Family owned Intergrafipak B.V. (aka IGP) has installed a Mark Andy Evolution Series E5 at its production facility in Nieuw-Vennep in the Netherlands, some 20 km southeast of the capital, Amsterdam.

Established in 1938 as a printing house, the company moved into pharmaceutical packaging in 1954 and has specialised in the pharma, health care, and cosmetics sectors ever since.  Today, IGP offers a unique combination of carton packaging, insert printing and folding, and label production as a specialist one-stop shop for many of Europe’s leading brand owners that demand the highest standards.

According to Managing Director, Klaas Kruiswijk: “Our business is founded on long-lasting partnerships and high operational performance.  We believe the company’s ‘DNA’ allows us to mitigate risk and maintain quality and OTIF at the highest level, which is crucial, especially in the pharma sector.”  These claims to quality are independently verified by a range of internationally recognised accreditations, including ISO 9001 and 14001, cGMP, and ECMA Pharma Best Practice, and on the sustainability front by Ecovadis (Silver Rating), FSC SCS-COC, and EEP.

Production at IGP’s modern and extensive plant is currently split into three divisions: folding cartons, insert leaflets, and labels.  The first two are printed sheet-fed offset and finished/converted on a variety of offline equipment from leading manufacturers.  The label section, currently at 10% of the total business, is showing the most potential for growth, and this is the reason for the recent investment in a Mark Andy flexo press.  

Initial contact was made through Packtion, Mark Andy’s agent in The Netherlands, for whom Maarten van Bergeijk stated: “Intergrafipak is a well-established and highly respected supplier of printed packaging, inserts and labels with a reputation for top quality, so I knew Mark Andy would need to offer a convincing print test and a well specified press.”

Although IGP has been delivering labels for many years, it had a whole new learning curve to climb with a modern flexo line.  “With quality and accuracy at the top of our shopping list, we ran multiple print trials with all the leading press manufacturers, but Mark Andy was the clear winner – and its superior ergonomics made it the operator’s preferred choice too,” explained Mr. Kruiswijk, who deliberately included the operators in the trial and selection process, and appreciates the facility the Evolution Series E5 offers for fast call-off of work and the speed and ease with which it can change jobs and be made-ready.

The Mark Andy press chosen is an 8-color Evolution Series E5.  It has a 430mm (17”) web width and is fitted with a double-sided Vetaphone corona treater and Teknek web cleaner.  To facilitate the use of film substrates, it has chilled impression rolls and full GEW Aero LED/Arc curing, making it a hybrid UV system.  Fitted with an overhead rail that includes web turn bars and Mark Andy’s own web translator (Gizmo) for multi-layer label production, the E5 has the QCDC die cutting station for easy die changeover through the side frame, advance wind-up of waste and a K&B GapMaster.  

The press was supplied with SmartLink Production Monitoring (now called ProWORKZ Analytics), two rewinds, a double peel-off rail, and BST TubeScan 100% inspection.  All of which makes it a very highly specified machine indeed, and best suited to the extremely demanding market segments that IGP serves.

“We are very proud of our installed base of technology from brand leaders in their own rights.  We invest heavily in the machinery that keeps us up to date, efficient and competitive,” Mr. Kruiswijk added saying that one of the benefits of being a mid-size company is the speed and decisiveness with which decisions can be made, unlike many of the larger corporations he says he has previously worked for, where bureaucracy often stifles progress.  “Here at IGP we have a far more straightforward and pragmatic approach, and I like the honesty of it all.”

Investment, of course, is not all about machines and technology, it also includes people.  “We are a real family business where the people come first so all our employees feel engaged with what’s going on and can make a positive and individual contribution.”  Staff numbers are currently around 110, and the company operates a double-day shift Monday to Friday with overtime as required.  But, like most manufacturing companies today, Mr. Kruiswijk is aware of the skill shortage in the industry and the difficulty in attracting young talent.  “We are a real manufacturing company, and there are not many of them left in The Netherlands, and there are also few educational opportunities, which is why we provide training internally both at middle management and production levels.”  

Mr. Kruiswijk sees this a key attraction for youngsters looking for a career especially at a mid-size company like IGP where they can make a real difference and be recognised and rewarded quickly for the effort they put in.  “We also give them the best of the latest technology to do their job, so they can take pride in what they are achieving, knowing they are ahead of the game.”

Looking ahead, Mr. Kruiswijk sees a programme of continual investment, especially in the label sector, which he is keen to grow.  “Our investments will be made to realise the strategic growth we have planned.  These investments will be in machinery, people, and the image of the company.  We are a family business and do not focus on the short term, but on a sustainable future.”  

Concluding for Mark Andy, Maarten van Bergeijk said: “We are pleased and proud to be part of Intergrafipak’s growth strategy, and the benefit of a Mark Andy press is its scalability that allows users to adapt to market changes.  This makes investment in Mark Andy technology as future-proof as it can be.”