Delga Group has installed a Highcon Euclid laser cutting and creasing device at its packaging wing, while its recently launched labels operation has added a new 100% recyclable option.
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The group’s managing director Ian Conetta said the Euclid’s capabilities married perfectly with its focus on “short-run, multi-SKU and very, very high-quality”.
The Rochester-headquartered group celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. It used to specialise in printing and packaging for the entertainment industry but has diversified into new areas.
“We have reinvented ourselves and a measure of the success of our reinvention is that in July alone we brought on 12 new paying customers, at a time of pending recession,” Conetta said.
“Our growth in sales has been greater than anticipated as we come out of lockdown.”
The Euclid III arrived just prior to lockdown and as a result engineers from Highcon’s Israel base were unable to come and install it as originally planned, he explained.
Installation has now been completed, with training underway and the device set to be fully operational from the 1st of September.
The Euclid III runs at up to 1,500 sheets per hour and can handle a range of carton-board, labels, and microflute up to 1.2mm thick.
The maximum sheet size is 760x1,060mm.
It creases using Highcon’s patented digital technology rather than the traditional analogue rules and channels. The Euclid’s laser cutting options include cutting, perforating and etching.
“It fits with our setup. We took a leap of faith when we installed the HP Indigo 12000 HD with a heavy substrate option. The Highcon adds to that flexibility.”
At its Delga Labels operation, which launched in May, the group has also boosted its sustainable product offerings with a new fully recyclable label spec.
The label uses an adhesive that washes off at 30 degrees, and Delga believes it is the first digital label printer with the offering.
Business development manager Tom Stone (pictured) commented: “We’ve been focused on two areas: compostable and fully-recyclable and we’ve got both signed off in under six months.
“Adhesive has been the killer. But with the new cold wash-off label technology, it will enable brands/brand owners to class their products as fully recyclable.
“If the label is applied to, for example, a ready meal sleeve the whole sleeve including the label is fully recyclable,” Stone explained.
“It’s ideal for businesses with multiple SKUs and I don’t think anybody else is doing it in our arena. It’s really exciting and nice to be able to say to our customers that they can reduce plastics.”
Stone said the business was also planning to add flexible packaging to its offerings.
Conetta added: “We thought it was time to spread some good news. The situation has given us time to do some R&D in labels, and we have a great story to tell. The labels business and the new laser cutter deliver significant added-value.”
“Labels has been a great success and complements our packaging side. Fortune favours the brave!”
The £14m turnover group also includes CSP, which prints for the public sector and NHS.
All bar 10 of the group’s 130 staff are now back from furlough.
Read the original article on Print Week.