Bobst Fuego

Nilkanth Parulkar, director at Jasmine Art Printers says he invested in the Fuego to handle the company’s increasingly diverse range of cartons

09 May 2013 | By PrintWeek India

What does the machine do?
We use it to fold and glue pretty much anything that’s cartonboard-based. Core products are folding-box-board packaging. We can glue the miniature cartons like Chiclets as well as outer cartons of 800 mm length with lock-bottom style.

Why did you choose this particular machine? 
Bobst Fuego is tried and tested in Indian printing industry and is proven for its performance as well as service back-up is trustworthy.
 
Why did you make the purchase? 
To cope-up with the speed of the latest printing equipment in which we have already invested, we had to strengthen our post-press facility and growing work load in a faster and accurate manner. So we had to invest in the said machine.  
 
What features do you particularly like?
Fast make-ready and the accuracy even at higher speeds are the key features.
 
Is there anything that you wish it had that it doesn’t? 
Not really.
 
How fast is it? 
It runs at 300 metres a minute.
 
How reliable is it?
Very much. It’s solidly built and everything seems to be engineered for longevity.
 
What’s the quality like? 
The machine is superbly designed and built. And the quality of the products we create on it is excellent.
 
How easy it is to use?
Very easy. Bobst included training in the package. This was very useful. Both the gluer and the glue system are easy to set and run.
 
How much time or money has it saved? 
On some jobs it has cut production time by more than half because of the speed advantage. With the Fuego we are now cost effective on both short- and long-runs. So, regardless of the size of the job, we will be competitive because we have the kit to handle it. On top of that it’s helping us keep lead times down, which is really important in the packaging market.
 
Has it won you any new work?
It was more about getting rid of a bottleneck, but we’re starting to explore some of the things we can do in-house now that we couldn’t before.
Were there any difficulties experienced during the installation or after? 
There were some teething problems, but the way Bobst handled those was a true indication that we’d selected the right supplier, as suppliers can truly be measured by the way they handle problems. We lost no production output during the installation of our new machine.
 
Who do you think the machine is right for? 
To be fair, any product that needs to be folded or glued would benefit from the efficiencies gained from the Fuego. It is better suited for larger production runs, but if your workload includes short runs, the quick makeready times make it a good all-round choice.
 
Under what circumstances would you buy another?
As soon as we start overloading this one.

Conclusion
User’s verdict
Speed 5/5
Quality5/5
Reliability 5/5
Value for money 5/5