Seite 1 von 4 Edition 11 / March 07 - The Gallus EM 410/510 S at ...

Edition 11 / March 07The Gallus EM 410/510 S at Conti-LabelConti-Label Pauwels in Eeklo specialises in manufacturing and selling selfadhesivelabels and recently placed an order for a second Gallus EM 410 S.During our visit to Conti-Label’s impressive premises at the Nieuwendorpeindustrial park, manager Bernard Pauwels told us how the family companyreached the decision to invest in another of these Gallus presses.Pauwels gets off to an enthusiastic start. When asked to tell us something aboutConti-Label Pauwels, he immediately stresses just what an achievement it waswhen his father Martin started the business in the 1960s and had to discover themarket for himself. According to Pauwels, “In the current investment climate, it’sactually relatively straightforward to start up a business. Trade shows such asLabel Expo now provide you with just about everything you need. Back in the olddays, however, you had to find out everything for yourself!”The result of all his father’s research was a company specialising in broadsheetprinting. In the mid-1980s – 1985 to be precise – it was decided to split up thecompany. The Pauwels family started Conti-Label in January 1986 andproduction was up and running by around May that year. To start with, thecompany manufactured both continuous forms and self-adhesive labels. After 4years, a new press was purchased and a printer was taken on to satisfy thegrowing demand for labels. This was a good move – as soon became clear!The real breakthrough came in 1992 with the decision to invest in a high-tech 8-colour press. Pauwels describes this development with a fitting metaphor for afamily business. “During a visit to Labelexpo, we saw the ‘grandfather’ of ourcurrent Gallus EM 410 S at work. The press in question was in actual fact madeby Arsoma, a company that later became a Gallus subsidiary,” he explains.Pauwels refers to the EM 410 purchased at a later stage as the ‘son’ and hasnow also come up with a nickname for the Gallus EM 410 S – the ‘baby’! Thisparticular baby quickly became a strapping lad. In 2006, it produced some 7.5million meters of print products, divided over a total of 1046 jobs!To keep up with its rapid growth, Conti-Label Pauwels has invested in machineryfrom the outset, embracing the philosophy of Pauwels’ father Martin – “If you can

afford it, buy it!”Innovation plus new technologies equals qualityFor over 2 decades, Conti-Label has been producing high-quality labels for useon food and non-food items. “The food industry accounts for 50% of our salesand the remaining 50% is divided between the chemical, petrochemical,automotive and ‘soft’ pharmaceutical industries,” explains Pauwels.By gradually becoming more specialised and honing its expertise in specificprinting techniques, Conti-Label has not only undergone enormous expansion butalso become highly respected in the self-adhesive laminates market.“We appear to be highly regarded for our quality and reliability by many bignames in the business world,” continues Pauwels modestly. “As I see it, the factthat we are often chosen ahead of other – larger – companies for difficult,specialist jobs is, to a large extent, down to the commitment of our 43-strongworkforce and the unrivalled options offered by the Gallus EM 410 S,” he adds.At a given point, Pauwels – in consultation with his sister and fellow managerInge – opted for a different approach regarding the purchase of new presses.“Rather than always simply adding presses, we decided to sell a number of ourexisting presses and replace them with the new Gallus EM 410 S,” he explains.This decision came about following a trip to a demo day at Gallus. The Conti-Label delegation was extremely impressed by the innovative adaptability and thenew technologies showcased during their visit.Good preparation and quick job changesThe Gallus EM 410 S has enormous potential – provided preparations arethorough. As Pauwels puts it, “You simply need to feed the press, but it has to bein the right way!”“Our staff saw the new press in operation for the first time at the Gallus standduring Labelexpo Europe 2005 in Brussels. They not only noted the outstandingquality of the flexographic printing, but also saw that job changes effectively takejust a few minutes,” recalls Pauwels. “This is a crucial feature, particularly in acountry like Belgium where the same high quality is expected for regular smallscalejobs – and rightly so,” he stresses.The Gallus EM 410 S was installed in October 2005 by a highly professional teamof fitters from Plantin, a company which is the sole agent and distributor for bothGallus and Heidelberg products in Belgium and Luxembourg. After a preliminarybriefing, all the installation work was completed within 2 weeks.Pauwels tells us, “Our staff received training from a Gallus specialist on thesimple touchscreen operation and the endless possibilities offered by the press.Since then, the press has been operating non-stop from Monday to Friday.There’s just one problem – to give our workforce a break over the weekend, wehave to tell the press to stop on Friday evening. Otherwise it would happily carryon producing reliable, high-quality print products!”

Keep on running!Since the Gallus EM 410 S was put into service almost a year and a half ago, ithas been a case of full speed ahead. The management team at Conti-Labelconfirms that turnover has increased significantly without having to take on extrastaff. Thanks to its standardisation and smooth, user-friendly operation, the presscan keep on running without any problems, even if there are no staff around.“Our organisation is now perfectly geared to the press and, as a result, ourproductivity is going through the roof. Thanks to the short setup times, we areoperating much faster for both large and small jobs. What’s more, the flexibility ofour ‘full-option’ machine is unique,” states Pauwels, also stressing the importanceof quality parts, the ability of the press to handle all kinds of materials and inksand the considerable added value provided by the various tools on the Gallus EM410 S. The Sensotech control system essential for regulating the colour registerand the light, easy-to-handle printing cylinders and anilox rollers are just twoexamples.Quality in the future tooWhen asked what led him to purchase a second “S” press, Pauwels smiles andsays, “What else could it have been but our extremely good experiences with ourfirst press and the many benefits that have just been described? The technicalsupport – available day and night if necessary – also deserves a mention, asdoes the professionalism of the Gallus staff and the short lines ofcommunication.”Conti-Label operates an ISO 9001:2000-compliant quality management system.The aim is to keep improving quality and that applies to the future too.“Gallus can definitely help us with this,” says Pauwels. “In addition to the new ‘S’,which is due to arrive at the end of May, we are also planning to extend our first‘baby’. And who knows, we may even see a third member join the family, one thatoperates according to the same philosophy but is based on the very latesttechnology,” he adds.Whatever happens, Conti-Label will maintain its 100% focus on quality in thefuture too. According to Pauwels, “The Gallus presses most certainly represent astep forward in that respect. The more colours and the greater the level ofcomplexity required by jobs, the more impressive the quality provided!”Conti-Label Pauwels NV

Conti-Label produces and sells labels for both the food and the non-food sectors.It specialises in combining different printing techniques and operates a total of 6fully equipped printing presses.The company owes its position as one of Belgium’s market leaders to a healthyinvestment policy and its young, dynamic management team. Conti-Labelgenerates a turnover of around 7.5 million euros with a workforce of 43. Thecompany has grown by an average of 10% over the past decade.In April 2004, Conti-Label Pauwels NV received ISO 9001:2000 certification.For further information, see www.contilabel.beGerda GerschwilerManager Market Communicationsgerda.gerschwiler@gallus.ch