On the strength of highly significant economic and financial results and on the eve of a second half of 2023 which will see the launch of technological solutions for the label market at Labelexpo and for corrugated cardboard at Fefco Congress, BOBST reiterates the importance of its vision, launched now three years ago for an increasingly digitalized packaging supply chain
The recent exit from the stock exchange has not caused any problems for the Swiss multinational group leader in the packaging printing and converting sectors, and today thanks to JBF Holding, no less than 85,29% of the Group’s shares are held by BOBST family. Also in 2022 the financial results were extraordinary: 1.8 billion Swiss francs (CHF) in turnover, +17.8% with a net result of 115 million CHF.
“The packaging industry is in the midst of a digital revolution, which is forcing every company to innovate, challenge their approach, think end to end and digital, and leverage networks and platforms to deliver new business models for their clients”, said Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO, Bobst Group. “At BOBST, our industry vision, based on four key pillars – connectivity, digitalization, automation and sustainability – greatly supports this transformation. The new solutions announced are the latest in a line of continuous innovation to help our customers thrive in this new reality together”.
As far as the label sector is concerned, despite a macroeconomic scenario which is influencing its activities, Bobst nonetheless records a good level of orders and new opportunities. Further consolidation is expected for 2024, with volumes starting to grow again. In flexible packaging, 2023 was the year of the return to pre-covid levels, albeit with some caution, but there is uncertainty due to the new legislation that will impact sustainability deadlines and commitments in 2024.
The main technological novelties for production of flexible packaging
The flexible packaging market is facing growing demands for more environmentally responsible materials and better recycling, while maintaining high quality in printing, metallizing, coating, and laminating.
VISION K5 HS metallizer, a new machine launched at the end of June: high performance and high-speed metallizing, designed to handle a variety of film types including heat sensitive, thin gauge and sustainable substrates. Includes the largest coating drum in the industry at 700mm. It is the ideal metallizing solution available for converters.
NOVA MW laminator, available at the end of July, is a super compact laminating machine with an ergonomic and user-friendly design, perfect for solventless lamination of all narrow web applications within the flexible packaging market. Moreover, it is the ideal lamination solution for the growing digital print market.
VISION CI for paper applications will be launched in Q4 2023. A flexo printing press serving the ever-growing market for paper, with further capability for diameter and higher web tension. The machine can run 120g paper at 400m/minute and includes features such as BOBST’s Extended Color Gamut (ECG) technology and SmartGPS to automate the start-up process.
While we wait for Labelexpo, here are the latest novelties for the labels sector
The labels sector is a truly multi-technology environment with both conventional and digital solutions. BOBST proposes novelties for both – flexo and digital presses, enhancing user experience, ease-of-use, new automation features and faster quality inspection setup.
BOBST has expanded its portfolio of die-cutting solutions introducing a quick change rotary die-cutting, which provides a 50% time saving to change magnetic cylinders. In addition to the 370mm version, BOBST has introduced a 530mm High-Performance semi-rotary die-cutter with automatic plate-change. Both modules include the Digi-Gap feature for even faster job changeovers.
Meanwhile the Digital Master series will soon receive an enhancement package, which includes new features, such as novelties for BOBST Connect, third party integration and new Accucheck functionalities. A totally re-designed BOBST Sphere user interface will come first to the Digital Master series and in-line flexo
M6, and then gradual implementation to other platforms. It combines in one single point of control all flexo and digital processes to ensure BOBST’s most user-friendly HMI ever created.
BOBST digital printing technology has been officially Pantone® validated!
ESG Criteria (Environmental, social, and governance)
BOBST is deploying an active strategy on sustainability, one of the four key pillars of its vision. The company has joined the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), reflecting its commitment to urgent climate action. BOBST has clearly formalized the company’s targets and is evaluating decarbonization options for its operational activities to reduce its carbon footprint. Other key ESG-related activities include the ongoing development of recyclable substrates, the development of water-based inks, and the reduction of its machines’ electricity consumption by 10-20% by the end of 2030.
It is clear, as reiterated by Jean Pascal Bobst, that sustainability has costs to bear and the entire supply chain but also the stakeholders must be available but above all willing to accept these costs, otherwise it is useless to talk about sustainability.
“At BOBST, we pride ourselves on having a deep understanding of what our customers need, thanks to very close partnerships”, concluded Jean-Pascal Bobst. “These latest enhancements to our portfolio all resolve specific pain points that our customers have raised. And collectively, they take us closer to more automated, connected, digitalized and sustainable packaging production”.
Attention to young people
Molto bello infine il momento dedicato ai giovani talenti BOBST, tanto che è stato creato un apposito composto da Mattia Maffei, Allegra Alessi, Marion Barner e Florent Luscher che hanno raccontato il proprio percorso formativo e come, grazie alle loro competenze, riescono a dare valore aggiunto alle attività quotidiane in cui sono coinvolti. Si sente spesso parlare di giovani generazioni, qui ne abbiamo avuto un esempio concreto, con un percorso strutturato che porterà questi giovani manager a crescere all’interno dell’azienda e a ricoprire sempre più in ruoli chiave.
Finally, the moment dedicated to the young BOBST talents was very nice, so much so that a special group was created which saw Mattia Maffei, Allegra Alessi, Marion Barner and Florent Luscher talk about their training path and how, thanks to their skills, they manage to add value to the daily activities they are involved in. We often hear about the younger generations, but here we could hear about a structured path that will lead these young managers to grow increasingly within the company in key roles.
