It is set to arrive in January, and production will be starting by the end of February – the KBA Rapida 105 with six printing units, inline coating tower and full equipment for UV production will be the first sheetfed offset press to be installed by packaging producer Streamline Cartons from Adelaide in Australia. 

In the past, Streamline Cartons concentrated on the carton design, pre?press and conversion stages, while the actual printing was outsourced to local partners. As demand for finishing and product refinements increased, however, it seemed only logical to bring the printing in-house, not least because that would also enable much quicker turnarounds. 

Tailored to customer requirements …

Operations manager Joshua Harris: “We were finding that we also needed access to UV print and finishing. In this respect, the configuration of the Rapida 105 we ordered is tailored specifically to the needs of our customers.” This included raising the press onto a 450 mm plinth to accommodate higher piles, an enlarged sheet format of 78 x 105 cm, maximised substrate flexibility and facilities for inline quality control with QualiTronic ColorControl.

“KBA is renowned as the world's leading packaging press manufacturer. Rapida presses have a reputation for quality, robustness and the highest production standards,” Harris continues with obvious delight. “The experts from Germany and Dave Lewis from KBA Australasia have been more than helpful in assisting our implementation of in-house print production. They have shown that they understand our background and what we want to achieve. After meeting the KBA team at drupa, we already signed a letter of intent at the show.”

… and flexible in terms of substrates

For Streamline Cartons, which was founded by managing director Kym Harris 20 years ago, the decision to install a press of its own was a big step. But as his son Joshua explains, it will benefit both the company and its customers: “We have informed our customers that we will in future be able to offer direct printing onto microflute board up to 1.6 mm, for example, and that has certainly caught their interest. In the past, this was simply not possible and we had to laminate instead.”

To create space for the new press, Streamline Cartons has built additional high-rack storage for 160 pallets. In the meantime, the company is also looking at further finishing options. Continued growth is recognised as important, because standing still can be viewed as a first step backwards. But with a clear understanding of the market, confidence in its own capabilities and a commitment to new technologies, Streamline Cartons is definitely moving forwards.