Boxway picks up the challenge

The three-plant group has invested in both flexo and digital capacity as well as IT and design to meet requirements of regional brands.

Andrew Woollard clearly likes a challenge. Little more than a year ago he took on three box making plants that even former owner Saica would admit were somewhat unloved. 

These became Boxway and a year later they have been cleaned up, there has been investment and the people have regained their mojo. In short they have been reinvigorated.

The first phase of an investment programme was planned before the takeover was finalised. Peterlee has installed a Weipong Venus 1630 five-colour rotary die cutter, able to print on both sides of a sheet. It has also added a Kolbus MN400 MultiNova gluer and more recently a Kongsberg cutting table.

The Exeter factory has taken a HanWay HighJet 2500B inkjet press using water based inks as the group’s first step into digital printing. It has also received an Eterna die cutter and Kongsberg cutting table.

The four-colour Bobst flatbed die cutter at Telford is being refurbished while Artios Cad design software is being implemented across each of the plants. Each also receives an ink mixing kitchen from Siegwerk and X-Rite technology for colour management. It has been about ensuring that Boxway’s ability to deliver high quality, post-print corrugated is up to scratch.

The sweet spot is short to medium runs for those regional brands or niche nationwide brands that are too small to appeal to the major groups. These are frequently looking for better quality print, especially for packaging that is delivered to the consumer’s doorstep. The Artios software comes into its own in being able to overlay the graphics on the digital render of a box to check before committing to plates, that logos and text will be in the correct place once the job reaches the press. Being right first time will have a significant impact on service levels and waste. It will have greatest impact on the new digital print arm where there are no plates and jobs can be turned in an instant, or as close to an instant as corrugated box makers are used to. “We can make short run high quality print very rapidly into printed and converted product. And this is in demand,” the spokesman says.

It will also be possible to move from file received to file on press in minutes rather than in days thanks to a digital workflow. But while the skeleton is in place, Boxway will not be developing a web to print arm. While this is as close to a start up operation as is possible in the UK, it is impossible to discard Woollard’s long experience in the industry. He knows that it is an industry that likes to do business face to face rather than file to file.