Top-Pol in Zbrosławice is the first print company in Poland to use a Rapida RDC 106 rotary die-cutter from Koenig & Bauer. The machine was purchased as part of a project to allow the printing of innovative IML labels in an offset process, and which received funding support from the EU. The rotary die-cutter aims to guarantee production stability and high cutting speeds, alongside significantly reduced makeready times.
Top-Pol is a family-run company that has been active on the printing market since 1989, and has become a specialist for the production of labels using non-absorbent substrates – primarily plastics – since the end of the 1990s.
“Our customers in the food industry, along with our customers in other sectors, expect labels of the highest quality. Accordingly, the solutions we use must also represent the highest standards and the best possible performance that the global market has to offer. The latest investment in the Rapida RDC 106 will more than satisfy these expectations, which are becoming more and more demanding due to changes to the market and to consumer tastes. These aspects are all the more important in the current global situation, which has, of course, also impacted our order volume,” Co-proprietor Marcel Topolski says.
Topolski says, “We were one of the pioneers in the use of UV offset technologies for substrates like this. IML labels soon became our flagship product and currently account for 70 to 80% of our production volume. Another key area is the production of lids and covers made from PE, PS or PP for plastic packaging, for example for yoghurt pots.”
Top-Pol exports 30 to 40% of its production output. The end customers for the labels are primarily companies operating in the food and construction industries. “The systematic development we are pursuing means we are constantly modernizing our production machinery, also with regard to finishing processes,” says Marcel Topolski.
“Once again, we have assumed a pioneering role, this time by introducing the Rapida RDC 106 onto the Polish market,” says Topolski. “As we had already been successful using rotary label die-cutting in the past, the purchase was an ideal opportunity to continue to enhance our productivity and production. After all, our products are quite difficult to produce. The IML labels are made of plastic and also feature indentations to make it easier for the end customer to separate them later on. This makes it a perfect opportunity to broaden our knowledge, both for our own and for the manufacturer’s benefit.”