NarrowWebTech 2/2008
S&K LABEL of Kurim is a Czech polygraphic company which has been producing high quality self-adhesive labels for more than 18 years.
The company started in 1990 as a small advertising agency focusing predominantly on printing production. Soon they began to specialize in self-adhesive promotional labels. Over time, they became more and more interested in all possibilities self-adhesive materials could offer. Today S&K LABEL is a specialized printing company producing a wide range of self-adhesive labels. On a European scale they are a medium-sized organization with 150 employees, operating 13 UV flexo presses from Nilpeter and Mark Andy. The consumption of self-adhesive materials in 2007 exceeded 17 mil. sqm. The company´s total turnover has reached EUR 14 million.
Excluding production for the Czech market, the company exports around 15% of its production - a great deal of the production is supplied to the foreign markets indirectly via Czech branch offices of multinational companies. Dynamic development of packaging technology, the market and growing demand for quality, flexibility, communication and other indexes forced the company to undertake many changes. Their goal is to provide first-class and superior service in the production of self-adhesive labels and new packaging materials. From this point of view the year 2008 is a distinct milestone of the actual development of the S&K LABEL company. Construction of the new production plant has been completed, the manufacturing equipment is being upgraded, a new effective logistic system and a system of stock control are being implemented, and production of new package types is being tested.
Following the construction of the new production facility, significant advancements in technology have been achieved. Currently S&K LABEL manages 13 flexo presses with water-based and UV ink capabilities. Considerable investments have been made in the prepress department which has resulted in higher throughput and superior quality. An Esko CDI Spark 4835 is installed for digitally imaging photopolymer plates. Solvent plate washout has been replaced by thermal processing in a DuPont Cyrel FAST 1000TD machine.
A Cobra Table Top – a narrow web video plate mounting unit from Heaford – is a new addition to the pre-press department. An ODRI Nikka offline inspection unit has been inserted into the production process particularly for controlling print quality. Based on the standard digital model, this device is able to find and evaluate even the slightest deviations in colourr, register of the individual applied colours, and factual accuracy before starting to print the job.
For finishing, a Rotoflex VLI 500 E inspection slitter rewinder has been added with so called razor blade slitting of label and foil rolls. This also allows accurate and very quick recounting of very small labels and thus it is an essential tool of production output control.
New technologies, production halls and stock areas required design and implementation of a highly effective workflow. The passage of each item through the production process is now controlled using an internal barcode system. This allows continuous monitoring of production operations from entering the job order into the information system all the way to delivery from the warehouse. Specific codes are assigned, not only to the individual production operations, but also to stock positions. The primary advantages of the new workflow have been a radical reduction in error rates, significant increase in through-put, and online delivery tracking of products from warehouse using a reader that is connected via wi-fi network.
Reliable partner for all tooling
Tools for diecutting, printing and other processes have become a main concern in today’s production.
In order to meet the technical demands, S&K LABEL fully relies on Kocher+Becks expertise.
The German company is a worldwide leading manufacturer of any kind of equipment for the production of self adhesive labels. Headquartered in Pliezhausen, the company has production plants in Germany, England, Russia, and two in the USA with future worldwide expansion planned.
The business relationship between S&K LABEL and Kocher-Beck has been established for a long period of time, resulting in mutually beneficial and successful growth within the industry. Kocher+Beck is a key supplier of flexible dies. Rotary die-cutting is performed in-line as the last unit of flexo presses. As S&K LABEL offers a wide variety of products with advanced technological processes, extremely tight tolerances on die-cutting plates is a must, not an option. In the production process magnetic cylinders of different widths and diameters (width 167 - 420 mm / 6,6” – 16,5”; diameter 60 - 195 mm / 2,4” – 7,7”) are used. Cylinders also differ in width and length based on the required type of the flexible dies. “KOCHER+BECK has always been able to meet S&K LABEL´s need for tight tolerances and quick delivery to satisfy customer’s needs concerning die-cutting.”
In addition to flexo-printing machinery, S&K LABEL decided to obtain a digital printing press, which will be ready to start production in the second half of 2008. This HP Indigo Press will be used for smaller print runs. The completion and finishing of production will be performed with off-line machinery with semi-rotary die-cutting, foil hot stamping and slitting. This new printing technology using semi-rotary die-cutting provides a new opportunity for S&K LABEL and KOCHER+BECK to cooperate.
Modern technological facilities allow the Cezch company to offer its clients the best quality printing technology and products. Primary focus and goal of S&K LABEL is the satisfaction of its customers. The pre-requisite for reaching this goal on a daily basis, is the expertise, reliability, and accountability of all S&K LABEL employees along with the use of state-of-the-art technology throughout all processes. A product must attract a customer not only by its price, but also by its creative package. At present, advertising attacks consumers from all sides and products are offered to them in many various forms. This leads to a steep development in the packaging industry and to the popularity of flexographic printing as a technology for effective appreciation of packages and packaging materials.
“Seeing a chance is not an art, the art is being the first to see the chance.” This statement by Benjamin Franklin is extremely important these days, and S&K LABEL connects with this statement by applying it to their everyday business operations. Their successful operation is based in particular, on the ability to effectively adjust management, technologies, services and products to the customers and their needs. In mutual cooperation with our strategic business partners, S&K LABEL aims for complete customer satisfaction worldwide.
