The three-year journey has come to an end. Amcor Flexibles' Preston, Australia, plant (near Melbourne) recently completed a comprehensive program to upgrade its entire slitting and rewinding operation. The higher running speeds, reduced job changeover times and fully automated slit-roll handling systems the converter installed will ensure substantial improvements in productivity, Amcor says.

One of Amcor Flexibles' largest converting plants in Australia, the Preston facility produces a wide range of packaging materials, such as printed and unprinted mono- and multilayer plastic films, laminations and converted products for consumer and industrial customers. It serves the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors, including confectionery, coffee, fresh and dairy foods.

Parent company Amcor Australasia is the most diverse of the group's business units, supplying packaging across the complete Amcor line: corrugated and folding cartons; steel and aluminium cans; flex packs; PET jars and bottles; closures; glass wine bottles; multiwall sacks; and recycling services. With rapid expansion through aggressive acquisitions, Amcor has become a global leader in packaging. About 24 percent of its product mix is now attributable to flexibles.

Over the course of three years, Amcor Flexibles Preston added three Titan SR7 and two Titan SR8 cantilevered machines from the Bobst Group (www.bobstgroup.com). The latter system has become the most successful model in the Titan portfolio since its launch at Drupa 2004. More than 60 Titan SR8 machines have now been installed worldwide in the past 18 months, the supplier says.

One of Amcor's Titan SR8 machines, which was commissioned last year, has an unusual specification: an embossing station for both aluminum foil and paper laminates. It reportedly runs at speeds in excess of 1,300 fpm.

The final two systems (expected to be online at presstime) include the new Titan CT610 automatic turret slitter/rewinder and a full-width inspection rewinder. The high-speed, high-volume CT610 provides automatic cut-off and taping, automatic knife positioning and a fully automated slit-roll unloading and handling system. That unit will be fully integrated into Amcor's existing end-of-line roll-packaging operation.

A major benefit of the Titan CT610 is the minimal machine downtime between finished rolls, said to be consistently less than 20 secs, enabling high slitting volumes and overall productivity. According to Amcor, the single CT610 will be able to process higher volumes than the three older slitters it is replacing.

Amcor will use the full-width inspection rewinder to detect (and remove) any printing or laminating faults in the parent rolls prior to slitting on the Titan CT610. This arrangement is meant to avoid machine stoppages and thus further maximize productivity.