Kava reveals new investment in Chinese market
Print Solutions
Edale, the British manufacturer of tailor made flexographic presses for the carton and label sectors, is entering the Chinese market having secured a new deal with premium folding carton converter, Kava.
Announced at drupa, Jiangsu based Kava is to install a flexo based FL5 press and servo driven web fed FDC-600 flatbed die cutter, creating a fully in line single pass carton production system. Notably, the investment sees the first Edale machines installed in the Chinese market.
Jiangua Wang, CEO of Kava, said: ‘As we revealed at drupa, our decision to invest in Edale technology is driven by our need to consistently push our capabilities. We have traditionally relied exclusively on offset printing for our folding carton production, but when it became clear that we needed to expand our capacity and quality, Edale’s advanced flexographic technology was the way to go. It’s bringing all the best elements of flexo to carton packaging production.
‘The Chinese market demands agility and quality at speed. Our Edale FL5 press and FDC-600 die cutter investment will give us the power to produce even intricate designs and small jobs at lightning speed.’
The Edale FL5 is designed to be a versatile single pass carton press, capable of running any reel fed substrate from the thinnest films and sustainability focused paper based substrates to cartonboard. It is designed, built and tailored in-house by the British manufacturer for ultimate configurability, with different finishing options available.
The FL5 can combine printing, cutting, creasing, Braille embossing, cold foil stamping, varnishing, lamination and waste stripping in a single pass. Challenging printing tradition, the business notes that a skilled operator can complete a single pass from raw material to finished carton in just under one minute. Run in line with the FL5 press, the FDC-600 flatbed die cutter uses a servo driven constant tension web transport system to create the single pass folding carton production line.
Ian Eccleston, sales manager, agent network at Edale, commented: ‘The challenges that Kava aims to overcome are real pressure points for carton converters around the world, and classic offset printing can be a major workflow headache when multiple passes are needed. This is slowing the entire supply chain down, adding costs and stretching the workforce to capacity. We are challenging the status quo in the carton industry with the flexographic FL5 press because these processes are completely in line, which results in a pristine finished carton in a single pass. What is more, the addition of the FDC-600 web fed flatbed die cutter adds even more flexibility.’
Edale’s Chinese agent, You-Print Digital Technology Co Ltd, has played a key role in supporting this new investment.
Pictured left to right: Xuedong Xu and Haoran Wan, Kava; Alex Zhang, You-Print Digital Technology Co Ltd; Jianhua Wang, Kava; James Boughton and Ian Eccleston, Edale; and Shine Shao, You-Print Digital Technology Co Ltd.
