Established in 1992 and managed by James Costello and Johnny Woods, Irish converter Label Tech, now part of the Asteria Group, has built a reputation among its clients for delivering high-quality, innovative self-adhesive label solutions. Operating from its 20,000 square foot headquarters in Santry, close to Dublin’s international airport, the company has used its knowledge and expertise to serve industries as diverse as food & beverage, health & nutrition, pharmaceutical, and transport & logistics.

​​​​“We have always stressed the ‘Tech’ part of our business, enabling us to build strong, collaborative relationships with customers who value support at all stages of a job from creation to delivery, especially on some of the more complex labels we are now manufacturing,” says Costello.  These include multi-layer jobs and peel and reveal labels using some of the latest filmic substrates on the market.

To cope with such demanding work, Label Tech began an investment program with Mark Andy that now sees two of the American manufacturer’s Evolution E5 presses installed.  Both are 13” (330mm) 8-color machines equipped with full UV curing.  They have been specified with unwind roll lifts and dual frame rewinds, die stations and sheeting units with a conveyor.  In addition, turn bars, a cold foil facility and laminating unit are mounted on overhead rails, and both have BST inspection cameras fitted.  The E5s are capable of up to 230m/min running speeds.

Significantly, a recent upgrade to LED/UV has brought added value to the Mark Andy presses, as Derek McLoughlin, flexographic print manager explains: “Where previously we were operating a 4.7kW mercury lamp system at 100%, we now run a 1.7kW LED system at around 70% – you can imagine the energy savings with the ‘instant-on and -off’ as well as longer lamp life.” 

The switch involved a change of ink, which although expensive, is more than offset by improved press efficiency.  “It also fits well with sustainability and since we’re growing the film side of the business, the fact that LED/UV is more efficient is a double bonus,” McLoughlin adds.

Asked to summarize the benefit of the company’s Evolution presses, Costello says that job-dependent, he has seen an increase of around 50% in throughput, which has allowed the company to replan its shift pattern and reduce pressure on its busy workforce of 50.  Currently operating a double-day shift five days a week, Label Tech clearly has plenty of capacity for growth and the capability of more embellishment, which FMCG brand owners are demanding to improve the visual appearance of their products and increase shelf-offtake.

An investment in Flint Group’s cloud-based Vivo inking system has also boosted productivity.  “We can be right first time every time now, which is essential for brand consistency, and it has also allowed us to run jobs four-color where they used to be six. This has increased jobs per shift from four to eight, and that’s a real benefit to the bottom line,” Costello says

The next move is matching flexo to the toner-based digital presses in-house, so jobs can be flipped according to run length and press availability.

Commenting on joining the Asteria Group, Costello remarks, “It was the right move at the right time.  Asteria understands labels, and being a Group member gives us the freedom to exchange knowledge and tackle challenges together – it’s re-energized our operation here and allowed us to change-up a gear.  We believe we already have the best technical team in the Irish label converting market, and now we have access to even more expertise.”

Speaking for Mark Andy, newly appointed sales manager Antony Cotton states, “It’s good to see how Mark Andy technology continues to improve production efficiency long after it has been installed.  It’s indicative of the future-proof design of our presses and stands us out as the market leader in narrow web flexo. I’m delighted that Label Tech continues to enjoy these benefits, and I look forward to growing our business with the Asteria Group.”