Lyon, France - From April 21st - 22nd, BOBST held an Open House to present its new fixed frame Rapidset rotary die-cutter the DRO 1628 NT RS. This machine is the only product in the world market that offers fixed frame rotary die-cutting operated from shop-floor level. This means improved ease of operation and also delivers fast, effective and highly capable box printing and finishing. The event was hosted at the premises of Zerhusen Kartonagen GmbH in Damme, Germany, to whom BOBST is very grateful, for both their hospitality and for the time put in by the plant’s fantastic machine crew. 

Developed at Bobst Lyon, the new machine is designed for any production mix, and can achieve 11’000 feeds/hour on simple printed jobs while also able to print a four color and varnish job with outstanding printing quality on coated paper at more than 7’500 feeds/hour. Due to the fast set-up of the complete line, order changeover can be achieved in a very short time, which can be less than six minutes when the Rapidset concept is used.

This performance was greatly appreciated by the roughly 140 attendees present at Zerhusen’s plant for the Open House. Coming from Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, overall they represented 60 companies, ranging from integrated companies to independent businesses and sheet plants.

Running at its maximum speed of 11’000 feeds/hour, the DRO 1628 NT RS achieves outstanding performance in both productivity and in terms of quality. The complete production line with BUNDLE STACKER and automatic PALLETIZER allows for larger blank sizes at the feeder and means the machine can reach an output of more than 27’000 m2/hour. Even with micro-flute and ten-out jobs, the line demonstrated outstanding productivity at full speed. 

Alongside the machine demonstrations, workshops displayed the main assets of the DRO NT RS:

• its unique ‘no-crush’ feeder which allows for perfect feeding register without damaging the board,
• its ergonomic floor-level die-cutting tool change and machine operations, which also ensure the best working and safety conditions,
• the BUNDLE STACKER which pushes performance limits to allow 11’000 feeds/hour on impressive blank sizes, with almost no die-cut waste in the final product,
• The automatic PALLETIZER, equipped with the fastest breaker on the market and which can build two piles at the same time, which means that palletizing is no bottle neck, even at the maximum running speed of 11’000 feeds/hour.

At Zerhusen, the DRO NT Rapidset is proving that it is the machine that fulfils all of its promises, delivering superb performance and outstanding printing and die-cutting quality, on a very wide product mix.

"The evolution of the market demands more flexibility, along with the ability to print five and six color jobs. The capacity of the DRO NT RS completely fulfils this need for quality and flexibility, and has made us able to increase our market share in a more and more demanding market," explained Roland Zerhusen, Owner.

“The machine must also perform when producing low price boxes, which is obviously the case,” added Marc Zerhusen, Production Director.

“Thanks to BOBST’s training and expertise, we were able to run high graphics jobs only three months after the machine start-up,” said A. Morkel, Project and Machine Leader for DRO.

During the event, the guests could also have a close look at a brand new BOBST FFG 8.20 EXPERT which was installed recently and is already performing at maximum capacity.

The attendees’ strong interest in the DRO NT RS has confirmed the commercial attractiveness and production capability of the line, along with its high potential in the European market, while also answering the worldwide trend of increasing volume demand for post-print.