SUCCESS STORIES - Aquila
Mark strapped pallets with direct printing -
an option with a future
The strapping machines from Mosca GmbH work quickly, gently and reliably - Martin Schnizer was convinced of this long before his time as managing director of the corrugated cardboard format manufacturer Aquila. When it came to deciding on a strapping machine to secure the sensitive corrugated cardboard formats for transport in 2011, Schnizer once again relied on the technical expertise of the Waldbrunn-based strapping specialists. In a joint exchange and continuous collaboration, Mosca developed a special option for the tried-and-tested KCK-131 pallet packing press that meant enormous cost, time and material savings for Aquila GmbH - direct printing on the edge protector.
Monday morning, 6 a.m., there is already a hive of activity on the factory premises of the corrugated board manufacturer in Leinefelde, Thuringia. Around 35 employees work in two shifts on a production area of 17,000 m² to ensure that 60,000 tons of paper are processed into corrugated cardboard and the pallets are packed, strapped and shipped - and the trend is rising. "We will be expanding our capacities this year and switching our production to three-shift operation. Our number of employees will then rise to 50 and our production output will be increased to 90,000 tons," explains Martin Schnizer, one of the two managing directors of Aquila GmbH.
Just three years ago, there was no question of any of this. 42,000 m² of vacant commercial space was available when Martin Schnizer and Thomas Schwalbach decided to set up their own company for the production of corrugated cardboard formats at the end of 2010. No sooner said than done - since the new company was founded, a production hall has been built on the commercial space, which includes a 150-metre-long corrugator and two strapping machines from Mosca GmbH , a paper warehouse, a high-bay warehouse and a dispatch hall. The company produces, packs and straps corrugated board grades such as B, C, E, F and double corrugated combinations, particularly in white and white-white or as single-sided open grades, for customers from all over Germany and neighboring countries. "Our customers are processors who produce packaging from our corrugated board but do not have their own corrugated board production facilities. Other customers have their own corrugated board production facilities, but buy special qualities from us," explains Schnizer.
The most important criteria
to assert itself on the corrugated board market
If you ask the Managing Director what the most important criteria are for asserting oneself on the vital corrugated cardboard market, two aspects are particularly important: quality and delivery service. "The best quality is of no use to the customer if they don't receive the goods on time and undamaged or if they even receive the wrong delivery," emphasizes Martin Schnizer. "That's why it's essential that production is precisely tailored to the packaging, securing and correct pallet labeling of the corrugated board formats, and we need powerful and reliable machines for this. When selecting machines, we therefore make sure that they play their part in the production cycle efficiently."
QUALITY
DELIVERY SERVICE
Direct, easy to read and economical
Two pallet wrapping presses from Mosca GmbH 's KCK-131 series perform this task at Aquila. The machines strap up to 200 pallets per hour, including edge protectors, quickly, safely and reliably using Mosca SoniXs. But that alone is not the special feature of the machines in this case. An option specially developed for the corrugated board industry, which was developed in close cooperation with Aquila , prints the edge protectors using the hot wax process - in direct printing, without any delay in the work process. Depending on the customer's requirements, all four sides of the pallet can be marked with barcodes, QR codes, company logos or production data so that the most important information is legible at all times. The data required for printing is transferred from the customer's operating system using special software. "This modern printing technology, which is only implemented by Mosca , was the decisive factor in purchasing the machines. We wanted an efficient and high-quality alternative to the adhesive labels that are printed with thermal foil. Previously, we had to attach these to the pallets in duplicate. With the new development of direct printing, we are now able to dispense with around 1,250,000 adhesive labels a year for around 2,500 pallets a day," explains Schnizer.
| Pallet packing press | |
|---|---|
| Operating mode |
Fully automatic |
| Performance |
Up to 220 pallets/h |
| Diffuser width |
Up to 3200 mm |
The enormous benefits of direct printing on the edge protector are already very clear after just nine months - that's how long the two Mosca have been in successful operation. Above all, Martin Schnizer emphasizes the cost, time and material savings that other companies could also benefit from in the future: "By completely eliminating the adhesive labels, we not only reduce a lot of material costs, but also save the additional step of creating the labels and attaching them to the pallets - time that we can invest in other processes. The integrated printer also means that much less equipment is required in the machine, which in turn means easier care and maintenance for us. The special option of direct printing on the edge protector is a technologically simpler solution for us that allows us to reduce our costs, time and material consumption - an option that definitely has a future in the corrugated board industry".
Satisfied customer
Many years of experience
The close contact with Mosca GmbH , which has existed for years, makes it clear that the management of Aquila GmbH is not only very satisfied with the performance of the strapping machines, but also with the customer service. "The installation of the machines went smoothly, initial difficulties in work processes were always resolved as quickly as possible with the help of the personal customer advisors, so that there were no delays in production. From my own many years of experience, I can say that quality and service go hand in hand at Mosca GmbH ," summarizes Schnizer.
The special option of direct printing on the cardboard protection is a technologically simpler solution for us, which allows us to reduce our costs, time and material consumption - an option that definitely has a future in the corrugated board industry.