Design, ease of use impresses

8 March 2018
Rotocon

In a continuous quest for operational improvements, Triocorp has replaced two existing rewinders with one ROTOCON ECOLINE RCSI 330 finishing machine at its Durban facility,

In a continuous quest for operational improvements, Triocorp has replaced two existing rewinders with one ROTOCON ECOLINE RCSI 330 finishing machine at its Durban facility, reports NICI SOLOMON.

ESTABLISHED in Cape Town in 2001 as a technical service provider of self-adhesive labels and thermal transfer ribbons for barcode label printers, Triocorp has subsequently expanded into the Johannesburg and Durban markets, and has also progressed from the supply of blank labels into the production of flexographically-printed labels and flexible packaging.

Two years ago, to accommodate rapid growth in the KwaZulu-Natal market and to consolidate its Ballito and North Coast Road facilities into a single manufacturing site, Triocorp relocated to a 2 000m² facility in Cornubia Business Park near Mount Edgecombe.

Operations consultant, Chris Singh, relates that following some structural work at the new site, the team has now embarked on obtaining ISO 22000 accreditation, incorporating ISO 9001 and HACCP, to certify quality of the company’s food-grade packaging.

Last year, when investigating the replacement of two existing rewinders, Chris shopped around and settled on ROTOCON’S ECOLINE RCSI-330 slitting inspection rewinder, after a review of its specs and cost.

‘ROTOCON’s design team has looked at cost-savings from every angle,’ he reports. ‘This enables increased production rates, decreased electricity usage, and reduced overtime and maintenance – a good solution for the entire printing industry.’

The Triocorp team has enjoyed a long and successful working relationship with ROTOCON directors, Michael and Pascal Aengenvoort – having previously purchased two Rotoflex rewinders and a RotoControl RSI 340mm vision inspection rewinder from this OEM.

‘A further motivating factor in our decision was that ROTOCON was willing to trade in the existing rewinders as a deposit on the new model,’ Chris states. ‘We placed the order in June 2017 and had to wait three months for the machine to be built, shipped and installed. It was installed within two days in September by ROTOCON technician, William White. He then trained me, the operator, Cyprian ‘Shorty’ Nquku, and production manager, Mousey Sewdulari, within two-and-a-half hours.’

According to Chris, this short training timeframe was possible because of the machine’s S-drive servo/ software control system on unwind, rewind and draw stations, as well as self-explanatory icons on the moveable operator console. ‘These icons are based on smartphone navigation tools, making it easy for operators to follow,’ he explains.

Other features that make the operator’s life easier include being able to stop the job right at the printer’s flag; and built-in bar rulers and automated tension control, allowing the operator to set the blades and tension (after he’s measured the roll) by simply pressing two buttons.

Chris was under the mistaken impression that the ECOLINE would be a standard ROTOCON design with big parts. ‘I was really surprised to open the cover and see there’s hardly anything inside, thanks mainly to the servo system. I was even further impressed when we turned it on for the first time and it ran absolutely silently,’ he enthuses. ‘Furthermore, it has been running high-quality jobs beautifully for four months, without a single reject.’

He adds that the machine is equipped with a Sherknife system for quick set-up and runs like a dream.

ROTOCON technician, William White, who has relocated from Cape Town to Durban, is responsible for conducting the machine’s annual service and check-up.

In conclusion, Chris reveals that in its quest to become the number one UV flexo printing company in South Africa, Triocorp will be enhancing its print capacity later this year.