The Hinckley company specialises in high-end and luxury packaging for a wide range of clients encompassing horticultural, pharmaceutical, and food and drink customers including English whisky brands.
Company founder and chairman Joe Sall said the firm had invested circa £3.5m in the highly-specified new Rapida, which has been installed on a 900mm plinth.
It is retaining an existing six-colour Manroland press, while an older model has been moved out.
“It was a big decision for us to switch manufacturer,” said Sall. “The KBA is a lot faster and is a new generation machine. It has more technology and a lot of extras to make printing easier.”
The Rapida 106 prints at up to 18,000sph and is fitted with conventional and UV drying technology, as well as fully-automatic plate changing and QualiTronic ColorControl. In addition, it is configured to print onto fluted board and plastics with KBA’s CX and Plastics packages, allowing it to print onto substrates up to 1.2mm thick.
“We currently print onto paper and laminate it onto flute. To be able to print directly onto thick material will be wonderful,” Sall added.
The new press has just been installed and is in the process of being commissioned.
Printing & Packaging employs 37 staff at its 5,600sqm facility spread across four units, including two production halls and stock holding for customers via a computer-controlled warehouse. The firm has turnover of around £6m.
Its state-of-the-art production facility includes multiple Bobst die-cutters and folder-gluers, and Heiber & Schroder window patching and lining.
Sall has worked in the industry for more than 50 years, having started in print aged 16. During his career he worked at Tiny Rowland’s Lonrho and at Ferry Pickering before striking out on his own. He founded Printing & Packaging in the mid-1980s and the firm has built up a loyal customer base through its ethos of never letting a customer down.
Sales director Denny Sall said the double coating facility would allow the firm to offer customers new finishes and special coatings; while production director Pali Sall praised the monitoring and reporting technology on the new press, which includes performance monitoring via LogoTronic Professional.
KBA UK sales director Chris Scully said the press manufacturer was thrilled to secure the order. “This started from a cold call and we are obviously delighted that Printing & Packaging has selected KBA for their latest investment. Joe likes to have the best and this is a real showpiece installation at a fabulous facility. The Rapida 106 has become the machine of choice for luxury packaging printers over the past three years.”
