ST ALBANS, UK - Devon-based corrugated packaging specialist Atlas Packaging has installed a new Zünd G3 L2500 digital cutting table from Zünd Plotting Systems (UK) Ltd – describing the machine as a 'Zünderbar' piece of equipment.

Established in 1983, Atlas Packaging is one of the UK's largest independent corrugated companies, providing a complete packaging service to a range of different industries including food and drink, horticulture, automotive, pharmaceutical, furniture and events, and counting businesses such as Waitrose, Asda, and Interflora amongst its customers. 

Atlas Packaging converts 30 million sqm of raw material to high-quality finished products every year and previously relied on an older plotting table that it was 'quickly outgrowing', it says. Zünd UK took away the former machine through its extremely successful part-exchange deal, replacing it with a new Zünd G3 L2500. Atlas Packaging also formerly used a Wild Table 10 – a brand supplied by Zünd in the 1980s-90s – which Atlas Packaging says remained reliable for a decade, adding weight to Zünd's reputation for quality and robustness. 

"The plotting table is used by our in-house structural design team to create high-quality prototypes which are sent to clients to review, ensuring that the product is perfect before it is approved for full production," explains Dave King, Structural Design Manager at Atlas Packaging.

"We chose to invest in Zünd due to its outstanding reputation for quality, and we were confident that the state-of-the-art Swiss-built machine would enable us to transform our output. The compatibility with our chosen software, Artios and Cape, was also a factor we needed to consider, as this now gives us the ability to render 2D diagrams into 3D prototypes.

"With our new machine and software we hope to push our design skills even further and explore new avenues."

In around 2007, Atlas Packaging's managing director and design manager visited Zünd's St Albans demonstration centre and decided the plotting table on display was an investment for the future. They kept an eye on the Zünd G3 as it was continually improved and upgraded via the numerous videos available online, and opted to purchase the Zünd G3 L2500 though the part-exchange deal when the time was right. 

In that period, Zünd's demonstration suite has also been updated as a dedicated, modern space for one-to-one technology showcases, open days and industry events.

The Zünd G3 digital cutting series is designed for maximum automation of cutting and trimming work, with a solid build quality for 24/7 operation. It can handle materials up to 50mm thick and, like all Zünd machines, is offered with an extensive yet straightforward range of modules, tools and material-handling options that can be altered or retrofitted to adapt to each user's needs. 

"Our part-exchange scheme proved very popular last year, enabling businesses with old and inefficient plotting tables from other brands to upgrade to a new Zünd at a lower cost," says Peter Giddings, Sales Director, Zünd Plotting Systems (UK) Ltd. "As Atlas Packaging has found, the Zünd G3 L2500 is ideal for sample-making and short-run production purposes, providing accuracy, reliability and efficiency where it is most needed."

Following its installation, Dave King adds: "It is an incredible piece of machinery, propelling us forward with outstanding efficiency – Zünderbar!"