Koenig & Bauer Strengthens Presence in the Corrugated Market With New Partner Celmacch

With the recent acquisition of 49% of its shares in the Celmacch Group S.r.l., a leading Italian manufacturer of high-board line flexo presses and rotary die cutters for the corrugated industry, Koenig & Bauer has solidified its leadership role in the corrugated market. The new partnership, which is known as Koenig & Bauer Celmacch, expands the Koenig & Bauer Group's extensive portfolio and will now include its ChromaCUT X Pro as well as Celmacch’s line of well-known equipment including its two die cutters: the ChromaCUT High Tech and ChromaCUT Smart. 

The new firm’s management team have been visiting customers and attending trade shows to celebrate this new partnership. Rodolfo Celotti, founder of Celmacch Group, and Luca Celotti, general manager of Koenig & Bauer Celmacch arrived from Italy to greet attendees at CorrExpo Corrugated Week 2022 in late September 2022 in San Antonio.

“This partnership is providing positive energy in the market and opening many doors for us to display our complete line of equipment,” says Tom Fitzgerald, director of Koenig & Bauer’s corrugated and post press products. “With Koenig & Bauer’s wide network around the world, this new partnership blends the strength of Koenig & Bauer’s global leadership with its own foothold in the corrugated printing and converting markets and our presses that are widely known for highly productive production of rotary die-cut boxes and printed corrugated sheets along with Celmacch’s fine reputation in the corrugated market. This collaboration will bring additional corrugated machinery solutions to customers, especially in the North American market. In fact, this is our strongest year yet.”

The ChromaCUT X Pro rotary die cutter for corrugated board is Koenig & Bauer Celmacch’s top-of-the-range rotary die cutter. It has been designed for the highest-performance rotary production of die-cut corrugated products in ultimate flexo post-printing quality. It handles corrugated sheets with a width of up to 110.24" and a thickness of 0.354", running at speeds up to 12,000 sheets per hour due to the machine’s ability to set up while production is running and fast job changes.

The ChromaCUT X Pro offers many important features. Its easy job change in combination with being a pre-settable rotary die-cutter, its automatic anilox roll changer, and its digital workflow enable quick nearly entirely automated job changeovers with waiting times reduced to an absolute minimum. When the customer has two similar jobs that can be processed without changing the die-cutting tools, the Flying Job Change feature means that even non-stop changeovers are at last a reality. Operators can keep track of jobs due to the machine’s press control via a flexible Profibus system, and its touchscreen allows operators to focus on jobs due to its integrated error diagnostics and online remote maintenance. These options put the customer in a position to handle even the smallest batch sizes and to accommodate market demands for the just-in-time production of ever shorter runs. An Active Air Management System interacts with the controls for 20 separate drying zones per dryer to realize significant reductions in energy consumption. BCT (box compression test) values are up to 15% higher when the Non-Crush Feeder without feed rolls is used, paving the way for reduced paper use without compromising box strength. More sustainable and cost-optimized production is an immediate benefit and gives customers the assurance of being one step ahead of the market.

The ChromaCUT High Tech features many advanced technologies, including stereo changeover while the machine is running, automatic anilox changeover, and the most recent zero-defect technology, which ensures the best printing quality and highest levels of productivity. The direct drive technology is the belt-driven vacuum transport system that guarantees extraordinary printing quality and precision. The rotary modules are appropriately distanced from the last printing module in order to ensure the best results. It also features HBL technology with fixed modules and printing from below and Siemens servo drive technology. Owners of the ChromaCUT High Tech enjoy its competitive operating costs and fast return on investment while operators are pleased with its quick set up and on-the-run changeover as well as its remote maintenance and faults diagnostic.

Print quality, diecutting precision, and productivity can all be found on the ChromaCUT Smart machine. This rotary die cutter with direct drive motors represents a perfect combination of innovation and functionality that can meet the highest expectations and quality standards. It is equipped with Koenig & Bauer Celmacch’s quality control system. A high-spec bundle vacuum stripping stacker completes the machine, featuring high dynamic non-stop system to guarantee perfect sheet cleaning and stacking.

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