BOBST has announced the official opening on 16 May 2018 of Bobst Changzhou Co. Ltd, BOBST’s second production facility in China. Titled “China 4.0 – Beyond your packaging future” the formal inauguration will be followed by two days of Open House events on May 17-18.

The new site is a state-of-the-art greenfield facility located in Changzhou, in the Jiangsu province of China, and is dedicated to web-fed printing and converting technologies for flexible materials.The opening of the new plant is a major step in the next phase of the development of BOBST activities for the Asian flexible packaging industry. It also bears witness to the Group’s enduring commitment to the highest BOBST manufacturing standards in its delocalized production plants and to the development of gravure printing and lamination solutions dedicated to the region’s specific requirements and industry practices, while continuing to consolidate its leadership in Asia.

“The success in the region of the RS 5002 gravure press and the CL 750 laminators owes to the fact that they combine the unrivalled quality of the BOBST engineering and the reliable and efficient manufacturing experience and capabilities of BOBST local plants”, explains Sebastien Geffrault, Zone Business Director of BOBST Business Unit Web-fed for South East Asia “The other factor, which is a distinctive feature of BOBST technology worldwide, is the flexibility of the equipment in terms of options such as the inking system and the drying, that can be customized for geographically located consumable types and process preferences”.

The commitment to provide solutions that integrate the requirements of the packaging industry in Asia is also exemplified by the Competence Center that is part of the Bobst Changzhou facility. Operated by an experienced team of BOBST engineers and specialists, the Center will provide full support and advice to Asian clients throughout gravure printing and lamination trial runs, in addition to being the location for the joint development of process improvements with other suppliers of equipment, devices and consumables, and of course for R&D and testing BOBST own equipment. “Leading companies choose leading technology and converting companies that choose BOBST will gain an advantage on competition because our leading technology is developed exploiting not only the advantages of our Group’s global synergies but also in cooperation with local competences. This means that we can deliver converters equipment and services that are ready for the future of the industry,” says Lubin Lu, Zone Business Director of BOBST Business Unit Web-fed for Greater China.

“This is an important event for the whole of Asia because the new structure in place will further enhance the advantages of our technology and innovations” says Nilesh Pinto, Zone Business Director of BOBST Business Unit Web-fed for India “This is why we are inviting customers from India and South East Asia to attend the inaugural Open House on 18 May 2018, when the overview of BOBST printing and converting technologies and the demonstrations of the gravure printing press and the compact multi-technology laminator will be held in English alongside Chinese” he concludes.