Polish packaging printer Werner
Kenkel recently expanded its press fleet with a second giant sheetfed offset
press from Koenig & Bauer (KBA). The new Rapida 145 with five printing
units and coater will predominantly print corrugated packaging like the KBA
Rapida 162a which has been successfully in operation at the firm for a few
years. The new press will expand the company’s production capacity by approx.
80 per cent.
Werner Kenkel is a family
enterprise founded in 1979. It specialised in the production of packaging made
of solid board and corrugated using flexo and offset from the beginning. The
firm currently has three sites and its cutting-edge offset facility is located
in Krzyck Wielki. The first Rapida 162a was installed at this plant in 2010
followed recently by a new Rapida 145. The firm’s co-owner Damian Kenkel: “The
key reasons for the purchase of another press was down to the continuously
growing packaging market in Poland, increasing customer requirements in terms
of quality and finishing as well as the necessity to expand production
capacity. Given the extremely positive experience we have had with our first
Rapida 162a we decided once again on a large-format KBA press. For the last
four years our Rapida 162a has predominantly printed packaging products. Now
after transferring the majority of these jobs to the new Rapida 145 we plan to
use its outstanding capabilities for finishing and special effects.”
High level of automation
The new Rapida 145 with five
printing units and coater suits production at Werner Kenkel perfectly. It is
mounted on a plinth measuring 420mm (16.5in) and its features include a
board-handling package, nonstop facilities at the feeder, SIS sidelay-free
infeed, DriveTronic SPC DriveTronic SPC dedicated plate-cylinder drives with
KBA Plate-Ident plate recognition and pre-registration, CleanTronic Synchro for
the simultaneous washing of the blankets and impression cylinders, DriveTronic
SRW simultaneous roller washing in the idle units parallel to printing and KBA
VariDryBLUE energy-saving drying technology. The ErgoTronic ColorControl
console is equipped with ErgoTronic Lab and QualiTronic ColorControl for inline
colour control. The press is integrated in pile logistics at the feeder and
delivery as well as connected to the firm’s MIS and IT systems, just like the
Rapida 162a.
Wies?aw Grabsztunowicz,
production manager and head planner at Werner Kenkel: “Only a few vendors offer
the format we wanted. We knew that KBA is a trusted supplier with its sheetfed
offset facility near the Polish border which was an important benefit. We were
satisfied with the expertise shown by the KBA sales and service team in Poland
when we received our Rapida 162a. The press itself also works problem-free. A
further advantage was that our press operators were familiar with how to
operate a Rapida. We therefore chose KBA once again”.
More production flexibility
Rapida 145’s configuration allows
this press to take over most jobs from the larger Rapida 162a. Wies?aw
Grabsztunowicz is convinced that the firm’s flexibility has improved due to the
short makeready times delivered by the new press: “We spent several days
discussing the optimum equipment of the new press with representatives from KBA
CEE. In doing so, we took into account the enormous potential of our six-colour
Rapida 162a with two coaters (for dispersion and UV coating). The option to
transfer a large part of our orders which require basic dispersion coating to
the Rapida 145 and to exploit its high level of performance allowed us to free
up capacity of our two-coater press which we now use more for high-grade
finishing jobs. We are thus able to expand our product spectrum considerably”.
Damian Kenkel: “Our customers are
global players, from the FMCG, electronic and chemical industries. Their
demands in terms of quality force us to invest continuously in our press fleet.
The inauguration of the Rapida 145 fits this strategy perfectly”.
Jan Korenc, managing director of
KBA CEE, adds: “We are pleased that Werner Kenkel has once again invested in
technology from KBA and are convinced that the new Rapida 145 will contribute
to the firm’s further development. This extensively automated press is suited
to the economical production of smaller print runs. We are proud that the
circle of Polish printers who bank on high-end sheetfed offset solutions from
KBA has grown with this press installation at Werner Kenkel”.
