Chesapeake installs first of its kind carton printing press in Europe

Chesapeake Limerick, part of Chesapeake’s Pharmaceutical and Healthcare division, is taking delivery of Europe’s first Komori GLX 740RP carton printing press as part of a €4m investment program at the site.

Chesapeake is a supplier of cartons, labels and leaflets, and specialist plastic packaging. The seven-color Komoria machine includes a reverse printing unit and double coater and is part of a major company-wide investment that has benefited all of Chesapeake’s operations. The installation follows a six-color GLX40 Komori unit at Chesapeake’s Leicester plant shortly after the GLX models were launched at drupa last May.

In the last three years, Chesapeake has installed a range of presses including a six-color Komori Lithrone 40’s at its Nottingham, Leicester, and Belfast operations, all of which specialize in the production of cartons for the pharmaceutical and healthcare market. During that period, the company has also made equipment upgrades and building improvements at many of its 43 manufacturing facilities in Europe, America, and Asia.

Over the past three months, the Limerick site has benefited from the installation of a new cut and crease press, a CTP unit, and an advanced image verification system.
Bobby O’Connor, divisional sales and account director, says, “Further development at Limerick is very much on our agenda, as is investment across the whole of Ireland. This demonstrates our commitment to the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and medical device markets in Ireland.”

Morgan Fogarty, Chesapeake Limerick’s operations director, says, “We’ve been very impressed with the GLX installed at Leicester, which has offered increased automation and environmental-related improvements. Its dual-camera inline quality inspection system, spot measurement, and Komori’s new spectral density control has helped to optimize product consistency. These benefits have led us to select a similar specification for Limerick, this time enhanced with the reverse printing unit and double coater.”

Morgan continues, “The reverse printing unit will enable us to provide our customers with the opportunity to print information such as user instructions on the inside of packaging, which is an increasing and welcome trend, as it reduces material requirements and ensures that vital instructions remain with the product.

“Another continuously increasing design trend on OTC healthcare packaging to enhance shelf-appeal is the use of varnish coatings. The double-coater on the new press will allow us to combine matte and gloss varnishes and metallic finishes. It will also assist us in delivering many other special effects such as our own 3D Glint™ product, holographics, and micro-embossing.”