At drupa 2016, BOBST is showcasing new equipment, services and solutions that help packaging and label manufacturers deliver the products that their brand-owner clients need, both now and for the future, while at the same time gaining substantial improvements in manufacturing productivity and quality. Currently celebrating its 125th anniversary - an important milestone marked by a year of events headlined "125 years: for the next generation" – BOBST has been at every drupa since 1951, and this year's exhibition has allowed the company to restate its innovation leadership in all the industries it serves.

Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of BOBST, said, "BOBST has always looked forward, identifying new trends and future needs, while simultaneously developing ways of carrying out existing processes more effectively. With our six world premieres, our many equipment enhancements and the extension of our portfolio of support services, we are continuing to show our innovation leadership in the packaging and labels sectors. This drupa our focus is on new, quality printing capabilities, featuring better flexo performance and the optimization of the gravure process, along with digital flexo and digital printing solutions. As always, we will also reveal major enhancements to our range of converting equipment. Our presence here at drupa is more than just about innovation for today, it is also a way that we can show brand owners, packaging designers, carton makers and label manufacturers what the future could hold for them."

Opening up new markets and improving productivity
BOBST pulled back the covers at drupa 2016 on technology and systems that deliver the highest productivity and lowest total cost of ownership in their respective process areas. Leading innovation in sheet-fed die-cutting and folding & gluing processes respectively are the completely new MASTERCUT 106 PER and MASTERFOLD 110 A3, both of which offer higher running speeds, much faster make-readies, less waste, increased uptime, and technology that makes 'zero-fault' production achievable. These attributes also appear on the MASTERFOIL 106 PR hot foil stamping press on show, which features a new module, FOIL UNWINDER+, that is making its drupa debut.

Drupa has also seen three web-fed world premieres from BOBST, confirming its focus on printing and converting and on displays, with a wide range of technologies designed to appeal to several market segments within the packaging industry. The M6 UV flexo press gives users access to the disruptive technology of Digital Flexo printing onto folding cartons and flexible packaging, the CL 750D compact laminator offers a way for converters to access new markets such as that for ultra-short run laminating, and the MW 85F & MW 125F CI flexo presses offer new levels of flexible packaging print productivity.

Each of the world premieres is showing, in production, on the BOBST stand (10/A60) at drupa 2016, several times a day.

BOBST has also used drupa 2016 to announce the launch of three further flexible packaging presses. For gravure printers, the RS 6002 is an eco-friendly press that handles, just as efficiently, short and long run production of flexible materials applications. The new RS 6003 gravure press being launched is an evolution of the highly successful 4003 platform, with new HMI and register control systems, and is ideal for medium-to-long run lengths, while accommodating both shafted and shaftless printing cylinders. A new member of the BOBST 'SIX' range of flexo presses, the 40SIX (on show during drupa at Bobst Bielefeld in a fully automatic version) delivers premium print quality and profitable production on runs of all lengths.

Leading role in services
New production equipment is only half the story when it comes to BOBST, because the company plays a leading role in providing technical and advice services to its customers. The importance to the company of its service provision is reflected in the prime position it has been allocated at the very heart of the BOBST drupa 2016 booth. The services BOBST offers help customers protect their investments, keep up with legislative changes, ensure safety and improve their OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). Alongside enhancements to existing maintenance and helpline services, and the introduction of new, synthetic food grade oils that proudly bear the NSF label, drupa has also seen the launch of a range of other new BOBST service innovations. These include Impact CAD tooling software for the production of high-performance die-cutting formes, a new generation Pick&Pay solution which reduces downtime by making parts available next to the machine 24/7, and the MyBobst.com portal which gives users access to a documentation and parts-ordering website that is personalized for their installed machines and which features interactive 3-D parts identification. A new Service Navigator has also been launched to help customers identify the service solutions that will help them best improve the productivity, quality, safety and profitability of their equipment.

Finding packaging innovation
Because the time of visitors to exhibitions is often limited, for drupa 2016 BOBST developed its Innovation Compass. Via bobst.com, customers have been encouraged to pre-register for their visit to the BOBST booth and to indicate which products, service and topics interest them. Once registered they have a personalized Innovation Compass sent straight to their Smartphone which, when they scan it on the BOBST booth, guides them to the items that interest them most.

The BOBST stand also features a packaging innovation compass, which is an interactive display highlighting the many different processes that BOBST masters, from die-cutting to digital printing, processes which span the whole range of material types from paper and cartons to corrugated board and flexible materials. The packaging innovations displayed include an entirely new 'bag in box' container, developed by a group of five industry suppliers, including BOBST.