Europa automate box production to satisfy increase in orders

Europa Industries, based in Louth, are a growing packaging manufacturer with a diverse portfolio of existing customers ranging from small on-line local sellers to large, blue chip corporations and household names.

They recently completed a major purpose-built factory extension to incorporate a fully automatic boxmaking & printing line from Kolbus-Autobox. Gary Spencer (Managing Director) comments: “We have always operated with limited operating staff. Our employees wear many hats within our business adding flexibility to our daily routines and passing on labour savings to our customers.”. He continues; “As a boxmaking business, we now have the facility to convert the industry’s biggest and heaviest boxes, down to mini bespoke boxes without the need to have significant minimum order quantities or tooling involved. We are an ideal solution for companies operating a lean manufacturing process”.

Steve Lyons (Joint Managing Director) adds: “By automating and expanding our operation our lead times have improved by over 200% compared to when we were buying boxes in. In some circumstances, we are helping our customers on same day deliveries with a general realistic goal to turn jobs around in 48-72 hours!”

The Kolbus-Autobox line automatically is set up within a few minutes. The Auto Feeder picks and feeds individual sheets up to 5000mm in length from a pallet height (up to 1600mm) in to the Autobox for slotting and creasing. The Flexo Unit can print images up to 1000mm x1000mm before moving in to the Multicut for in-line slitting from stock board, multi-out in length, 0401’s, hand holes or pinned references. The final stage is the finished, bespoke product being picked & placed direct on to a neat pallet using the Auto Stack module.  

Arran Sethi, Sales Manager for Kolbus Autobox comments: “Europa’s enquiry developed due to Gary & Steve’s entrepreneurial vision of a streamlined, automated, operator-less production facility. What I love about this operation is that one operator can set the machine within a matter of minutes, converting the biggest of boxes and move off to the next production machine: diecutting, gluing, printer slotting. They only return to remove the pallet and set the next job”.