Rapida 106 double-coater press boosts performance by 30 per cent

  • Installation of a further Rapida 106 at the Barleben facility
  • Anilox roller exchanges in one-tenth of the usual time
  • Job changeover times reduced by 30 to 50 per cent
  • Production output up by a third

Packaging producer Kroha from Miesbach in the south of Germany is a long-standing user of sheetfed offset presses from Koenig & Bauer. Just a year ago, one of two Rapida 106 presses dating from 2008 was replaced with a brand new model. This six-colour Rapida 106 in a double-coating configuration now bears the main workload in the print centre.

The company has specialised in folding carton production since the 1990s, and regular investments have paved the way. A window patching machine was installed in July, followed by a new gluing line in September. The Barleben facility, which has belonged to the company since 1996, is also set to benefit from new equipment. Installation of a six-colour Rapida 106 with inline coating began at the end of September.












For factory manager Florian Guggenbichler (left) and team leader Anton Weiß (centre), here with Gavin Elflein from Koenig & Bauer (DE), the Rapida 106 is the epitome of high performance 

With their practically identical high-performance technology, the two facilities complement each other perfectly. Even so, there are some small differences. While Miesbach focusses on highly refined folding cartons with UV and UV spot coatings, Barleben prints longer runs with conventional finishing, as well as patient information leaflets for the pharmaceutical industry. If necessary, however, jobs can still be swapped between the two facilities. Together, they produce some 260 million folding cartons each year, of which 80 to 85 per cent are for pharmaceuticals. Folding cartons for food and health care products round off the portfolio.

Run lengths range from just 50 specimens, via typical jobs comprising 50,000-70,000 cartons, to orders for 3 or even 5 million units in extreme cases. The customers are primarily from Germany and Austria, though France, Italy, Romania and Switzerland are also represented.