The commercial launch of the Nozomi 18000+ LED was announced today at Fespa Global Expo, where the Delta deal, which was signed last week, will also be formally announced.

The machine is set to be delivered in late June at Delta’s main 16,722sqm facility in Waltham Cross, London, with full 24-7 production scheduled to go live in August ahead of peak season.

The investment was largely driven by new business wins, according to CEO Jason Hammond.

Already this calendar year he said the group had won in excess of £5m in new business on top of significant volume increases across existing contracts.

“This is a major stake in the ground for us and certainly raises the bar again in terms of capacity across the group,” he added.

Delta Group COO Martin Shipp said he had been closely watching the development of single pass technology since the business installed its first Nozomi in 2018, and said that today he still believed there was nothing comparable on the market.

“Delta has always been very good at accelerating through change and we’re seeing big changes and big opportunities in the marketplace as it continues to pick-up,” he said.

“And the better, faster, cheaper mentality has always driven our change.”

When the 18000+ arrives, Delta will become only the second business in the world to run two Nozomis on the same site.

“The learning curve to pick up single pass is quite steep, but we’ve already done that so 50% of the story is already written,” said Shipp.

The new machine is based on the same technology as Delta’s original Nozomi 18000, but features a number of developments that significantly broaden its possible applications beyond corrugated.

The 1.8m wide, 1,000 (1.5x3m) board per hour machine features pre- and post-coat units, CMYK with orange, violet and white capabilities that can print on fibre-based papers and boards and synthetic substrates including styrene and corrugated plastic. It can also be configured pallet-to-pallet.

The two Nozomis will be running side-by-side in triple shifts 24-7.

Shipp highlighted the performance of the original machine had been a key driver in signing off a second.

“I think I can count on one hand the number of times in four years that we’ve been without the Nozomi running.”

Hammond added that running a pair of the engines would also bring a number of synergies.

“From a client perspective, [running both] it means we can get the exact same finish across all sorts of substrates and very quickly, which is something a lot of our competitors struggle to do,” he noted.

Shipp with the group's first Nozomi

While the footprint of the 18000+ is slightly smaller than its 40m sibling, Shipp said a number of devices will be moved to make way and will be redistributed around the group’s other sites.

He also highlighted that while it’s a big machine, in terms of productivity it punches above its weight.

“When you’re printing more than five times faster than the fastest multi-pass flatbed then those machines would take up a lot more space than one Nozomi.”

He added that in terms of energy consumption there are also significant savings, citing up to 60% less energy required on the Nozomi to produce the same square meterage.

As well as its main facility, the £100m turnover, 700-staff group has production facilities in Dublin, Superior in Melksham, and following its acquisition of Odessa Print Group in January, Penge and Biggin Hill and runs, digital, litho and screen across the group.

A number of other investments across the group are set to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

“Odessa has bedded in really well, as we knew it would,” said Hammond, who hinted that there could further M&A on the cards for the group.

Live demos of the new EFI Nozomi 18000+ LED single-pass printer for point of sale and display graphics will be streamed to EFI’s Fespa stand.