BOBST unveils innovations on the road to drupa 2024

By Dhanya A K

BOBST has announced its latest advancements across all industry segments – flexible packaging, labels, folding carton, corrugated board, and services – to help its customers to thrive in the current and future packaging environment. At drupa 2024, visitors to the stage area will have the opportunity to find out how BOBST is bringing its vision to reality through a live-show experience on a “concept machine”. Through key solutions along the end-to-end production process, BOBST’s industry storylines will be featured.

“We have made great progress with our vision to shape the future of the packaging world based on the pillars of connectivity, digitalization, automation, and sustainability,” said Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO, Bobst Group. “Now, with an extensive portfolio of solutions that answer our clients’ needs, we can tailor our offering to them based on their evolving requirements over the years to come. Our latest solutions announced today, embed machines and software with the aim to increase performance, complementing our global offering beyond machine operation, helping us all to build towards a more connected and sustainable future.”

Announcing new equipment and increased productivity through BOBST Connect

BOBST has announced the launch of two major new features for BOBST Connect, the company’s constantly evolving, cloud-based digital platform, which improves productivity. Workflow with Job and Recipe Management empowers customers to seamlessly integrate BOBST machines in their production and design workflows and benefit from bi-directional job and recipe data synchronization for fast set up and increased productivity. The Energy Monitoring feature allows customers to measure their energy consumption and costs in real time. By collecting data across various jobs, settings, and connected machines, and together with our industry leading Workflow and Automation Partners, we help our customers to drive efficiency improvements and cost savings.

Reinforcing its credentials as a strategic partner, the company has also announced to develop BOBST Application Management across the four industries, a hands-on innovative consulting service focusing on workflow automation, color and process optimization, end-to-end converting improvements as well as regulatory compliance, addressing the needs of converters and brand owners.

Meanwhile, BOBST’s commitment to sustainability – both for its own operations and helping its customers to achieve their sustainability goals – is reflected across multiple streams and in all the new solutions announced today. The company has stated that all new machines purchased in 2024 will benefit from at least between 10% and 20% efficiency and productivity improvements, from reductions in waste, substrate, and energy usage.

Below are the newly announced highlights from each industry sector. Several of these will be officially launched at drupa 2024.

Flexible packaging

In the flexible packaging industry BOBST can help customers to innovate for a sustainable future.

New machine with new elements of digitalization and automation

smartGRAVURE revolutionizes the gravure printing process with elements of automation and digitalization. This innovation will help to overcome the important set-up time and tuning required with gravure printing, which require high level operator skills. With automated color management, digitalized set up and controls, and connectivity with BOBST Connect, smartGRAVURE will increase productivity and output consistency, reduce downtime and complexity, and offer considerable sustainability benefits.

New BOBST intelligent Metallizing Assistant: The BOBST AI driven intelligent Metallizing Assistant represents a breakthrough in machine integrated process expertise for vacuum metallizing. BOBST intelligent Metallizing Assistant supports the machine operator by automating the deposition process, resulting in more output and consistency of the end product, and ensuring that customers always have the best operator on their machine.
New machine with new elements of digitalization

EXPERTLAM 900 is a multi-technology coater and laminator, which is configurable in different forms, making it highly flexible both as both a laminator and a coater.

Labels

In the labels industry, BOBST can help customers to simplify label production.

Closed loop workflow from PDF to TWIN PDF: BOBST is taking connectivity and digitalization to the next level by providing new solutions supporting closed-loop workflow ecosystem from pdf to twin pdf to boost productivity, ease of use and sustainability. The features will allow label converters to accelerate job preparation, with faster job completion less dependent on operator skills, and with a more connected production floor, thanks to a range of new BOBST Connect and pre-press features. More details to be announced at drupa 2024!
OneECG – advanced color consistency between flexo and digital: BOBST has optimized its workflow leveraging oneECG, enabling digitalization of color information to reach the highest color consistency between digital and flexo. Customers can easily allocate orders to the most suitable technology, optimizing machine utilization and profitability while reducing waste and increasing overall output.
oneBarrier / FibreCycle on UV in-line flexo presses: Following the success of the oneBARRIER sustainable solutions developed by BOBST together with industry leading partners and first introduced on BOBST wide-web machines, converters with UV-based inline flexo machines can now experience all the benefits of oneBarrier substrates – dedicated to the production of high-barrier and recyclable applications – on narrow-mid-web solutions.

Folding carton

In the folding carton industry, BOBST is empowering zero fault packaging.

New machine with new elements of digitalization

EXPERTCUT 106 PER: New generation die-cutter, which increases performance up to 20% with increased throughput and positive sustainability impact. The EXPERTCUT 106 comes equipped with breakthrough new functions such as the ACCUPLATEN - a new system that will drastically reduce the patching effort during setting and increased running speed.

TooLink on folder-gluers: TooLink brings converting into the digital world. It is a platform that connects machines and tooling and brings together the entire converting process to transform production flexibility, job turnaround times, and overall productivity. Soon available on folder-gluers, TooLink will simplify and shorten the changeover by automating recipe management. In addition, it will check the quality of tools and ensure the quality of production.

Corrugated board

In the corrugated board industry, BOBST can help customers to boost end-to-end efficiency.

Robotic solutions: An important milestone in bringing our vision to reality, BOBST now offers a wide range of robotic solutions for both loading and palletizing, which will allow configuration of complete and seamless production lines for our customers.
New machine

FFG (flexo folder gluer) portfolio EXTENSION – machines with what matters for RSC (regular slotted carton) converting: Printing (1/2 colors) and die-cutting with flexibility in production, robust design and short set-up time with top printer. New JUMBO, from simple “printer-slotter” up to full line including stitching, taping and inline folder-gluer.

New machine with new elements of digitalization and automation

MASTERFLEX HD+: New generation of the reference flexo printer, for unmatched productivity and highest quality. By incorporating a new feeder, upstream pre-feeder and stacker outlet, the MASTERFLEX HD+ achieves a staggering throughput of 15,000 sheets per hour, covering an impressive area of 53 million square meters per year. This enhancement results in a remarkable 8% boost in productivity.

Services and Performance

BOBST offers a wide range of services and digital solutions to power performance with expertise and digitalization. New additions include:

The new, updated BOBST Connect: Providing digital solutions to prepare, produce, react to, maintain, and optimize the production workflow of a job. BOBST Connect is a one-stop shop for increasing productivity capability at every stage.
Extended capacity of the EMEA Logistics Hub: Our Genk facility gives us the ability to serve our customers with speed and efficiency. We are extending its capacity by more than 60% this year to increase customer reach, increase service quality, while ensuring that our site meets the highest sustainability certifications.
Remote Assistance with TeamViewer: Our Remote Assistance service, which includes video with augmented reality support using TeamViewer, allows fast, high-priority remote resolution of electrical and mechanical problems, and reduced downtime. The feature now includes live caption and chat translation.
Operational Excellence Program: Through our Operational Excellence program, customers get support to drive continuous improvements with our combined data analysis, process expertise and proven consultancy.

At drupa 2024, attendees can follow a personalized walkthrough of the comprehensive and integrated solutions for the packaging industry, including applications, services and software.

Interested? www.bobst.com/drupa24