Long-standing and successful cooperation with distributor Macchingraf SRL 

At the end of June 2014, the Italian distributor, Macchingraf SRL, visited Willstaett in Baden (Germany) with a group of customers. At this site, Flint Group manufactures photopolymer printing plates as well as packaging inks. The visiting programme included a factory tour and presentations about the latest products and current technology trends in the packaging market.

The initiative to drive production efficiencies in plate processing to the next level was well received and deemed to be one of the most important topics. With the nyloflex^® APP equipment, Flint Group has developed a fully automated premium processing line with outstanding productivity and consistency, including a washer, dryer and light finisher. The efficient automation and advanced level of standardisation leads to a considerably improved plate and print quality. In terms of standardisation, automation is a big step forward, which enables trade shops and printers to minimise process tolerances. At the same time, mistakes can be reduced with the result of a lower complaint rate and reduced costs. The user friendly handling enables easy control of all operations.

The visitors were also highly interested in Flint Group’s nyloflex^® NExT exposure technology, which utilises a high intensity UV-A LED light source to conduct rapid crosslinking of the photopolymer surface before oxygen inhibition can occur. The high UV-A output results in a flat top dot structure and a virtual 1:1 image reproduction from the digital file to the finished plate. In flexible packaging, printing plates exposed with this technology allow excellent ink transfer, particularly in solids. In corrugated printing, fluting will considerably be reduced as the LED exposure allows a better control of the relief profile.

Macchingraf SRL have been successfully distributing Flint Group products since the 1960’s, and were awarded the honour of „distributor of the year“ in 2003 and 2012. The company has recently been acquired by CoBe Capital, with Neal Cohen as founder and Managing Director of CoBe Capital. It’s Printing System Division, PSD, is led by Wouter von Dijk as President, and is comprised of various sites in several countries, e.g.The Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Spain and Belgium.

“I am very pleased that Flint Group has Macchingraf as a partner in Italy,” says Eberhard Huter, Vice President Sales EMEA at Flint Group Flexographic Products. “The professionalism of its management and teams, together with their cutting edge approaches in technical and commercial service as well as marketing ensure our sustainable market success long-term.” 

Luca Fattorossi and Francesco Sangiorgi, Sales Director and Flexo Business Driver of Macchingraf state: “The group of Italian customers said that they were very pleased with the hospitality received from Flint Group and absolutely impressed by the innovative technological solutions presented in a very concrete and direct manner. Once again, they confirmed their confidence in Flint Group as a reference partner for repro houses and printers with the aim of standing out on the market for quality and productivity.”