With 95 employees, Van de Steeg, a member of the
ASG Group (part of Atlas Holdings LLC) since 2011, made the transition to the
growth market of packaging. Since 2012, it has been producing packaging for
national and international customers from the beauty, perfume, and body care
sectors. The old printing presses quickly reached their limits. “We had a
Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 in the Thalgau plant in Austria, and were very
impressed with its quality and above all the short makeready times,” reports
Nassette. “Heidelberg has been looking after us as a global account for more
than ten years, and recommended exactly the right press for our new
requirements – a Speedmaster XL 106 with six colors and double coating unit.”
“We tailor our services to our customers’
requirements and expectations, regardless of the industry,” explains Hermen
Nassette, Managing Director of the company Van de Steeg in the Dutch city of
Enschede. This is very clear from the company’s history: established in 1931,
Van de Steeg started as a service provider for the textile industry. After its
decline, the company focused on media printing. Together with the record label
Polydor, the printing of album covers became a core business. With the
introduction of CDs, Digipak media packaging was introduced and produced for
major companies like Sony, Warner, and EMI. As this market diminished in the
age of streaming services, Van de Steeg experienced strong growth in the
cosmetics market.
Highly
automated Speedmaster XL 106 for outstanding results
The Speedmaster XL 106 has been in operation in
Enschede since the beginning of this year, replacing two competitor presses.
Van de Steeg is now specializing in solid cardboard, finishing effects, and
luxury packagings. With an average run length of 3,500 sheets per order and
lots of job changes during three-shift operation, makeready time is an
important subject. This is where the “Hycolor Multidrive” inking units and its
parallel processes come in, greatly shortening makeready times. The inking and
dampening units can operate independently from the main drive, which means that
the inking units can be washed while the printing plates are changed via the
main drive or rubber blankets and impression cylinders are washed. With the
Prinect Image Control 3 color measurement system, opaque white can be measured
and even controlled. This enables process control and color constancy on
transparent or metalized substrates, as are frequently found in luxury
packagings. “Makeready is now quick and the print quality as well as the
reliability of the press are first class,” says Nassette with satisfaction.
“This press offers absolute added value and we have received exactly the right
machine thanks to the comprehensive consultation.” Since the Speedmaster XL 106
is the only press in the press room, its high availability is guaranteed by a
36Plus service agreement. The press can be used for both UV and conventional
printing, which delivers very high flexibility.
From
packaging producer to packaging developer
Today, high-end packagings make up around 70
percent of Van de Steen’s business, while media printing accounts for 30
percent, marking a complete reversal. Its core business consists of developing
and producing luxury packaging solutions from solid and folding cardboard –
from design to completion – for the retail trade. High-quality finishing effects
ensure eye-catching packagings at the point of sale. The double coating unit of
the Speedmaster XL 106 permits a wide choice of variants here– matt and gloss
effects, UV coating, dispersion and drip-off coatings.
The topic of sustainability and reduction of
plastic consumption is extremely important in the area of high-end cosmetics.
Environmentally friendly packagings made from cardboard and soy- or water-based
coatings are very well received here. “For high-end packagings in the luxury
segment, it is the creativity that counts, not the price only,” explains
Nassette. “We will continue to tap this growth market and with the new printing
press are very well positioned for this.”
