The Wiking Graf new production plan.

One of Poland’s leading label converters, Wiking Graf, has ordered a Mark Andy Evolution Series E5 flexo press for its new and high-tech production facility in Lodz. The family-owned and managed business, which primarily serves the pharmaceutical market, is a long-term Mark Andy user with three of the US manufacturer’s presses already operating on a triple-shift pattern.

With demand for pharma packaging continuing to rise, the new Mark Andy is part of a major investment programme that saw the company move from its downtown location to a new purpose-built facility on the outskirts of Lodz in April 2022. Speaking for Wiking Graf, owner and CEO Marek Jakubowski explained: “Our new HQ gives us more than three times the space we had before and has provided us with the opportunity to organise production in a more logical workflow. We need the new press to fulfil a growing order list that now sees our innovative products used in many European countries.”

When the new 17” (430mm) Mark Andy E5 is installed early in 2023 it will have the high-specification needed for Wiking’s work including a Vetaphone corona treater, 12 flexo print stations with GEW UV curing, chill drums, twin die-cutting stations, two compact parallel web translators, cold foil capability, a screen-printing unit, constant tension laminator, and web turn bars. The E5 also has automatic and pre-register as well as a short web path to keep set-up and job-change waste to a minimum.

A tour of the Wiking Graf production floor is unlike that of most label converters. With such a high proportion of its work dedicated to the pharmaceutical sector, Wiking’s plant list includes a variety of technology from sheet fed offset presses to folding machines, guillotines, and collators, all required to produce the printed paper instructions that form an integral part of drug packaging. With accuracy and security being two essential bywords in this market sector, Wiking has invested heavily in technology for 100% inspection across all printed products leaving the plant.

Concluding for Mark Andy Poland, Director Przemyslaw Polkowski commented: “Wiking Graf is one of our most valued Polish customers and we are looking forward to installing another high-spec Mark Andy press - this time into their new factory. It will highlight the all-round capability of the Evolution Series on specialised products like ‘peel-off’ and ‘booklet labels’, as well as Braille printing.” When the new E5 is fully commissioned and in commercial production it will ease the pressure on Wiking’s three existing Mark Andy presses, the earliest of which dates from 2008.