Over the last few years, EMBA Machinery AB has installed several of its QS Ultima Casemakers at box plants in Europe. In the following interview, Esa Koski, Executive Vice President and Marco Ghelardi, Italian Sales Manager, discuss the machine’s merits, specifically for Italian customers.
Esa Koski, Executive Vice President
In what way does the QS Ultima meet market demands in Italy?
EK: The Ultima technical platform is a versatile machine concept allowing customers to customise their Ultima to their specific needs. It can be configured for everything from high-volume production to complex die-cutting and high graphics production. It is an important driving force for us at EMBA to design the Ultima converting lines to provide flexibility to our customers, because a machine investment is a long-term decision and market conditions are continuously changing. Ultima machines are designed to adapt to those conditions, something that has been very well accepted in Italy.
What does Ultima offer specifically to Italian customers?
MG: The Ultima has been well accepted by the Italian market for its flexibility and also ease of use from an operator and maintenance point of view. Customers in Italy also really appreciate the Quickset features, something EMBA machines are known for. The Ultima is not only a casemaker with high productivity and reliability, but also a good die-cutter and good printer. This combination of printing, die-cutting and gluing in one pass makes it ideal for any plant size.
“HERE AT IMBALLAGGI SAN MARTINO WE RUN THE MACHINE FOR 10 HOURS PER DAY AND WILL RAMP UP TO A DOUBLE SHIFT SOON.” – Diego Gorio, owner of Imballaggi San Martino
Marco Ghelardi with Renato Pletta, LIC Packaging SpA, Plant Manager.
The EMBA Operator Interface is highly sophisticated, though the setting of new orders is quick. Please explain what makes this possible.
EK: Our quick-set machine concept, which we have built on for almost five decades, has been refined over the years. The Ultima machines have an operator-friendly and intuitive interface, which make machine setting easy and fast. That is part of our focus – to build machines that are ergonomic and safe to operate and meet the environmental requirements of boxmakers.
What is the most common Ultima configuration in Italy?
MG: The majority of Ultima installations in Italy are six colours, usually with two or three dryers.
The Ultima platform has been well received, not only in the Italian market, but all over the world. What are the main reasons for this success?
EK: The 175 QS Ultima and 245 QS Ultima have indeed been well received by customers, because of the versatility they offer and the quality of the boxes that these machines produce. The non-crush technology has taken box design, manufacturing and quality to a new level and we are very excited to be able to contribute these important opportunities for operational excellence to our customers. Encouraged by the response for our existing machine sizes, we will soon introduce a third member to our Ultima technical platform.
“WE CHOSE A FIVE-COLOUR CONFIGURATION, AS THE MAJORITY OF OUR WORK IS TWO COLOURS, MEANING WE CAN BE SETTING UP THE NEXT ORDER WHILE THE MACHINE IS RUNNING. – Adriano Pellegrini, Plant Manager at Innova Group, Caino
Customer Success
LIC Packaging’s Renato Pietta, Plant Manager, explains that they run a 245 QS Ultima with six colours. “We produce a diverse range of boxes on our line, from detergent boxes to food and domestic appliances,” he says. “We run the EMBA for 15 hours a day, usually making 14 job changes per day. Our average print run is three colours and we chose the six colour configuration so we have access to easy anilox changes, meaning we can alternate between standard flexo print or HD print jobs. We also liked the fact that we were able to die-cut on the inside of the box and the installation time was very quick indeed. The price of the machine was also very competitive.”
Imballaggi San Martino’s Diego Gorio, the owner, runs a 245 QS Ultima with six colours. “We are running the machine for 10 hours a day and will ramp up to a double shift soon,” he says. “We produce boxes for the food and automotive industries and average around 18 order changes per day, mainly two colours. For me, the prime investment decisions focused on reliability, production speed for big orders, product and print quality, and last but not least, 4.0 certification.”
Innova Group’s Adriano Pellegrini, Plant Manager, says they run a 175 QS Ultima with five colours. “We produce boxes for the food industry, running the machine 16 hours a day with up to 40 order changes per day,” he says. “We chose a five-colour configuration, as the majority of our work is two colours, meaning we can be setting up the next order while the machine is running. The prime decision to invest in a new EMBA casemaker was its reputed fast order change and accuracy of its die-cutter.”
Published in IPBI July 2018