When Italian packaging printer Industria Grafica Vedano (IGV) in Burago di Molgora, northeast of Milan, commemorated its 30th anniversary in September there was a second cause for celebration: the timely delivery to Via L Galvani of a new KBA Rapida 142 six-colour coater press with which this family enterprise is planning to expand into display printing and carve out new markets alongside its traditional business of folding cartons.

Originally established in Vedano al Lambro by Renato Pollanca and his brother Giovanni, IGV has gained a reputation for outstanding customer service. Its 30-odd employees specialise in the creation, production and finishing of customised packaging and samples with unusual designs. 80 per cent of IGV's customers come from the food-processing industry, the rest from various other sectors which used to include the textile industry before production was largely shifted to the Far East.

By 1984, just four years after being founded, IGV had outgrown its premises and relocated with a subsidiary to its present 6,500m² (69,000ft²) site in Burago di Molgora. In the process the company upgraded and expanded its printing and finishing departments. It also added an automated materials warehouse complete with end-product store. All production sequences have since been integrated into a single, smoothly functioning workflow.

Emerging from the financial crisis with new technology
Competition in the packaging sector is fierce, and in the midst of the financial crisis IGV management decided the time was ripe to invest in a new, large-format press with cutting-edge technology. Managing director Renato Pollanca says: "Our three presses from another German vendor were well past their prime and took a long time to make ready. As a result, meeting customer specs involved a lot of cost-intensive overtime. We therefore decided to look for a new six-colour press with – for the first time – a coater, as a means of cutting production costs while simultaneously enhancing value added, output and production options."

The press of choice turned out to be the highly automated KBA Rapida 142. Renato Pollanca explains: "While our previous vendor offered a number of new features, reference installations of the KBA press soon convinced us that this had the edge – it is virtually custom-configured for our packaging production specs. The advice we received from KBA-Italia managing director Joachim Nitschke and chief executive Gian Carlo Banfi was first-class, and the RoI is just as good. Delivery was fast and the six-colour coater press was installed and commissioned just as rapidly. The training programme provided for our press crews underscored KBA's high standard of service."

High expectations fulfilled
The KBA Rapida 142 demonstrated its many qualities nicely in time for the company's anniversary celebrations in September. Renato Pollanca and his technical manager Daniele Brivio were visibly impressed by its fast makeready, high production speed, advanced level of automation and ease of operation. Their verdict: whether printing folding cartons or displays in short (1,000 - 1,500 items), medium or long runs (10,000 - 50,000 items), the new press is highly productive, exceptionally reliable and delivers a consistently high print quality. Pollanca says: "In 2010 we expect sales to grow by 10 to 20 per cent, and are planning to boost this figure even further by stepping up our sales activities."

Custom-configured for packaging
Alongside automatic plate changing and blanket washing IGV's new large-format KBA Rapida 142 six-colour coater press incorporates a CX board-printing package, IR and thermal dryers, DensiTronic Professional quality management and automated pile logistics at the feeder and double-extended delivery.