Major Spanish label and packaging production business targets energy reduction as part of ongoing sustainability drive

Based in Barcelona and employing nearly 100 people, IPE Industria Gráfica is one of Spain’s leading producers of adhesive labels, sleeves, sachets and flexible packaging across a huge range of market sectors. Combining offset, screen, flexo and digital production methods, the company serves some of the biggest European and global brands.

Sustainability has long been a core focus of the business, leading them to set up an eco-friendly portfolio of products five years ago, and the company also has FSC, PEFC and Carbon Footprint standard certification to underline its environmental credentials.

IPE Director General, Francesc Egea sees LED curing as an important technology to make the whole industry more sustainable. “LED is the technology of the future,” he says. “There’s no doubt that this is the direction of travel.

“At IPE, we’re market leaders and we’re prepared to take risks – especially when we see a technology that can help us to operate in a more sustainable way over the long-term. Fujifilm’s Activ LED UV curing system, with the huge energy saving potential it offers, is just such a technology.

“We already had a very successful relationship with Fujifilm as a flexo ink supplier, so when we had some issues with our existing LED curing system and were looking for an alternative – it made sense on a number of levels to speak with Fujifilm. They’re now a ‘whole solution’ partner for us, giving us one point of contact for ink and for the curing technology if there are ever any issues.”

Aside from sustainability – important though it is – investment decisions also need to make business sense, as Mr Egea explains: “LED UV curing is the future, but not all LED systems are equal. We weren’t fully satisfied with our existing LED system, and in moving some of our sleeve and sachet production to Fujifilm’s Activ system we’re seeing a productivity increase of around 30%, as well as better quality finished products.

“The level of continuous investment required to remain competitive in our industry is an ongoing challenge,” Mr Egea concludes. “But in Fujifilm we have a partner with both the ink and the curing solution to help us deliver better, faster results to our customers, while at the same time helping us to meet the ambitious sustainability goals we continually set for ourselves.”

Manuel Schrutt, Head of Packaging, EMEA adds: “Fujifilm has a huge range of solutions for the flexo market, from inks, to plates, to curing systems, all of them designed to minimise waste and maximise profitability. We’re delighted to have expanded our existing relationship with IPE and look forward to a long continuing partnership.”