Now, following the recent upgrading of the slitting hall with a bank of new Titan slitters (PPM October 2012), an order has been signed for a second Fischer & Krecke press – this time a 20SIX, the model unveiled at last year’s drupa. In fact, 34 of these presses have already been sold and CTP’s is the 35th sale since its launch at drupa.
Much of CTP flexibles’ growth in recent times can be attributed to the outstanding print quality that’s emerged from the Fischer & Krecke FP-16-S eight-colour flexo press purchased two years ago as part of a R36-million upgrade. ‘Since that installation, business has rocketed,’ confirms an upbeat Gary Seale.
‘The press continues to perform to the highest levels of cost-effectiveness and profitability,’ he adds, ‘and our customers have been amazed at the enormous strides in quality.’
He confirms that the business continues to enjoy record sales thanks to the strategy of focusing on the upper end of the flexible market, especially targeting blue-chip customers in the snack food and confectionery sectors.
‘The plant is going flat out – operating 24/7 – and we didn’t even close down over the holiday period. Our F&K press and our slitting facilities are running full tilt and we urgently require additional printing capacity,’ Gary remarks.
Further expansion
So now the business is set to expand once more – and, aside from this investment, is taking over a further 8 000m2 of space at the huge Caxton/CTP printing facility in Ndabeni, Cape Town.
Naturally, Gary and his team wanted the best possible press to kick off this new business era, to carry their production into the future and to meet customers’ increasing demands for the highest quality delivered at the lowest price.
They identified many of the features offered by the F&K 20SIX as compelling reasons to purchase this press. Among its attributes are the compactness of the CI section and the line’s small footprint; the accessibility of the components contained outside the CI frames; the efficient drying system; and the low waste generated during job changes thanks to the smartGPS system.
Ink and solvent consumption are also significantly reduced, thanks to the revolutionary AutoClean washing and inking system, while Bobst’s latest low-energy operation system includes a number of technologies and features for reduced consumption of energy – considerably reducing its carbon footprint.
‘Based on our experience with our first F&K press, we had no hesitation in ordering a second one,’ states Gary. ‘Combined with our new slitters, this latest eight-colour press will provide ample capacity to cope with current demand and future expansion.’
