Herbert Walkers will take delivery of a Signature Elite folder gluer next month, its third significant investment inside a year.
The new machine joins a Bobst foiling platen installed in followed by a Xerox Iridesse. The folder gluer is being provided by Lloyd Print Services and is a highly automated Signature Elite 110CS4/6 Autoset.
It joins two existing lines and is required to meet growing and sustained demand for cartons from a number of sectors. Managing director Mike Lammas says: “With so many brands and retailers reshoring their packaging requirements to the UK, and our enviable reputation in the marketplace, we are experiencing exceptionally high demand for our expertise. It’s important to us that we maintain high quality standards and a responsive service as we continue to grow and this investment is part of that commitment.”
The folder gluer bristles with servo motors to make hands-free adjustments in minutes, electronics to capture live production data and to display it on large monitors and technology which closes gaps in a stream of blanks to maximise operating speed. It runs at 700m/min and is capable of 225,000 cartons an hour when suitable. Job changeover can be two to three minutes for basic cartons.
This makes the line suitable both to long runs thanks to its speed and to smaller jobs thanks to automated set up. On repeat jobs the settings are recalled from memory, on new jobs the adjustments are made automatically from the inside of the carton.
The Herbert Walkers machine is being supplied with an HHS gluing system which includes a quality inspection and rejection route for substandard cartons.
“This new machine will be ideal for both repeat projects and for more complex, bespoke cartons,” says Lammas. “If the Signature Elite AutoSet cannot produce a carton, it cannot be done, so this new investment will play a central role in our ability to keep innovating for our customers and responding to their creative projects.”
Lloyd Print Services has enjoyed a busy time in the last two years as packaging printers respond to growing demand from existing customers and for new products like Covid testing kits which have not existed previously. Director Simon Lloyd says: “The Signature Elite Autoset is the most advanced machine on the market and the future of canon gluers worldwide. Without a doubt it will futureproof Herbert Walkers‘ folding carton gluer department for decades to come.”
