Limo Labels has invested in a Xeikon CX3 digital label press. The agreement was completed at Labelexpo 2019. The privately-owned company and leading manufacturer of labels in Scandinavia has made the investment to expand its digital capabilities and meet demand for growing volumes. The Xeikon CX3 will complement over 25 production lines in action at Limo Labels’ main plant in Stevnstrup in Denmark. These include a Xeikon 3300 digital Dry Toner press and 2 Xeikon Jetrion Inkjet presses. The company will take delivery of the new press in October 2019.

Henrik Ehlers, Sales Manager for Key Accounts at Limo Labels says: “Our company continues to develop and grow. We have made this investment to stay ahead and expand our market share. We have had very good cooperation with Xeikon for some years and we see them as part of our evolution. Our digital journey started with Xeikon and we continue this with the installation of the Xeikon CX3 machine. This model offers us very high speeds, dry toner technology and the opportunity to achieve a wider range of brand colours with the fifth unit using orange. This option extends the colour gamut and gives us the widest possible choices. At Limo Labels, we make customized solutions for our customers to optimize the complete value chain and to do that we bring in the Xeikon technologies. Today, we can see the break-even point between Flexo and Digital moving and we are able to do more jobs using our digital machines. We have invested in the Xeikon CX3 to increase our capacity.” The Xeikon CX3 digital label press offers a top speed of 30m/min with substrate widths up to 330mm, full rotary printing at 1200dpi plus variable dot density and FDA compliance for food contact.

Limo Labels has had a long relationship with Xeikon. Established in 1975 the company bought a couple of Xeikon 32S presses in the late 90s. Their real digital journey started in 2010 when they replaced the 2 machines with two Xeikon 3300s. They then invested in two Xeikon Jetrions at Labelexpo 2011. Following a merger with four companies in 2015, Limo Labels moved to a new production site in 2017 and they now operate from 2 modern production sites in Demark offering a world-wide delivery service. Today the company runs multiple production lines utilizing a number of technologies including Flexo, Screen Printing, Digital Inkjet and Digital Dry Toner to manage the production of an impressive range of self-adhesive labels of different types, sizes and designs including smart labels with RFID technology for a diversity of sectors. They offer customers a number of concepts and packages – for example Kanban is an efficient stock control option. It is designed to trigger notification when a customer’s stock reaches a certain level. A fixed price is agreed in advance so no price adjustments and Limo Labels guarantees management of a customer’s stock provision taking away any risk of running out of supplies. Their sales teams are trained to discuss concepts with customers recognizing that each customer is different and will require a different solution.

Automating the workflow
Online ordering and automated workflow are both key to the company’s operation today. They know that workflow can be the key differentiator in any business. Ehlers comments, “Speed is essential at every step from ordering through to set up, printing and finish. All of our software is designed to automate every part of production with every consideration taken to maximize efficiency and save time for the customer.” With several hundred orders a day, Limo Labels’ IT-solutions, can integrate customer data into their own systems and the software takes care of and regulates each order to achieve high speed handling and a fast 24hour turnaround service including the most complex of jobs. Furthermore Limo Labels has developed its own platform, LabelNET designed to give each customer a complete online overview of their label portfolio and its progress through the system from order to delivery.

Ehlers continues: “For Limo Labels it’s all about the future – we want to make a difference. A very important stage for us is listening to the customer. We help by suggesting new ideas and new ways forward. We have been working with our customers this way for some time so we have the experience. It’s not about offering our customer a digital solution necessarily its about providing a better solution to optimize the complete value chain for them and offer a lower cost of ownership. To make sure we cover every situation and requirement, we continue to invest in the latest technology. The new Xeikon CX3 will bring us added production capacity and an extended colour gamut for a wider range of designs and brand colours. Our set up at Limo Labels makes it possible for us to be able to meet each and every type of requirement. We have all the different technologies in house – because of our workflow we can always find a suitable solution depending on the specific application. We can always find the best way to produce the best results.”

Daniel Augustin, Nordic Sales Manager for Carton Packaging explains: “The Xeikon CX3 digital label press is the perfect solution for Limo Labels. Supported by integrated automation, this press will expand their digital capacity and with the ever growing demand for higher and higher volumes of labels, the Xeikon CX3 will help close the gap on run lengths between flexo and digital by lowering variable running costs.” With its superior quality, this dry toner press is the perfect complement to the company’s two UV inkjet presses. The new press is equipped with standard CMYK + high opacity White and will be integrated into the Xeikon Color Control system at Limo Labels. Using an orange spot color the Xeikon CX3 will expand the colour gamut giving them a greater variety of color choice across multiple substrates.

Ehlers concludes: One of the reasons we partner with Xeikon is our companies have a similar ethos. We address similar multiple sectors and have significant market share. Importantly, we have the ability to look beyond the label and work in cooperation with our respective customers. We are constantly looking at how we can integrate more effectively with our customers. Like Xeikon, we are looking to the future. With our experience we can see new ways of doing things and new opportunities for our customers. We are constantly challenging boundaries as we believe printers need to be looking at new horizons and not always staying safe with what they have always done. We work with existing and potential customers to find the perfect solutions that will make their businesses a success. Xeikon has the same points of view and is the perfect partner always providing us with the latest digital equipment and technology that fits perfectly with our plans.”