Sandusky Packaging, based in Northeast Ohio, has purchased a new KBA Rapida 106 41-inch seven-color press to serve the needs of its pharmaceutical, food, and automobile customers. The press is configured with System Brunner Instrument Flight — one of the first presses in the country with this technology — as well as new UV capabilities and a cornucopia of automation. It will begin operation in late summer at the company’s 50,000 sq ft facility.
“We’re dedicated to responding to fast-moving trends in our industry that will propel us ahead of our competition,” says Jim Longer, president of Sandusky Packaging. “These trends — speed, precision, and service — dictate the need to make internal changes to our facility, which include faster set-ups, spot-on color, faster press speeds, more intuitive software to work in tandem with our press operators, and a wide variety of substrates. After careful and extensive research, we concluded that the KBA Rapida 106 was the best choice for our customers and our future success.”
The System Brunner’s Instrument Flight print quality measuring systems along with the KBA inline QualiTronic Color Control capability notifies the press operator of the print quality achieved under the selected standard and can ensure compliance with different standard specifications every day, which is especially important to the pharmaceutical and food packaging industries that demand high-quality color fidelity.
The company plans to move into the highly competitive and highly demanding cosmetic packaging market. The press’s UV capability will provide faster drying and a variety of new high-end coating techniques and applications. It also provides a new ability to print on foil board for the cosmetic market. “It’s a great selling point for us,” says Longer.
From left: Greg Schiefelbein, KBA Regional Sales Manager; Randall Johnson, Sandusky Vice President; and James Longer, Sandusky President
