHNOLOGY!

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Secure storage

For flat and rotative die-cutting tools, Marbach (Heilbronn, Germany) offers its Die Storage System

ith its brand new Marbach Die In the MDSS, the tools are not only stored Graham: “There are countless configura- Storage System (MDSS), the in a protected area, but can also be found tion possibilities for an MDSS. It can be ins- Wglobally operating die-maker quickly and are accessible at all times. Depen- talled as a small storage system directly at the Marbach presents a special solution for die- ding on the MDSS design and size, various punch press for continuous operation. But it cutting tools. The MDSS is available for flat handling systems are available with which can also be installed at a separate warehouse die sets up to 2000mm format and, since the tools can be transported quickly and with few storage locations or as a large sto- recently, also for rotary dies up to a tray safely to their place of use.” rage system with several thousand storage diameter of 690mm. locations on several levels. Thanks to the Ingo Graham, product manager Marbach Modular and individually flexibility of the MDSS system, even special Die Supplies, explains: “The MDSS supports configurable solutions that require space can be easily good internal logistics at our customers. An The MDSS systems from Marbach have implemented.” MDSS consists of a rack frame into which a modular design and can be configured The MDSS offers extensive possibilities for individual tool cassettes or in the rotary area according to customer requirements. Diffe- the design of a punching tool warehouse. the tools are inserted directly on holding rails, rent cassettes or rail sizes and handling sys- as well as the appropriate handling systems. tems are available. Image source: Marbach

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The MDSS from Marbach

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Die-cutting the smart way

Berhalter AG (Widnau, Switzerland) shows how die-cutting systems can be made even more productive thanks to digitalisation, automation, and networking

egatrends need not be predicted, Philadelphia. But also multi-chamber lids movement that is optimally aligned to the because they are already there. The for contact lenses, and labels for IML appli- punched substrate. A digitally monitored Mmost frequently mentioned wish cations such as coffee capsules or on Star- immersion depth of the die-cutting tool ena- for the future is health. As a megatrend, this bucks coffee cups are produced for daily use bles a new dimension of production reliabi- desire shapes all areas of life – including nut- on BERHALTER punching systems. lity. Using RFID technology, tool and embos- rition and modern packaging solutions. Con- The revolutionary BERHALTER Swiss Die- sing data are recorded, which can be called sumer behaviour in the packaging industry is Cutter B6, with a punching performance of up directly via live data or specifically plan- constantly generating new opportunities to 500 strokes per minute, embodies the DNA ned on the dashboard for necessary service simplify our lives. of BERHALTER high-performance die-cut- and revision tasks. As one of the world's leading suppliers of ting machines and at the same time defines BERHALTER's aim is to create added value modern and intelligent die-cutting solutions, a new design language: innovative, dynamic for all customers – regardless of whether they BERHALTER sees itself more strongly than ever and intelligent. With a web width of up to are looking for products or services. The spe- as being oriented towards customer and mar- 600mm, the Swiss Die-Cutter B6 makes a real cially developed IIoT platform CUTcontrol ket needs. BERHALTER die-cutting systems statement in terms of technology, digitalisa- plays a key role in this and offers customers are at the beginning of numerous packaging tion and performance. Whether packaging additional economic benefits. The digitalisa- solutions. As an innovation leader, the Swiss lids, paper labels or IML labels are to be die- tion and networking of die-cutting proces- manufacturer offers the die-cutting solutions cut, this innovative system can meet all requi- ses improves the transparency and utilisation and key technologies for tomorrow's produc- rements and at the same time increase the of these systems. CUTcontrol takes on the tion. These include modern die-cutting sys- profit margin. BERHALTER die-cutting machi- role of a support system and uses diagnostic tems, digital platforms and robotics for the nes are characterised by the smart integra- tools for data analysis to increase production cooperation between man and machine. tion of the in-house intelligent service plat- output. CUTcontrol offers all functions for form CUTcontrol. The digitalisation of the monitoring: from OEE, operating data, noti- Markets and applications die-cutting processes has created a unique fications up to data analysis. Live data of all Besides the food market, the company digital platform as an indicator of producti- production processes are always in view and serves global markets such as beverages, vity and efficiency. can be called up immediately if required. By pharmaceuticals and pet food. Whenever collecting and evaluating machine data, the you hold a thermoformed pet food lid for cat Digital die-cutting drive production processes become more compre- and dog food in your hands, you are most Thanks to the new and patented digi- hensible and can be optimised. The insight likely holding a BERHALTER end product. This tal die-cutting drive, freely controllable pun- into all relevant data, processes but also his- applies both to flat packaging lids, such as ching movements are now possible. The ope- torical events allows production orders to be Nestlé yoghurt lids or Emmi Café latte lids, ning stroke of the die-cutting tool can be better planned and controlled in the future. and to cream cheese spreads from Kraft adjusted flexibly and thus enables a punching

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The Swiss Die-Cutter B6 from BERHALTER

Location-independent accordingly. Targeted service calls in con- arrangements, the punching waste can be production control junction with good spare parts management reduced even further. The digital networking of die-cutting improve press scheduling. BERHALTER emphasises that the com- processes is even more important in the cur- The Swiss die-cutting technology experts pany is passionate about helping die-cut- rent coronavirus situation. Companies that are committed to ensuring that their custo- ting companies, printers and food producers have already completed part of the digitali- mers are economically successful and at the to automate and optimise their die-cutting sation journey will have a competitive advan- same time able to produce in an environmen- systems. The high-performance die-cut- tage. Because suddenly employees are wor- tally compatible manner. The product to be ting machines, cutting tools and innovations 100% INSPECTION FOR YOUR QUALITY ASSURANCE king in their home office and processes must stamped should be produced optimally and are consistently designed for efficiency and be paperless and digital. In many cases, the efficiently. With BERHALTER's die-cutting sys- durability. To make the right decisions, custo- new way of working regardless of location tems, waste, energy consumption and emis- mers need transparency. The intelligent ser- will be maintained even after Corona. With sions are reduced to a minimum. For each vice platform CUTcontrol should provide the BERHALTER's digital platform CUTcontrol, it application, the die-cutting solution that answers. is now possible to call up key figures rela- requires the least packaging material and ting to productivity, job status and main- achieves the best possible material utilisa- Image source: BERHALTER tenance work from anywhere and interact tion is sought. With the material-saving tool

• Winding Technology • Metallizing & Vacuum Coating • Carton & Corrugated • ICE Europe preview

Publication date: 24. February 2021 ISSUE 85 Contact: Nina Pirchmoser topics/deadlines Phone +49 8033 21275 • [email protected]

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50 years of British-Japanese partnership

Back in the the 1970’s before emails or Instagram, RK PrintCoat was spotted for a news article by Matsuo Sangyo, Japan. Interested in RK’s K Hand Coater equipment, they made contact by handwritten letter

hat basic initial contact has formed a trying to expand its business internationally. develop our relationship further.” RK have valuable relationship between the two Then he found a newspaper article talking supplied many hundreds of machines for the Tcompanies, and this year sees 50 years about RK Print Coat Instruments Ltd. For the gravure industry in Japan as it is famous for of collaboration promoting RK PrintCoat past 50 years, there has been various chan- its use of gravure as the highest quality print Instruments in Japan. Founded in the early ges in printing methods and applications for process. In more recent years RK have ins- 1960’s RK Print now has over 60 years’ printing test equipment. RK Print Coat Ins- talled over 500 units worldwide of its award experience in the surface coating industry. truments and Matsuo Sangyo have built a winning FlexiProof 100 machine to the deve- Designed and manufactured in the UK, RK firm relationship through our daily opera- loping flexo industry. Building on their deve- equipment has one common theme, the pro- tions. Based on mutual respect from the past, loped knowledge and experience of web duction of repeatable samples; to be used for we will expand sales field to new industries handling, gained from the supply of the now the purposes of research and development, according to the world’s drastic changes. I redundant ROKO machine, and with ongo- as well as quality control. would like to contribute to the further pros- ing advances in application techniques, RK Speaking of their relationship, current perity of both companies.” have more recently shipped and installed CEO Naoki Matsuo said: “Matsuo Sangyo Tom Kerchiss, MD of RK PrintCoat Inst- over 20 VCML pilot coating units for research Co., Ltd is a Japanese trading company foun- ruments, adds: “It has been a pleasure to & development into specialised coatings. In ded in 1938. In 1970, my grandfather, who is work with Matsuo Sangyo over the last 50 recent years the printed electronic market has the second founder of Matsuo Sangyo, was years, and we look forward to continuing to been attracting attention.”

100% INSPECTION FOR YOUR QUALITY ASSURANCE

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A successor for cylinders

The new ComCut 76 from KAMA (Dresden, Germany) is reported to have a quick return-on-investment and enable efficient further processing

AMA launches a new die-cutting and solution for their cylinder that will pay embossing machine designed as an for itself within a manageable period of Keconomical replacement investment time,” says Stefan Kleditzsch, sales mana- for veteran crucibles and cylinders. The ger for Germany, Austria and Scandinavia ComCut 76 offers professional functionality at KAMA. “We offer this solution with the at an entry-level price – with all relevant ComCut 76, which fulfils all die-cutting and applications and, compared to the cylinder, embossing tasks according to the motto two to three times higher productivity. 'reduced to the max'”. The Saxon manufac- The ComCut 76 is based on the proven turer offers an attractive financing model platform of the globally used KAMA Pro- for the machine. Cut and is manufactured with proprietary A further advantage, in addition to the components at the Dresden site. The new high-quality results, is the faster stripping model, with a sheet size of 760 x 600, is thanks to fewer stopping points. This is compatible with today's presses and, with Punching with few holding points produces worthwhile both for the diversity of jobs in a punching force of 165 tonnes, processes smooth edges in the end product commercial printing and for folding carton paper, microflute, cardboard and plastic at production. Repeat jobs can be run on the an output of up to 5500 sheets per hour. difficult search for spare parts and experi- ComCut 76 with Center-line and 4+1 sys- The ComCut 76 offers all applications – enced operators for the cylinder. Existing tem after a short makeready time, and the die-cutting, creasing, embossing and par- die-cutting tools can still be used. die-cutting of stickers is also quick to set up. tial stamping – in consistent output quality, Blind embossing, unlike cylinder embossing, making finishing faster and more efficient Fast amortisation is also possible as high-low embossing. with short makeready times and simple According to KAMA, the ComCut 76 Like all KAMA machines, the new Com- operation. All in all, it is to be a modern flat- pays for itself from just five operating hours Cut 76 is robustly built and stands for dura- bed die-cutter with contemporary safety, per week – even in comparison to the cylin- bility and a high resale value. which even young operators will enjoy wor- der that was written off long ago. “Many king on. This also eliminates the ever more printshops are looking for a solid successor Image sources: KAMA

More productivity: The new KAMA ComCut 76 is the economical replacement for old cylinders

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 LAE ENGINEERING GMBH | INSIGHT | 31

How to truly ‘understand‘ a production line

LAE Engineering GmbH (Wiesloch, Germany) discusses model-based engineering in control and automation technology

oday, PC and server-based plant control manufacturer: how the system works, where LAE's claim is to optimise the planning and systems are indispensable, whether in to find what in the circuit diagram, the con- integration of such control systems for the Tbuilding services engineering, energy trol programme or the documentation. The operation and maintenance of the plant. supply or industrial production. Buzzwords larger and more complex the plant is, the Interestingly, such systematics are already such as Industry 4.0 and digitalisation are more experience and technical knowledge described in standards for the preparation of shaping the market and show that modern are required. In most cases, they are still res- circuit diagrams, cf. DIN EN 81436-1. control systems must be intelligently net- ponsible for several plants. But what hap- It is often argued: “These are special worked and flexible. In addition to its func- pens if they are not available? What if a new plants which have their own rules.” Howe- tion, control technology also has a decisive employee has to be trained? ver, the experts at LAE state that, although influence on quality and operating costs. the designations are individual, the syste- Despite this, it still happens far too often that, Logical structures create matics are not. They can even be described when customer-specific switchgear is built, transparency, quality in the same way for building services engi- the control systems are not planned and and reliability neering, energy supply and industrial plants. programmed according to function, use and Imagine that the respective plant does Regardless of whether RDS-PP, VDI 3814 or maintainability, but for their manufacture. not need any special “person-bound” main- IEC 61512 / 62264 (ISA-88/95) – they are all The maintenance engineer must there- tenance know-how, but an easy-to-learn sys- based on the same structuring and labelling fore learn the “language and logic” of the tematic in the documentation to cover this. concept. What would be the benefit to custo- mers if these structuring and labelling prin- ciples were applied to the general documen- tation and PLC control programme, the HMI and data labelling of the plants? This would enable them to find the right information to solve a problem in a short time. And this not only in the circuit diagram, but correspondin- gly in the automation programme and the recorded production data. All information can be found at the same place. LAE uses such models to optimally prepare the opera- tion and integration of the respective system for the customer.

“Model-based engineering” at LAE Image source: LAE

SAM Machines for Roll to Roll Converting of Paper, Films & Foil · Solution Coating · Extrusion Coating and Laminating · Gravure Printing

Quality | Innovation | Reliability

SOLUTIONS START WITH SAM SAM (SUNG AN MACHINERY CO., LTD.) SAM EUROPE SRL SAM NORTH AMERICA, LLC SAM ASIA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] / [email protected] Tel: +82 31 491 9741 Tel: +39 0142 213125 Tel: +1 315 934 4287 Tel: +60 169 971 566 (Malaysia) / Tel: +86 136 6146 1519 (China) www.sungan.net

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 32 | INSIGHT | KAMPF

be produced at all without a secure mas- tery of slitting and winding technology,” Why battery technology says Michael Strathmann, sales manager for the Energy & Technical Applications division at KAMPF and Kampf LSF. “Web- and slitting and winding shaped materials – i.e. “films” are the basic materials of the batteries. The electrodes are coated aluminium and copper foils, machinery actually are a which are separated in the batteries with a special plastic foil – the battery separator foil – to prevent short circuits. KAMPF has perfect fit more than 100 years of experience and is a worldwide recognised competence and technology leader in the processing of KAMPF (Wiehl, Germany) and Kampf LSF bundle demanding materials such as paper, vari- and increase their activities for the production of ous plastic films and laminated film compo- sites and the above-mentioned metal foils. lithium-ion batteries So it is obvious that the manufacturers of the LIB production lines use machines and components from KAMPF, especially he announcements by car manufac- German mechanical engineering compa- when know-how, quality and reliability are turers to replace combustion engines nies with their high level of expertise also required.” Twith electric motors in the medium have a good chance of qualifying as sup- Already more than 10 years ago KAMPF term have led to an enormous demand for pliers of the new production lines. sold the first special slitting and winding high-performance batteries with ever gre- machine for battery separator film (BSF). ater energy densities and shorter charging Innovative solutions Consistent further developments led to cycles. In addition to the already establis- for LIB production the new BSFSlitter, which is successfully in hed manufacturers of lithium ion batteries The machinery experts at Kampf use at the leading BSF manufacturers with in Asia, numerous new projects are already Schneid- und Wickeltechnik GmbH & Co. many technical solutions specially deve- under way, especially in Europe and North KG, together with their subsidiary Kampf loped for processing these very sensitive America, and new battery factories, LSF GmbH & Co. KG offer innovative solu- films. The latest development is the direct so-called 'Giga-Factories' are already in tions for LIB production. pairing of the BSFSlitter with the KAMPF various stages of implementation. Non-technical versed observers may BSFWinder and an integrated material Many factories are being developed ask themselves the question: “Batteries handling between the machines. The con- in close cooperation with European car and slitting and winding technology – cept has been convincing; therefore four manufacturers. In the planning of the new does that go together?” The answer is sim- of these units are currently being delivered production facilities, Asian production ple and more than clear: “Yes. Not only to a new plant of a Korean group in Eas- lines are sometimes used as blueprints. But does it fit, but lithium-ion batteries cannot tern Europe.

A glance into the Kampf LSF production Dr Stephan Witt

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 KAMPF | INSIGHT | 33

Sven Lasch with the EvoWinder Michael Strathmann with the EvoSlitter

Cooperation with Hirano programme. This means that the machine, customers in the future. Not least due to Kampf LSF machines and components which was deliberately built very compactly, the LIB process experience of employees of are used in the production and processing impresses with its high flexibility. In addition a former LIB production facility in Saxony, of LIB cathodes and anodes. “Our coope- to four web cleaning systems after the slit- who now work for Kampf LSF, we are very ration with Hirano, the leading Japanese ting section, the machine has two winding well positioned for further developments.” manufacturer of LIB coating systems, has stations. The friction winding shafts ensure The new Kampf LSF COO Sven Lasch is already convinced the first well-known the correct winding tension at all windings, a proven practitioner and brings with him customers in Europe,” explains Dr Stephan and with the sensitive contact system with many years of experience in manufactu- Witt, CEO of Kampf LSF and COO at KAMPF individual contact rollers, the machine gua- ring and mechanical engineering. “Our main in Wiehl. “In our Laußig plant, in addi- rantees the best winding quality. focus here at the Laußig location will be on tion to numerous slitting machines for LIB Currently, the KLSF designers are wor- the energy sector in the coming years. Fur- applications, automatic turret unwinders king on the next stage of the EvoSlit- thermore, we will expand our range of pro- and turret rewinders, each with an integ- ter. “We don't want to reveal too much ducts in the field of winders for digital prin- rated slitting unit for three cathode coating yet,” explains Sven Lasch, COO at Kampf ting machines and will keep components lines, are just about to be accepted. The LSF since September 2020, “but we can for equipment such as laminating lines in control of the components and the integ- already say that we will integrate further our programme. We have a clear commit- ration into the overall system are realised in modules, such as inspection systems. Fur- ment, not only from KAMPF but also from close cooperation with the company Leb- thermore, it is our goal to be prepared for the Jagenberg board of directors, to the con- bing. Like KAMPF, Lebbing is a company the coming larger working widths.” tinuous expansion of our site.” of the Jagenberg Group. Preliminary accep- The sales staff of the new Energy-Clus- tance tests are currently taking place at the Energy storage market build-up ter very much regret that the Battery Show Laußig plant near Leipzig. Kampf LSF sees a It is obvious that the market of energy in Stuttgart, like so many other fairs, could good project situation here and is well pre- storage production already plays an impor- not take place this year and was postponed pared for further orders. tant role at KAMPF and Kampf LSF and is to May 2021. “We would have liked to have For many LIB types, the cathodes and also a central point for future planning. presented our new products and develop- anodes must be slit into narrow strips after “We have built up good market and pro- ments to the trade visitors, as it was not easy calendering. For this application Kampf LSF cess knowledge at our sites in Wiehl and to keep in touch due to the COVID-19 pande- and KAMPF have jointly developed the slit- Laußig – this knowledge must be used mic in the last few months,” explains Michael ting machine type EvoSlitter. Initially desi- and expanded together. For this reason, a Strathmann; “but we hope that we will pos- gned for pilot plants and small series pro- few months ago we merged the 'Techni- sibly be able to meet all interested parties duction, this slitter is now also used in cal Applications' sales group in Wiehl with next March at the ICE in Munich and then in regular production. The EvoSlitter achieves Kampf LSF sales and entrusted Mr Strath- May in Stuttgart.” the required high qualities with very pre- mann with the management of the new cise slitting units. Each machine has two or 'Energy' sales cluster,” explains Dr Witt. Image sources: KAMPF three mobile slitting cassettes, which can be "By bundling the activities, we want to easily exchanged when changing the slitting be even closer to the market and to our

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 34 | INSIGHT | BOBST

Dynamic Duo

BOBST has introduced to the market two brand-new laminating lines in 2020: the solvent-less NOVA SX 550 LAMINATOR and the multi-technology NOVA D 800 LAMINATOR, which is also available in the NOVA DA 800 variant with automatic winders

launched in April this year has made head- way, standing out in the crowd of solvent- less machines for the quality of some of its unique features. Features that truly make a difference for the user operation in terms of increase in machine uptime, such as the automatic high efficiency washing sys- tem and the fast and simple coating rol- ler sleeve change. We have installations already in Europe, the Middle East, the US and Latin America. Another advantage that has been highly appreciated at a time when converters need to expand capacity quickly to meet the increase in demand owing to COVID 19, is that the NOVA SX 550 fits into a single shipping container Positioning of the Flexo Trolley on the NOVA D 800 LAMINATOR without being disassembled, it does not need foundation works and requires just he two new laminating systems from preferences of the consumers towards five days from installation to full produc- BOBST’s site in San Giorgio Monfer- e-commerce buying that has been accele- tion. This has enabled us to support our Trato, Italy, are compact and modular rated by the COVID-pandemic on the other customers with fast installation using local machines. Both have been designed to hand, have fuelled the penetration of pre- technicians and remote support from us.” redefine flexibility, productivity and ease packed food and other products in these of use in the compact laminator range, regions.” Improved production flexibility and both offer connectivity functions and Bertorelli continues: “The two combi are Industry 4.0-ready for post processing Sustainability and machines launched in June, the NOVA D data. circular economy 800 LAMINATOR and the NOVA DA 800 Nanni Bertorelli, manager of the Lami- Another driver at global level is the LAMINATOR, deliver improved production nating and Coating Product Line, talks increase in laminated structures that ful- flexibility with solvent-based, solventless or about the new products in the context fil requirements connected to sustainabi- water-based applications. Here, the most of the market sector’s trends and require- lity, recyclability and circular economy. This distinguishing feature is that the machine ments: “The segment of compact lamina- has seen a growing interest in solventless can be equipped with the renowned flexo tors is growing considerably, especially in and water-based adhesive applications, as trolley that so far was exclusive to bigger regions with sustained economic growth well as the introduction of new substrates laminators. The flexo trolley technology like Africa, the Middle East and South East and adhesives that require higher flexibi- can significantly reduce the use of coated Asia, where, alongside larger corporations, lity in the converters’ production halls and solvents. It offers best performance at high the industry comprises many small-sized the capability of the equipment to handle speed with solvent-based adhesives with packaging manufacturing companies. them. high solid content but can also be used Many of them are gearing up to equip their “We have extended our portfolio of with a variety of non-specific adhesives. operation with machines that can deliver laminators aimed at the compact machine Commercially the machines are doing well, the high-end added value packaging appli- segment, with a solventless dedicated also at global level. The NOVA DA 800 with cations that the growing middle-class con- solution and two combi configurations, automatic winders is doing especially well sumers want to buy. Growth in modern and we will add more next year. The sol- in Asia, but not only there, for instance a retailing on the one hand and the shifted ventless NOVA SX 550 LAMINATOR, tandem configuration of the machine has

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 BOBST | INSIGHT | 35

recently entered production in Nigeria to meet the demand for ever more complex laminated structures.” The fact that consumer awareness towards packaging sustaina- bility is growing and the brand owners’ pledge to make packaging recyclable by 2025, has spurred advances in water-based and sol- ventless adhesive technologies, and the adoption of eco-friendly adhesive for flexible packaging is expected to increase considerably. Bertorelli concludes: “Adhesive manufacturing companies are in the front line of the research, but progress is an advancement that must be done on all fronts and requires collaborations all along the value chain to achieve the most effective results that can be translated into industrial solutions. So, if on the one hand we continue improving to make our equipment operation more sustainable, we also collaborate very closely with industry part- ners in our Competence Center to test the validity of new subs- trates and consumables on our machines and obviously that our machines as well are able to process them without compromising on equipment speed and output quality. We have ongoing colla- borations and test trials about new water-based, solventless for- mulations aimed to be used for ready-to-recycle and compostable packaging, and for high performance applications, such as retort pouches. Many of those tests are carried out on the NOVA SX 550 and the NOVA D 800 laminators that are currently in the Compe- tence Center. Speaking of sustainability, in addition to the acti- vities that go in the direction of recyclable/compostable lamina- ted structures, we are also working on high barrier mono-material substrates. These are carried out on our Leonardo coating pilot line The NOVA SX 550 LAMINATOR is easily accessible during setup and are verified and controlled by our PhD chemist using high tech ins- truments in our on-site chemical laboratory.”

Image sources: BOBST

Laminating of printed webs on the NOVA D 800 LAMINATOR

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 36 | INSIGHT | MONOMATIC

Each application is different, each substrate has its own properties. Monomatic has started to develop customised solutions and specific techniques to cover new challenges

With the experience of seven decades

Monomatic (Strasbourg, France) offers un- and rewinders for technical webs and other web-type materials, which are used globally in numerous industrial sectors. In C2, the company offers insights into its latest products and innovations

ince 1951, Monomatic has built its Diversification is innovation, global reputation as an exclusive spe- innovation means new horizons Scialist in the design and the construc- In addition to its experience in multiple tion of nonstop unwinders and rewinders. fields and underlined by its in-house skills, The primary objective of the company is the company can also offer turnkey pro- to offer to its customers machines with jects, from the mechanical design up to the advanced technologies and impeccable commissioning. All manufacturing proces- service. ses are internally integrated, while all tasks This commitment to high performance are executed under precise management has enabled Monomatic to forge close rules and principles: partnerships with some of the most renow- „ 3D design ned names within the printing industry; the An unwinder from Monomatic . . . „ Electrical studies company is also a reference for many large „ Mechanical assembly international groups in the packaging field. „ PLC programming „ Electric, pneumatic, and “Technical webs” hydraulic connections Based on its significant experien- „ Testing and commissioning ces in converting processes with paper „ Interface management and board, Monomatic has intensified its development of tailor-made solutions for Non-exhaustive specifications include special products called “technical webs” line speeds from 10 to 1000m/min, roll dia- during the last 20 years. These involve dif- meters up to 2200mm, web widths over ferent other industries, as indicated by 3000mm wide, and in cleaned zones or these examples: controlled atmospheres if required. Pro- „ Composite materials such as carbon And the rewinder as its counterpart jects can also be handled under confi- fibre, glass fibre, Kevlar, and copper dentiality agreements if requested by the foil for aeronautics or the wind energy used for specific purposes such as customer. „ Laminated products and complexes for the outer hulls of industrial buildings, As converting experts, the Monoma- the medical industry, the automotive batteries, or floor coverings. tic team can offer fully automated solu- sector, and RFID label applications tions for processes such as coating, lami- „ Aluminium foil for drink cans, The most recent events in the world nating, and other converting procedures, as well as plastic film for various have confirmed the company in its strategy which are based on an innovative concept. applications, including the now very of high diversification, as sudden and ine- Close partnerships with its customers are popular protective face shields. vitable new fluctuations in the global eco- the key here. „ Single materials such as graphite, nomy can put an industry on hold over- film, foam, and nonwovens that are night and stop any investment decisions. Image sources: Monomatic

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 AST BESCHICHTUNGSTECHNIK | INSIGHT | 37

Celebrating the 30-year milestone

At AST Beschichtungstechnik (Rot am See, Germany), the 30th anniversary marks a moment in time to look back at the successful history of the company, but also to look forward to new goals. C2 talked to managing director Reiner Weidinger

C2: Mr Weidinger, 30th anniversary of the com- been developing CFP rollers with carbide and crisis months very well. But the crisis is not over pany in the middle of the crisis year 2020. You other coatings as well as carbide coatings with yet! We still have to wait and see how things would certainly have wished for different circum- top surfaces. develop. Time will tell whether we will emerge stances to celebrate this milestone. . . stronger from this. C2: The year 2020 has not only presented the Reiner Weidinger: Yes, indeed. Unfortuna- converting industry with enormous challenges. C2: What can you announce from the company tely, we cannot yet say to what extent we will be How did you experience the crisis months at AST? on the product side? Are there any new develop- able to make up for the celebrations next year. We Can one say that you may even emerge from this ments that you can already present to us? will hold back on planning for the time being, as corona period stronger than before? nobody can say how the pandemic will actually R. Weidinger: After extensive tests and ins- continue. R. Weidinger: With a little luck and the great pections, we have added another product to our work of our staff, we were able to cope with the portfolio and can now offer air-guided turner C2: Let's look back on three bars and tubes. The air guidance decades of AST: What are you comes through the microporous particularly proud of and which surface of the tubes. We hope events (or products) were particu- that this will enable us to offer our larly important in the company's customers even more complete history? solutions for specific applications.

R. Weidinger: First and fore- C2: In your opinion, what is truly most, I would like to mention unique about AST? our great employees who make our success as a company pos- R. Weidinger: Above all, our sible. Together we have over- products stand for excellent qua- come difficult times and have lity. Furthermore, our customers constantly developed. Just two can rely on fast delivery times at years after the foundation of the fair prices! former SUCO Oberflächentechnik GmbH, we moved to our current C2: An outlook is always dif- company headquarters in Rot am ficult – and in the current situ- See in 1992. Since 1996 we are ation even more so than usual. called AST Beschichtungstech- Mr Weidinger, what goals do you nik GmbH. The year 2005 was want to have achieved together a milestone – with the ground- with your employees by the 40th breaking ceremony for a new anniversary? company building and the start of roller production in nearby R. Weidinger: My main goal Crailsheim. Two years later, coa- will be to prepare for the upco- ting technology and roller pro- ming generation change and to duction were merged. In the fol- ensure that all employees can lowing months we added rollers work and enjoy their lives in a with unusually large dimensions stable company situation. to our product range. Corrosion- resistant, ceramic coating systems Image source: were another new development AST Beschichtungstechnik in 2008. Since 2009 we have Reiner Weidinger

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 38 | INSIGHT | VETAPHONE

Revolutionary UV coatings

The Welsh company Nu-Coat uses pretreatment systems from Vetaphone (Kolding, Denmark) for the production of UV polyacrylate adhesives

u-Coat from Cwmcarn in South subsequently supplied and installed one of Musto. Nu-Coat is making every effort to Wales has revolutionised the sign our 4kw VE1C-C 1920mm Corona units on mitigate the environmental impact of the Nand large-format market with UV the coating line when it went into commer- PVC substrate. The company's process polyacrylate adhesives. The company ope- cial production.” involves no dilution, no solvents, no drying rates a special coating plant that processes ovens, no handling of chemicals after pro- solvent-free, non-aqueous adhesives that Advantages thanks to duction and no VOCs. “Our coater requi- are cured by UV-C light. This enables the precision control res up to 65% less power than a conven- exceptional qualities of this technology to One of the main advantages of Veta- tional line and has a smaller footprint that be extended to a wider field of application. phone corona systems is their precision allows us to use space more efficiently. When Nu-Coat researched the mar- control. The advanced iCorona genera- Even the PVC we use is 25% thinner than is ket for the best equipment to fulfil its pro- tors are far from “set and forget” techno- customary, with no compromise in its per- duction criteria, the company turned to logy and offer a level of treatment adjust- formance. And, we recycle everything we Vetaphone for advice and support on sur- ment not available elsewhere. As Nu-Coat can!” face treatment. Kevin McKell, VP of tech- sought to drive its own breakthrough tech- “Vetaphone is actively engaged with nical sales of the Danish manufacturer, nology into new markets, it was essential both OEMs and production plants in a was instrumental in this process: “As the that all pre-coating processes were carried drive to redress the potentially harm- inventors of Corona treatment we have a out with high accuracy and reliability. “I ful impact of plastic material,” concludes vast knowledge base that we like to share chose Vetaphone because of my previous McKell. “The closer we work together and with existing and potential customers, so experience with the company and the fact share our expertise on a transparent basis, when Nu-Coat approached us we were that they are acknowledged as the market the better it is for all parties.” keen to be involved in what is an exciting leader in surface treatment. Not surprisin- new venture in this field. We advised on gly, we’ve had no issues with their Corona Image source: Vetaphone the best technology for their pilot line, and system,” explains Nu-Coat director Rob

Rob Musto from Nu-Coat in front of the Vetaphone system

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 PANOVAL LABEL S.A. | CONVERTER OF THE MONTH | 39

Extraordinary labels from Far East

Our current Converter of the Month comes from the aspiring country of Viet- nam. Panoval Label S.A. was founded in 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City and owns highly modern coating lines as well as an ISO class 6 certified cleanroom

ore than 60% of the world's volume of pressure sensitive Mlabels is produced in the Far East, including those for electronic, medical and pharmaceutical applications. This is the main reason why Panoval was founded in Vietnam, of all places, even though the total ownership remains in Europe, more precisely in Switzer- land. Although it has only one production site, the company works internationally with resellers and direct customers and has built a business with a global presence. The high degree of flexibility in production has made it possible for the company to proudly call itself a leading supplier of specialised, non-standardised label material. Typical customers are resellers of flexible packaging, label converters and conventional printers. Panoval currently employs 25 people and is constantly expanding. The management team consists of experienced and internatio- nally active professionals with extensive expe- Thinh Thieu, Kiet Tran and Wilco van Zwieten with Panoval’s UV system made by GEW rience in the development and production of label material laminates for the most deman- and is today an important part of this team. to be crucial to his own success. He exp- ding applications. Director Wilco van Zwie- His job is to drive new business, and he con- lains: “In such a competitive market, it is the ten joined Panoval in 1993 as sales manager siders technological progress and innovation relatively small size of the company and the

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COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 Erhardt+Leimer GmbH · Albert-Leimer-Platz 1 · 86391 Stadtbergen · Germany · Phone: +49 (0)821 2435-0 40 | CONVERTER OF THE MONTH | PANOVAL LABEL S.A.

The headquarters of Panoval in Ho Chi Minh City operation of two very different coating lines GEW by a Malaysian associate who had management information such as running that enables us to be so successful. In addi- recently worked with GEW for the design time, lamp hours, energy usage and effici- tion to the higher volume mainstream work and installation of a UV curing system for ency. It also gives us peace of mind because we do, our production team are able to run release coating applications. Van Zwieten we know that if a problem were to arise, a multitude of smaller specialist jobs, some- recalls: “I visited the Malaysian factory to see it would immediately be flagged up by the times changing product three or four times the installation at first hand, and then began monitoring platform.” in a shift. We use the very latest UV hot melt talking to GEW. Slowly at first, as we knew As van Zwieten points out, no expense technology to back up our rubber-based sys- we needed a complex, engineered solution was spared in the specification of the new tems. This UV technology is the only one that with a high level of customisation.” Gradually UV curing system, to ensure that it will meet can potentially replace solvent-based coa- the momentum built as he worked through every demand for years to come. He com- tings… not right away, but in ten to fifteen Panoval’s requirements with GEW’s ‘Speci- ments: “A typical laminator will install one or years. In order to do this, you need to have a alist UV’ division. He comments: “We were two lamp stations and then be happy. We top of the range UV curing solution with all impressed with the people at GEW… their have differed here and installed a series of the bells and whistles, that backs that tech- responsiveness and their ability to answer all five lamps in tandem, which means we can nology up. And that is what we designed, in of our questions, however technical. It’s all modify the distance between chemical appli- collaboration with the machine manufactur- about working with the right people.” cation and curing from one job to the next, ers and GEW, so we can cater for all of our enabling us to cater for many different mar- needs in the next five to ten years. We are Visit in the UK kets that cannot currently be catered for with future-proofed.” Van Zwieten then visited GEW’s UK pro- this technology. This is why we chose to work duction facility during the system build, together with the people at GEW, they have Partnership with GEW which provided both parties with the oppor- the technical expertise and experience for Designed and manufactured in the UK by tunity to discuss the system in further detail such a complex system. We now look for- GEW, Panoval’s custom-built UV curing sys- and to ensure that it was on track to meet ward to a rapid return on our investment, tem includes five NUVA2 lampheads, with all requirements and expectations. Regar- with the energy savings and the new work capacity to fit up to seven lampheads in all, ding the design, installation and ongoing the UV system is bringing in for us.” mounted against a Ø1000mm chilled roller technical support for the system, van Zwie- on a Sung An Machinery (SAM) coating line. ten is unreserved: “The whole process was Applications in pharma The lamps are mounted around the drum seamless, we have had no issues at all. If a and electronics on a solid frame assembly, which is sepa- technical issue does arise, we have GEW’s Panoval’s target markets are the phar- rate from the roller assembly and slides away remote monitoring in place to assist us – but maceutical and electronics industries, which from its engaged position on rails. This allows we really have had a good experience with require a cleaner label with lower residual access to the roller surface and underside of this system. He continues: “To date, the only outgassing properties. Van Zwieten explains: the lamphead assembly. demand we have had for the remote moni- “Residual outgassing is where a product con- When initially searching for a UV curing toring service is the weekly reports that we tinues to emit gases after production, and this solution, van Zwieten was directed towards automatically receive, which show us useful can be a serious problem for manufacturers.

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 PANOVAL LABEL S.A. | CONVERTER OF THE MONTH | 41

In the electronics world, for example, outgas- sing can cause electronic failure and if you are manufacturing expensive items such as opti- cal drives, then any failure factor needs to be reduced to an absolute minimum, if it can- not be eradicated completely.” He continues: “This is where the UV curing system really sets us apart. We have tried and tested our curing process in our ISO 6 clean room production environment, and we can produce laminates with much, much lower outgassing properties. This enables us to offer a cleaner and far supe- rior product to these specialised manufactur- ers and their converters.” With the bespoke UV system designed specifically for Panoval, the distance between the coating heads and the curing lamps can be precisely controlled. This means that the optimum exposure can be achieved for a multitude of different applica- tions. Furthermore, the UV system has been designed with seven lamphead housings and Panoval delivers specialty labels to leading brands in numerous industries five repositionable lamp cassettes, meaning that the lampheads can be placed in a num- the local conditions in Ho Chi Minh City. The favour: “More and more coatings manufac- ber of different positions, to effectively con- 18 000m³/hr of air used for cooling is drawn turers are producing UV-based polymers and trol the dwell time. By increasing the time into the clean room from outside of the buil- we are seeing the prices falling quickly… between the application of chemicals to the ding at an ambient temperature of around they have already come down over 40% in substrate, and the point at which those che- 35°C. They have fitted two-stage filtration the past three years. It’s a matter of time until micals are cured, this allows more time for and some 25 metres of additional inlet duc- UV takes over.” unwanted gases to escape prior to lamination. ting to reduce the air temperature, humidity, It also affects the speed at which the machine and any contaminant particles within, before Medical applications can run; the longer outgassing period enables it reaches the lampheads. Labelling for medical applications is often effective and safe curing to be achieved at up The production team seems to be collec- required on non-woven substrates, which to 50% faster running speeds. As van Zwieten tively driven by a pioneering mindset; their absorb far more radiation than polyesters says: “This gives us an enormous competitive focus is using research and development to and polypropylenes. This means that high edge over many US and European companies, create products that offer the end user a UV curing power is also a regular require- who are limited to running at slower speeds.” commercial advantage. An example of this is ment, and overcuring is easily achieved with their production of substrate for tyre labels, up to 108kW of UV power on tap. UV overcu- Measurement and verification using a refined UV hot melt process. As van ring is used to mimic the more desirable pro- Panoval has also invested in having five Zwieten explains: “We would not use con- perties of solvent-based adhesives, whereby GEW multi-point UV monitoring (mUVm) sen- ventional hot melt for tyre labels as it is quite the coating is cured to become low-tack and sors fitted to each of the UV lampheads, and unstable, particularly at higher grammage. touch-dry, but at the same time it remains a linked to their ERP system. These can mea- This results in the converter having to reduce highly cohesive adhesive that ages extremely sure at the central position of the lamp, and the converting speed as the die-cutting bla- well. This process has other advantages, as at the extreme edges of a 500mm web and des quickly become contaminated with adhe- van Zwieten explains: “The initial tack is low a 1050mm web. In addition to particle meter sive. Instead, we have perfected the UV hot and even allows for repositioning, but the readings which accurately measure outgas- melt process whereby we can slightly over- final adhesion is very strong – easily in excess sing levels immediately after curing, mUVm cure, to create a low-tack adhesive that has a of 50 newtons – as is required for high per- enables the production team to measure and very high final adhesion. This means that the formance labelling. And then we go back to verify that the correct level of UV dose and converter can produce his labels much fas- the advantages in conversion, which beco- intensity has been administered throughout ter and cleaner. It’s a win-win situation for mes a much quicker process with UV cured the production run. With mUVm it is possible both of us.” coatings.” He concludes: “We can achieve all to generate a UV curing certificate for every It is the downstream commercial benefits of the benefits of solvent-based coatings but batch by recording live UV outputs for every that differentiate their UV products from the without the outgassing and the extractab- lamp. Real time UV output data is exported conventional, and more than compensate for les, which are of such concern to the medi- via a RESTful API interface. the somewhat higher cost of UV-based raw cal, aerospace and electronics industries.” Wilco van Zwieten’s team have also had materials. Added to this, van Zwieten points to overcome technical difficulties created by to a market trend that is also working in their Image sources: GEW

COATING & CONVERTING | C2 INTERNATIONAL 84 | DECEMBER 2020 42 | THE LAST WORD

and water and energy consumption. Moreo- ver, the remaining biomass – usually much Packaged in algae more than 50% of the feedstock – is used as compost or simply disposed of as orga- nic waste. The core task of the scientists in An EU research project involving the University of the BIOCARB-4-FOOD project is therefore on Hohenheim in Germany is looking for new, sustainable the one hand to research and combine novel, environmentally friendly and more efficient food additives and packaging materials from algae and extraction methods such as ultrasound, mic- seaweeds rowaves and enzymes in order to optimise the process. On the other hand, resource efficiency will be improved by using the biomass remai- ning after extraction, which is still rich in bioactive compounds, to produce carbo- hydrates and fibres such as cellulose and nanocellulose. The researchers are not only focusing on marine algae species already in commercial use, but also on raw materi- als that have been little or not at all used so far, such as seaweed. The more efficient use of raw materials should also help to improve the competitiveness of algae, seaweed, food and non-food companies in the EU. Finally, the resulting products will be examined for their properties such as structure, bioactivity, toxicity and technological usability, and the sustainability of the processes will be verified The University of Hohenheim has been conducting research in using algae in foods for years via a life cycle assessment. (in the picture: micro algae powder for sausage production) Promising results lgae already serve the industry as a Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA- The results of BIOCARB-4-FOOD so far source of raw materials for stabilisers or CSIC) in Valencia, Spain, and coordinator of the are promising: experiments with the Medi- Athickening and gelling agents, such as BIOCARB-4-FOOD project. terranean red algae Gelidium sesquipedale agar, alginate and carrageenan. However, their “Already today, the algae industry world- show that agar extraction can be conside- potential as carbohydrate suppliers for bioplas- wide generates a turnover of around $7.4bn rably simplified if hot water treatment is com- tics is also increasingly attracting the interest of (around €6.3bn) – and the trend is rising. bined with ultrasound. The extraction time researchers. Not only are they biodegradable, Because of their special physico-chemical and can be reduced by a factor of four compared but their additional properties can also help biological properties, the food and pharmaceu- to conventional methods – and this without to ensure that foods packaged in them have a tical industries are also showing growing inte- significantly affecting the extraction yield longer shelf life. At present, however, current rest in compounds obtained from algae,” exp- and the physical-chemical properties of the extraction methods are very inefficient. In the lains Dr Nadja Reinhardt from the Research products. The shorter extraction times and EU-funded research project BIOCARB-4-FOOD, Centre for Bioeconomy at the University of better yield not only reduce emissions and researchers are now looking for more sustai- Hohenheim, which has taken over communica- costs: Initial calculations show that the ecolo- nable processes for extracting carbohydrates tion on the project. Thus, in a sub-task of BIO- gical footprint for agar production as a whole from so-called macroalgae, i.e. large species of CARB-4-FOOD, novel extracts are to be obtai- is reduced to around one fifth. algae, and also seaweed. They are looking into ned which can be used as food ingredients “Unfortunately, however, we have so far the question of how these substances can be – far beyond their use as gelling or thickening only been able to test this on a laboratory extracted from the raw material and how the agents. Because of the specific properties of scale,” regrets Dr Lopez-Rubio. “The compa- residues of existing extraction processes can be these algae carbohydrates, also known as phy- nies involved in our consortium are working further used and processed. cocolloids, the scientists also see the potential on upscaling so that the results obtained in “We are looking for alternative natu- to use them as smart packaging materials. our laboratories can also be transferred to ral resources such as algae and marine plants. industrial production.” Not only because they are abundant, but Better exploiting the potential also because they contain a large number of However, current methods of extrac- Image source: Uni Hohenheim / potentially interesting compounds,” explains ting carbohydrates from algae are extremely Astrid Untermann Dr Amparo Lopez-Rubio from the Institute of inefficient, both in terms of processing time

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