News

FFP Packaging Solutions win ‘Investment of the Year’ at UK Packaging Awards with the Universal X6

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FFP Packaging Solutions has won the prestigious ‘Investment of the year’ award at this years UK Packaging Awards. FFP is a packaging company that focuses on designing and manufacturing sustainable packaging solutions for food, beverage, pharmaceuticals and other industries.

Established over 50 years ago, FFP have grown to become one of the leading flexible packaging suppliers in Europe with many distribution sites across England, Scotland & Wales.

Their products are designed to help businesses grow by increasing efficiencies while reducing costs through innovative design solutions tailored to their customer’s needs. FFP have significantly invested in new machinery, including a Universal X6 Slitter, which has led them to winning the ‘Investment of the year’ award.

An FFP representative explained,
“In October 2020, we commissioned our latest investment, a new laser system which is a collaboration between Coherent and Universal Converting Equipment.

The new machine consists of a high productivity slitter from Universal Converting Equipment combined with a state-of-the-art laser machine from Coherent. This new machine represents an investment of £700,000 for FFP and has significantly enhanced our laser profiling capability and increased capacity.

Not only has the new equipment had a huge impact on the capacity of the factory allowing us to respond to customer and market demand, but it also brings with it enhanced capabilities and efficiencies.”

The positive profile of the Universal X6 continues to develop at a pace in the Flexible Packaging industry, due to a reputation for speed, reliability and many eco-aware features. When integrated with laser equipment from Coherent the Universal X6 is able to score, inspect and slit at speeds that leave competitive machines behind.

The UK Packaging Awards judges noted that,
“A great combination of investment in machinery, increasing capacity, and sustainability with the Esterseal development. Marvellous work!”

Everyone at Universal Converting Equipment would like to congratulate FFP Packaging Solutions on winning this important award. If you would like to find out more about how the Universal X6 can increase efficiency and reduce costs please contact us.

Universal X6 Slitter Rewinder

Find out more about FFP Packaging Solutions…

Find out more about the award on the Packaging News website…

Coveris increase BOPP capacity with Universal X6 Slitter Rewinder

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Flexible packaging manufacturer Coveris have revealed details of a program of investment that has led to a significant increase in production of BOPP (Biaxially-Oriented Polypropylene) labels.

As reported on the Labels and Labelling website Coveris have announced a large increase in productivity in their BOPP label manufacturing capabilities at their facility in Louth (UK). The company, who supply bottle labels to companies including Coca-Cola and Refresco, supported this growth by purchasing a fully automated Universal X6 Slitter Rewinder.

The quality of labels produced at the Louth facility was recently recognised by the European Flexographic Industry Association (EFIA), who gave Coveris a Gold award in the ‘Flexo Print on Film – Reverse Print Narrow’ category in 2019.

The fully automated Universal X6 Slitter has been installed in the dedicated finishing hall at Coveris Louth. The Universal X6 is a part of a program that has seen the site’s capacity to over 3 billion labels per year.

‘Coveris is uniquely positioned as the leading supplier of plain and printed films to the beverage sector in Europe. Supported by investment in state-of-the-art technology, dedicated BOPP manufacturing capabilities and award winning print, we are able to provide our customers with leading quality, service and products, while targeting ambitious growth in the BOPP beverage industry,’ said Mark Summers, Coveris Films Sales Director.

Universal X6 Slitting machine

ACL Films launch new website

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Universal Converting Equipment customers ACL Films Pty Ltd are celebrating the launch of a new website. Based in the state of Victoria, Australia, and operating worldwide, ACL Films are a family owned and managed business. The company offers specialist slitting, die cutting and sheeting services in addition to supplying a wide range of films.

In 2015 ACL Films upgraded their capabilities by investing in a Universal X6vt Slitter Rewinder and a Universal CCA Automatic Core Cutter. The machine is proudly displayed on several pages of the new website.

ACL offer contract slitting to many different industries, giving them a deep level of slitting expertise. The company slits a broad range of quantities and materials, so being able to set up a variety of slitting jobs in a minimal amount of time, and reducing waste meant the Universal X6 was the perfect machine for their expanding customer base.

The new website highlights ACL’s dedication to fast production turnaround, without compromising on quality or customer service. The Universal X6 is one of the fastest slitters on the market today, not just in ‘metres per minute’ speed, but also in terms of incredibly fast job setup. Automatic knife setting, core loading (and positioning) are just some of the automation features that make the X6 such a popular machine.

To find out more about ACL Films Pty Ltd visit https://www.aclfilms.com.au/

ACL website image

PT Surya Multi Indopack reduce stoppage time and increase productivity with the Universal X6VT Slitter Rewinder

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PT Surya Multi Indopack (PTSMI) are a leading converter in Indonesia with dedicated factories for Flexo printing and Rotogravure. As part of their ongoing expansion they needed additional slitting capacity with the flexibility to handle a wide range of substrates.

Universal Converting Equipment recently installed a Universal X6VT slitter rewinder in the Rungkut Rotogravure facility. The production plant is certified to conform to ISO 22000:2005; a standard requirement for suppliers of food packaging materials. The new X6VT is located in a clean room to ensure standards are maintained.

Commenting on the installation, Mike Wilkinson, Universal Converting Equipment Sales Executive said,
“I have known PTSMI for many years. They are a tough customer; wanting the best equipment and high efficiency. The Universal X6VT has automatic knife positioning (rotary shear and razor), automatic unloading of the finished rolls and automatic core positioning. These automation features greatly reduce set up time for new jobs and dramatically reduce stopped time between sets of rolls. Roll quality is improved due to the accurate setting of knives and cores. Closed loop tension control guarantees that finished rolls are always wound at the correct tension. I worked closely with Rijanto Joesoef, Owner of PTSMI, and his team to ensure that the machine met their current and future needs.”

Rijanto Joesoef added,
“Dealing with Universal was very easy. They have a large installed base of machines around the world and so were able to understand our needs very well. Installation went very smoothly with a comprehensive training package. We have had a few minor issues following installation that have been quickly dealt with using Universal’s remote diagnostic system. As a backup, it was also good to know that Mike Wilkinson was only a phone call away. We are already seeing the benefits of the automation systems on the X6VT and expect it to be a highly productive addition to our factory.”

Universal service engineer Billy Porter with some of the team at PT Surya Multi Indopack
Universal service engineer Billy Porter with some of the team at PT Surya Multi Indopack

Skymark re-enforce reputation as a flexible packaging innovator with the purchase of a Universal X6 Laser Perforator

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Since forming in 1987 Skymark Packaging Ltd have strived to put themselves at the forefront of innovation. In the competitive world of flexible packaging Skymark are one of a select group of companies who are prepared to prove their commitment to constant innovation. One of the most tangible ways that Skymark has made their position clear is by publicly announcing details of investment programs. The company recently announced that they have invested in a Universal X6 Laser perforation Slitter Rewinder.

The Universal X6 Laser perforation Slitter Rewinder gives Skymark the capacity to process a wide range of flexible packaging films. During the slitting process films can be either perforated to modify the atmosphere within the package or scored to make packing easier to open for the consumer.

The laser scoring technology on the universal X6 enables packaging films to be perforated to a high level of accuracy at speeds of 350m/min. This gives Skymark the ability to selectively score one or more layers of laminated film. This enables the production of ‘easy peel’ packaging that won’t compromise the barrier properties of the complete packaging. Commenting on the investment, Skymark Director, Paul Neath said, “The investment in laser perforation and scoring capacity is part of a larger expansion programme. We chose Universal as they are able to offer local support for both the slitting machine and the Rofin laser system. Universal also have over 20 years experience with similar laser systems”

In addition to laser perforation and scoring technology, the universal X6 is fitted with the same hyper-productivity technologies as the popular X6 Slitter Rewinder. Including automatic knife and core positioning. Other common features, including on-screen diagnostics and remote support ensure that the X6 is consistently productive. As with all Universal Slitters the new Universal X6 at Skymark comes with free lifetime support.

2017 has been a year of great progress for Skymark Packaging Ltd. News of the purchase of an X6 closely followed news of an important award for sustainability. The new machinery will be installed at the Skymark facility at Scunthorpe in the UK. Alan Jones, Managing Director of Universal Converting Equipment commented “The growth of Skymark is mirrored by the growth of Universal. Having acquired additional buildings, Universal is set to double its output of X6 slitter rewinders in 2018. Although most of the machines are exported it is always good to supply companies that are closer to home.”

Find out more about the Universal X6lp…

X6lp Laser slitter rewinder

Universal Continue to Grow

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2017 has been a record year for Universal Converting Equipment with sales 60% higher than in 2016, which was also a record year. This development has been driven by the rapid growth in sales of the Universal X6 slitting machine. To accommodate this growth, Universal have recently purchased an additional manufacturing unit on the same industrial estate and are actively looking for a further unit. Although the new unit is only 8,000 square feet, it has allowed the manufacture of subassemblies and automatic CCA core cutters to be moved out of the main production area.

Commenting on the expansion, Alan Jones, Managing Director, said “Sales of the Universal X6 slitting machine have been tremendous over the last two years and we are set for another year of growth next year. The additional building together with some re-organisation of our existing buildings will allow the manufacturing area to be increased by 50%. We are currently negotiating for another similar building as we can see ourselves outgrowing the space again. The Universal X6 slitter rewinder is available with a complete package of automation systems to maximise both quality and productivity whilst being simple for the operator to use. We have exciting plans to continue this development of automation systems to ensure our machines offer the highest productivity available. These systems have been cost engineered so they become the standard systems for most of the machines we produce. Offering FREE lifetime on-line and telephone support has given our customers the assurance that if they have any problems in the future they can call on us for help without any upfront costs or contracts. The result of this friendly approach and the high quality machinery has been multiple orders from several of the major global flexible packaging companies.”

Slitter rewinder X6t