BBC Cellpack Packaging gains added versatility in the production

Guided by the motto “Packaging for a better future,” BBC Cellpack Packaging plays a pioneering role in the market for recyclable and sustainable flexible packaging. In fall 2023, the globally active company installed an EXPERT CI flexo press from BOBST with eleven printing units at its facility in Lauterecken, Germany. It enables the company to respond even more flexibly to the individual needs of its demanding customers.  

“The more sophisticated and complex the technical requirements, the better we can demonstrate our experience and vertical integration,” explains Heiko Jung, authorized representative and head of Purchasing and Administration at the company’s facility in Lauterecken. “The EXPERT CI gives us various new options for printing and finishing premium packaging products in a flexo process.” 

The EXPERT CI from BOBST is a modular and flexibly configurable platform for web widths of up to 1,700 mm. It guarantees maximum process consistency at production speeds as high as 600 m/min and, with its innovative features, enables rapid job changeovers with minimum startup waste. One highlight is the smartGPS system for fully automated offline registration and impression setup, which is unique on the market in this form. It reduces setup time to a few minutes and startup waste to roughly the length of the machine. In fact, this system played a key role in BBC Cellpack Packaging’s decision in favor of the EXPERT CI. 

New growth opportunities 
Another deciding factor was the machine’s flexible configuration options: The company had the press equipped with ten flexo printing units and one gravure printing unit, making it eleven in total. “Our investment in the EXPERT CI further strengthens our position in the confectionery market in particular. With the downstream gravure printing unit, we can use partial printing to apply varnish or cold seal in a single pass, for example on packaging for chocolates. We didn’t have that option before,” says Jung. 

“We also have really exciting new possibilities in segments like dry foods, snacks, ready-made foods, and fresh-cut products, including fresh herbs and pre-made mixed salads. The EXPERT CI has also made us more attractive than ever to the non-food market as a flexible packaging producer. Examples here include household and personal care products, such as soap refills,” says Jan Neycken, Sales and Marketing Director BU Packaging at BBC Cellpack Packaging, enumerating further growth opportunities that the company can tap into thanks to the new press. 

Many food producers are increasingly diversifying their product ranges. Variety within a product type is broadening continuously. “Today, twenty or more different motifs are printed on convenience food pouches, for example. One upshot of this trend for packaging production is steadily smaller print job lengths. We would not have been able to produce such pouches cost-efficiently on our previous equipment,” explains Neycken.  

But the EXPERT CI and smartGPS system have changed that. The fast job changeovers and the reduction in startup waste from 1,000 down to 80 meters, made possible by the smartGPS, result in unusually low setup costs. “Now we can produce job lengths upwards of 1,000 m2 profitably, meaning we can offer the flexibility that sellers expect for private label and other products,” explains Jung. 

New flexibility with substrates 
The EXPERT CI can process a variety of different packaging materials, such as PE, which are difficult to process consistently on BBC Cellpack Packaging’s existing gravure press due to the drying process alone. “Our core competence begins with packaging development. Since we don’t have in-house extrusion, we are not bound to specific materials,” says Neycken, explaining why the facility can fully exploit the flexibility of the CI flexo press in terms of the substrates. 

The company’s CELLroll Flowpack product line alone, for example, encompasses a variety of film structures developed in-house, including mono OPP, duplex mono PE and mono PP, as well as duplex OPP PE. Paper structures, such as mono, PE, PP, and OPP paper, are also available. MDO-PE has likewise become an important substrate. BBC Cellpack Packaging also achieves excellent results with PET and OPA. 

Customers of the company take various approaches to sustainability: Some prefer paper-based solutions, while others go for high-priced, biodegradable packaging. The majority choose recyclable packaging types. “No one knows the direction in which sustainability is heading. With the EXPERT CI, we have all options open to us for the future,” says Jung confidently. 

Machine operators like how easy it is to work with the new press. Thanks to the clever design of the printing unit frame with a “window,” operators can effortlessly change the sleeves, intermediate cylinders, and anilox roller sleeves. In addition, all components involved in printing are designed for micrometer accuracy, with the support of the servo drives, high-precision mechanical guides, their no-vibration characteristics, and the automation functions. The innovative FSM (full surface matrix) drying system prevents substrate materials from stretching. With these features, the press makes it easy for operators to consistently produce premium-quality products. In short, the EXPERT CI has created attractive new jobs in Lauterecken.