Mark Andy Europe – Basel, Switzerland -  A major investment programme has seen label converter Etiko install one of the latest Mark Andy LP3000 flexo lines in its all-new production plant near Szczecin, on Poland’s north west border with Germany.  The new LP3000 was supplied by Mark Andy AG in Switzerland.  It is an eight-colour 13″ (330 mm) full UV press, and it joins three multi colour Mark Andy Scout presses installed since 2001 largely to print thermo labels for the fresh food market.

In addition to its full UV curing system the new Mark Andy is fitted with delam/relam, turner bars, motorised register control, a laminating station, an additional waste rewinder, and two screen cassettes, making it one of the most highly specified LP3000 lines in Europe, according to Mark Andy’s European Sales Manager, Walter Eitner.  The LP3000 is also fitted with Mark Andy’s own “Gizmo”, a simple but clever device for manufacturing multi layer labels, and Etiko has already taken its first order for this type of work with recipe labels.

Currently working double shift seven days per week, Etiko has a throughput of more than 400,000 sq m of substrate each month, and is one of the largest label converters in the area.  In fact, its nearest Polish competitor is located in Poznan, some 200 km distant.  Of more strategic importance is its geographical proximity to Germany, which along with the Czech Republic, accounts for 20% of its total sales.  More than 75% of the company’s output is still thermo labels, primarily for the supermarkets.

The new LP3000 has been installed to address this situation by providing Etiko with the capability of broadening its market appeal through an enhanced range of labels.  Chosen, like the earlier Scouts, for its ability to match Etiko’s production requirements, the new Mark Andy line moves the company into higher quality markets, where the screen printing facility will be useful, such as household cleaning products and those used for car valeting, as well as cosmetics.  Other planned diversifications include the production of PE labels.

Currently, Etiko has a customer base of 300, the largest of which accounts for less than 10% of its sales, so a high degree of flexible capacity with fast change over times are essential in allowing the company to meet its JIT schedules.  Although a typical job length is between one and two rolls of material (2000 – 4000 m), Etiko undertakes a degree of stocking at its own risk on behalf of certain customers – this in an attempt to meet almost instant call-off requirements.   

Staff numbers were increased by 25% when the new 1100 sq m production facility was opened earlier in 2006, but with business growing so fast Etiko is about to build an additional hall on the adjacent plot of land it owns.  Without a strong flexo printing infrastructure in the area, staff recruitment is difficult, and the company is quick to praise Mark Andy AG for the training it has provided both onsite and at its showroom and demonstration facility in Switzerland.  Generally, it takes around three months to bring machine operators up to speed commercially, though according to Etiko, this is less time than that needed for studio and pre-press personnel.

With a growing proportion of its work accounted for by supermarkets, Etiko is keen to quantify the quality of service it offers, and hopes to achieve ISO 2000 accreditation before the end of the year, a rare feat in its sphere of operation.  With little in the way of label production capacity in the local area, there is also a lack of label “know-how” and expertise.

Etiko prides itself on 14 years of first hand experience with both adhesives and substrates, and sets out its stall as both packaging consultant and label supplier to its customers.  This is particularly valuable in the markets for fresh food like meat and cheese, where because of the perishable nature, solutions have to be quick and effective if the product is not to be spoiled.  Deliveries have to be made “to the hour”, and Etiko has established a same day service for customers located anywhere in Poland.

From a small beginning in 1993, the family owned Etiko has grown to become a major influence in the Polish label market, where consumption per capita still lags well behind that of Western European countries.  This offers scope for rapid growth.  With its new production facility and printing capacity, combined with its years of label expertise, the company is well placed to ride the growth curve, and earn the profits that will allow continued investment.  Next on Etiko’s “wish list” is a chilldrum press to replace some of its older technology.