Austrian Constantia Flexibles has invested in one Comexi F2 MC flexographic press and two Comexi S2 DT slitters with double turret at its new plant Constantia Ecoflex Ahmedabad in India. The official opening of the plant took place on 20 November 2019 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The machines will enable the Austrian company to delve deeper into a greener future.
At Constantia Ecoflex Ahmedabad, production focuses on the more environmentally friendly packaging family EcoLam, which is part of Constantia Flexibles’ innovative product line Ecolutions. EcoLam is a lightweight Mono-PE lamination suitable for a great variety of packaging applications. Due to its mono-material structure it is fully recyclable, and its carbon footprint is approximately 32% lower than that of comparable products. The EcoLam family comes in different barrier grades (EcoLam, EcoLamPlus, EcoLamHighPlus) to deliver the barrier needs for a diversified range of products. The Ecoflex plant has an area of 24,500 square meters and currently employs 50 people. The plant will be supplying customers over the world.
“We at Constantia Flexibles, the third largest producer of flexible packaging, are fully aware of our responsibility towards the environment and we understand the needs of our customers and end consumers. We want to be the driving force of positive changes in the packaging industry and therefore we constantly working hard to evolve in many fields of sustainable packaging. Opening the first plant focusing only on recyclable packaging is a major achievement not only for Constantia Flexibles but for the whole flexible packaging industry,” says Stefan Grote, EVP consumer division at Constantia Flexibles.
The relationship between the two companies began in 2003 with the installation of two slitters at Constantia Tobepal plant in Spain and was consolidated later with the acquisition of a Comexi flexographic press with central drum, which was installed at Constantia Jean d’Arc in France. After this purchase, the Austrian company reinforced its confidence in Comexi with the acquisition of an additional three flexographic presses, six slitters, and one laminator, which were installed in the various plants from Constantia around the globe. Furthermore, Comexi has supported Constantia challenge of becoming the world leading company in innovation and sustainability by offering Constantia employees several training workshops and courses in the Manel Xifra Boada Technological Center from Comexi, located in its headquarters in Girona.
“Comexi is really proud of being part of this step forward and I am sure that Ecoflex will be a game-changer in the flexible packaging industry. My sincere congratulation to all Constantia team for their vision and courage to push forward the environmentally friendly solution,” said Agustí Combis, key account manager of Comexi.
The Comexi F2 MC family of flexographic printing presses machine has been designed to provide solutions to the demanding challenges of the flexible packaging market. The robust design along with state-of-the-art electronics minimize the impacts and vibrations and allow converters to achieve higher speeds without bouncing. The new drying system minimizes the necessary energy while ensuring a perfect drying of the substrate. Inking and doctoring, which are considered the core of the flexographic printing presses, have been optimized through three different patents in the design of the doctor blades and the inking system. The collaboration with the top suppliers of video and inspection systems adds in a fully automatic pressure and register set up system with minimum waste.
The Comexi S2 DT, the group’s best-seller slitter, slit most of the webs used in the flexible packaging market, at a very high production rate due to its double turret output. The integration of a laser-in-line processing system allows micro and macro perforations performance, among others finishing processes.
