BELGIUM • The twin Martin Automatic MBSF splicers at the family owned converter, based in Bornem, between Antwerp and Brussels, include several customised options. In a typical Martin butt splicer configuration, the festoon (accumulator) that supplies web to the press during the splice cycle, is mounted at the end of the unwind section. Seeking to minimise the use of production floorspace, Desmedt asked Martin’s designers to come up with a solution that offered a smaller footprint. The ingenious result was to stack the festoon on top of the unwind, with the rollers at waist-level.
The two MBSF (“F” for film) splicers are also fitted with Martin’s latest development, a reverse-side-tape laser assist device, which accurately aligns the tape with the web edge and eliminates any hand/eye coordination errors. According to Desmedt, it is particularly effective if the edges of the matrix are reduced to save waste, and to date has worked well with no missed splices in commercial production since the training period at installation. According to Henri Köhler, General Manager at Desmedt: “The Martin Automatic MBSF splicers have given us 25–30% more output on our different narrow web flexo lines.” Desmedt is proud of its Lean Manufacturing programme, which in addition to the Martin Automatic equipment includes a waste removal system and turret rewinders, all designed to allow non-stop production. In addition, the company has encouraged its workforce to become involved in the programme, and created an atmosphere in which everyone is invited to suggest ways and means of improving efficiency, however minor.
Originally established in Brussels in 1889, Desmedt Labels was one of the first in continental Europe to achieve HD-Flexo status. The product portfolio includes promotional labels, coupons, dry peel labels, tags, duo and trio labels, and on the security side, tamper evident and RFID labels. The company has both flexo and digital print capability, is accredited with EN ISO 9001-2008, and is fully FSC compliant.