PFFC - November 2007 - (Page 32) RELEASE LINER SPECIAL REPORT treatment, as well as the ability to make imprints in-line. The machine was rebuilt in 2000 to optimize its capacity. Major Investment Decision Even with this workhorse at the center of its production, Itasa’s capacity has been at a saturation point in the last two years. CFO Emilio Arocena observes, “If we wanted to stay competitive and profitable, we had to invest to gain the cost-saving and productivity benefits of wider web coating, without compromising our high quality standards. That’s why we ordered a new custom-built, 2-m-wide BMB coater. “Thanks to that investment, we are well positioned to meet our goal, and we have a big additional advantage in that the new machine also gives us the flexibility to meet our customers’ increasingly demanding service requirements.” State-of-the-Art Coater There undoubtedly will be new end-use markets coming onstream, through innovation in laminates and liner technology. —José María Pagola, Itasa Itasa is run by CFO Emilio Arocena (left) and managing director Francisco Pagola, who says the company’s location in northwest Spain is logistically ideal. remains Western Europe (particularly Germany, the driving engine of the European economy) and the USA. “We are actively strengthening our sales team with knowledgeable people on the ground who can promote not only the technicalities but also develop new business with end-users. In terms of market segments, we are particularly keen to develop sales in specialty tapes and other emerging industrial applications.” Formula for Success The new, tailor-made BMB automatic roll-fed coater is 2.3 m wide and already capable of coating at 800 mpm. It has many advanced features, including a Pesmel automatic roll feed that can handle 5-ton rolls; a cleaning system for the paper web; active and passive static discharge; antimisting; and in-line trimming and roll slitting. Its core capability is a fiveroll coating head, convertible to six rolls, for thermal-cured solvent-free silicone coating. It has a 28-m, seven-section drying tunnel operating on an air flotation system, two remoisturizing steam boxes (with a regulated steam profile), and a battery of chilling rolls. The coater also has the flexibility to coat at different widths from 1.1 m and up and is supported by an advanced automatic silicone mixing plant. High-speed coating of all types of paper release base is 32 | NOVEMBER 2007 possible from 30 gm 2 to 200 gm2 (krafts, polyethylene coated, clay coated, coated one side, and C2S), with equal or differential release characteristics for a variety of tape, label stock, industrial, and composite applications, as well as envelopes and selfadhesive graphic arts. Finishing & Warehousing With a January 2008 delivery date, a new in-line slitter will support the new coater, and additional finishing equipment for the older main coater is on order. Installing a new wide-width coater had major space implications for Itasa. The new machine occupies much of what was previously raw materials warehouse space. To compensate, the company currently is leasing an outside warehouse and is negotiating to obtain an additional 5,000 sq m of land around the present plant to build a new warehouse. The jumbo 5-ton master rolls for the coater require forklift handling, so the company is evaluating the possibility of a fully automated warehousing system for this proposed facility. Itasa’s management team is enthusiastic about the future possibilities inherent in its broad selection of coating and finishing equipment, effectively run by paper-industrytrained machine minders. The Implications for the Future production facility, as befits a Export sales manager José producer of specialty release María Pagola summarizes the liners for demanding applications, is extremely clean and benefits of this major investment: “The new coater gives neat, and production continues us a real competitive edge 24/6 with four shifts/day. The through speed and produclaboratory staff works the same tivity improvements. With hours to conduct essential the additional finishing and quality analyses and give feedback to the production team. warehousing already in the With an overall workforce pipeline, we are positioned of 70, Itasa is well positioned strongly, as independents, to to develop its potential in its take new business in the face chosen markets for the foreof the current industry consolidation, which leaves buyers seeable future. in need of alternative choices Ann Hirst-Smith is an associate in suppliers. of AWA Alexander Watson “We see a continuing, Assoc., Amsterdam, Netherlands, healthy growth in the meand an independent journalist dium term in the core marspecializing in the fields of kets we serve, particularly in labels. In the long term, there packaging and labels, selfadhesive materials, and largeundoubtedly will be new format graphics. end-use markets coming onstream, through innovation in laminates and liner technoluSupplier Infot ogy. There is still plenty to say uBachofen + Meier | in favor of siliconized papers! www.bmbag.ch “But having the capacity is PFFC-ASAP 301 not enough. We need to get uPagendarm | out there and sell our prodwww.pagendarm.com ucts. We don’t want to expand PFFC-ASAP 302 any further geographically; we uPesmel | still have more than enough www.pesmel.com room for growth in the terPFFC-ASAP 303 ritories where we are established, and our strategic focus WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM http://www.bmbag.ch http://www.pagendarm.com http://www.pesmel.com http://WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM
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