UFlex Cylinders Business is going through a solid transformation driven by innovations and unprecedented product quality. “We have been trying to move the needle of the company from a large-scale cylinder manufacturing setup to something that is fairly asset-light – focused more on operational excellence and innovation,” said Parwez Izhar CEO – Cylinders Business and senior VP, UFlex. “Our R&D team has been innovating and introducing new products and services ensuring that all our products are up-to-date with the latest market trends.”
In a view to reduce waste, improve efficiency, eliminate non-value added work and ensure better material flow, the Cylinders Business at UFlex has implemented lean tools. Some of the lean tools implemented are Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, 5s+S, Set Up Reduction, Poka Yoke, TIMWOOD, JIT, Visual Management and TPM.
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Low GSM water-based cylinders
Izhar shared that some of the products introduced by UFlex Cylinders Business are observing a surge in demand. One such product is low GSM laser cylinders for water-based inks. “Low GSM laser cylinders are high in demand these days. With these cylinders, we have thrown up new business opportunities for customers who are looking for green and cost-effective solutions. All these cylinders are produced on our fully automatic robotic laser engraving line,” Izhar said.
The robotic cylinder plant at UFlex offers cylinders with unparalleled performance. UFlex’s robotic plant can produce up to 80 rotogravure cylinders every day. The plant is equipped with the best in class automation and can be operated by a single operator. The cylinders produced are dynamically balanced and can run up to a speed of 500 m/minute on a rotogravure press. This line produces high definition results and has a re-production capability of 6,400 dpi which is not attainable through the conventional electro-mechanical engraving process. UFlex plans to set up another robotic line to expand its business and to make room for that, it will evaluate shifting its existing embossing line to another location.
Bright future ahead
Keeping an optimistic vision with the advent of low GSM laser engraved cylinders, Izhar said, “Since a lot of R&D effort has been going on in the development of water-based inks which facilitates eco-friendly printing, low VOC and low running cost, I strongly believe that the demand for these cylinders is going to be high in domestic as well as in the international markets. Queries are coming in from all corners of the globe at the moment.”
In low GSM laser engraved rotogravure cylinders, cell structures of the cylinders are optimized to an extent that can result in about 15-20% reduction in consumption of ink than the electro-mechanically engraved counterpart to render the same image resolution and enhancement. Izhar explained, “In the printing industry, ink is one of the most expensive consumables. If we can reduce even 10-15% ink wastage, it can result in substantial savings.
“In addition, a laser engraved rotogravure cylinder produces much enhanced and high definition images as compared to an electro-mechanically engraved cylinder. Also, the life of the laser engraved rotogravure cylinder is higher compared to conventional cylinders, which is also a big advantage. Today, laser engraved rotogravure cylinders produced on the robotic line are most suitable for anti-counterfeiting and brand protection solutions and, for the same reason, they are in high demand. Unique security features such as the holo lens effect can be ingrained on these cylinders.”
Laser-embossed cylinders for hand-embossed effect
Another innovation by UFlex Cylinders Business is the laser-embossed rotogravure cylinder. According to Izhar, these cylinders are ahead of the curve. We have been able to create new business opportunities in the area of embossing technology. For laser-embossed cylinders, UFlex has one of the latest 3D scanners from Germany and laser etching systems from Switzerland. A unique embossing effect made possible by UFlex on these cylinders is the hand-embossed effect. The company is targeting a niche market with this product and is already witnessing an upsurge in demand in the domestic as well as international markets.
“Hand-embossed effect on rotogravure cylinders is much popular in China where it is done manually. Manual engraving is a time-consuming process; however, hand engraving is proficiency with labors in China. Of late, due to the strained India-China relationship recently, Indian customers who were earlier looking up to China for hand-embossed effects are now scouting for vendors and suppliers in India. In India, UFlex has started producing laser-embossed cylinders with hand-embossed effects. Getting a hand-embossed effect on a table cover, car sheet, cover, curtain, etc. has been made possible with the launch of laser-embossed cylinders by UFlex. Since we are in the initial phase, the volume is low but the interest for hand-embossed cylinders is on an upsurge,” said Izhar.
Cylinders for metal embossing and textile printing
UFlex is using its laser-embossed cylinders in the steel industry for metal embossed sheets. “Metal embossed sheets are used in home interiors and out of home applications like decorations of modular kitchen, false ceiling, corporate signboards, lift and metro wall, etc. Due to increased demand for these cylinders, we are in the process of ramping up our capacity to meet the increased demand.
“In addition, for the first time, we have started making cylinders for bulk textile printing which was again an area where China had always displayed its expertise. So, with the help of our R&D team, we have set up our engraving parameters to achieve the desired effect on the textile,” said Izhar.
Special effects through specialized cylinders
“We are the pioneers in making specialized cylinders. We developed special effects like glitter printing for gift wraps and textured embossing on artificial leather (PU/PVC). These products are in very high demand in the European and the US markets,” said Izhar.
Automated chrome plating on rotogravure cylinder
UFlex Cylinders Business has installed a new automated chrome plating line for Rotogravure cylinders. “The manual chrome plating line that we had since long has completed its product life cycle. Hence the need to replace it with an automatic line was felt. With the automated line in place, efficiency, consistency and quality of the cylinders have improved multi-folds. The new line can produce 200 cylinders per day,” said Izhar.
COVID-19 challenges
“Lockdown was an unprecedented experience for all of us and nobody was prepared for it. As soon as the lockdown was announced, there was a serious disruption in our operations because of the supply chain challenges – products were ready but we were not able to dispatch it. However, we managed to overcome this challenge without much delay as our products fall under the essential products category. Another challenge was about getting the workforce into the factory and re-organizing the factory keeping social distancing norms in mind. Our focus was always to keep our workforce safe and healthy. During this difficult time, our visionary chairman and managing director supported and motivated us to work hard so that our products could reach our customers on time,” concluded Izhar.