Mex, Switzerland—Primarily focused on straight-line boxes, crash-lock bottom boxes, cases and instructional leaflet production, Grafica Atestina's commitment to innovation and service, coupled with a forward-thinking approach, have positioned it as a preferred partner for pharmaceutical customers seeking excellence in packaging design and production. The business produces more than 57 million boxes and 30 million leaflets annually and has invested in BOBST equipment to further accelerate its expansion in the Italian pharma market.

Established in 1954, paper and carton converter Grafica Atestina Srl is a key player in the Italian cosmetics and pharmaceutical packaging industries. The company recently revamped its pharmaceutical industry carton converting capabilities with the addition of a BOBST NOVACUT 106 die-cutter and BOBST EXPERTFOLD 110 folder-gluer, as well as a BOBST VISIONFOLD 50 folder-gluer with HANDYPACK.

Today, its business is an €8.7m revenue group consisting of three divisions, packaging, print and digital. Operating from state-of-the-art 4.000 sqm production headquarters in Monselice, Northern Italy, Grafica Atestina’s capabilities include offset printing, binding, die-cutting, folding and gluing.

Barbara De Poli, Head of Marketing at Grafica Atestina, explains the rationale behind the company’s new investment: “We have been working with BOBST equipment for approximately a decade, and their technology has certainly contributed to our growth. The reliability of BOBST machinery, along with its precision and productivity, are key aspects of our partnership. As a result, when it came time to add further capabilities to our folding carton production, we already knew that BOBST could provide the performance we needed.”

In 2019, they invested in a BOBST EXPERTFOLD 110 A2 folder-gluer with GYROBOX. The business chose this machine to produce boxes with specific glue points but found that the machine improved the quality and productivity of the packaging line in more ways than expected. Grafica Atestina also appreciated the versatility of the machine, able to support a wider range of product applications with fast setup and reduced production times.

De Poli adds: “We have been closely following the technological developments of BOBST for years, and the addition of a BOBST VISIONFOLD 50 folder-gluer was an easy choice to make. Key factors for us were the ease of use with advanced automation, and the robust and dependable performance, even at high speeds. This gives us the excellent product uniformity that the pharmaceutical sector relies on. Our machines are also equipped with the ACCUEJECT ejection system with code reader, which is ideal for the integration of pharma-specific coding and serialisation. The ability to create special ‘ad hoc’ gluing processes with the support of BOBST technicians was also crucial in our decision-making. We have the versatility and agility to respond to more needs, and our productivity in complex box production has significantly increased.”

The BOBST VISIONFOLD 50 folder-gluer is the ultimate all-rounder, able to deliver consistent quality across an impressively wide range of box styles. With short make-readies and low maintenance requirements, the machine is an ideal blend of performance, versatility and stability. The HANDYPACK packer selected by Grafica Atestina is a compact semi-automatic collecting table that offers rapid return on investment. The caster-mounted collecting module increases the productivity of folder-gluers by minimising packing effort and reducing manual workload, with adaptable speed and thickness of box flow.

Installed in July 2022 and followed by both basic and advanced training, the BOBST VISIONFOLD 50 with HANDYPACK performed at a high level from the outset and has already made a big impact on production capacity. Grafica Atestina reports that its pharma packaging production capacity has increased by 35% and has brought in new customers requiring non-standard gluing. In turn, the business has seen a 30% uplift in sales, while benefiting from increased machine reliability and reduced production times, minimising waste and machine downtime.

De Poli describes the significant day-to-day advantages of the company’s investment in BOBST equipment: “We are embracing lean principles in our business, so every part of the production chain must work harder. With our machines, we can die-cut and fold and glue even complex boxes in one single pass, which allows us to produce packaging for our customers in half the time. This efficiency means our costs have decreased, and consequently, our selling price has become more competitive. The comprehensive training supplied by BOBST, both basic and advanced, has instilled confidence in our operators, and the performance we see has more than justified the decision to invest in this service. BOBST technology has revolutionised what we can achieve for our pharma customers and the diversity of needs we can meet and supports our journey towards effortless zero-fault packaging for the pharmaceutical sector.”