RAKO-ETIKETTEN opts for the Gallus EM 430 S

Over the past two years, the RAKO GROUP has invested in not one but three new Gallus EM 430 S presses. First came the machine for the newly founded RAKO Labels Cape Town in South Africa, which was taken into service at the beginning of 2011. The plants in Witzhave (Germany) and France then also took delivery of one Gallus EM 430 S each.

Before the first Gallus EM 430 S was commissioned in South Africa, it was put through its paces at RAKO-ETIKETTEN in Witzhave. During this test phase, the RAKO GROUP was able to witness the qualities and exceptional performance of the new Gallus EM 430 S at first hand. When subsequently investing in a new combination printing press for the plants in Witzhave and France, the RAKO management team once again opted for the Gallus EM 430 S.

The centrepiece among the four state-of-the-art flexographic presses at RAKO's production facility in South Africa is without doubt the Gallus EM 430 S ten-colour machine. It serves a market that is enjoying very rapid growth. According to the RAKO GROUP's Technical Director Rainer Bufe, the main factor that resulted in this press being chosen was “the proven robust machine technology of the Gallus EM 430 S.” The redesigned Gallus EM 430 S met RAKO's expectations in every respect. “We needed a real workhorse with tried-and-tested market credentials for our South African production operation. The test phase at our Witzhave plant met all our expectations and confirmed we had made the right decision,” underlines Bufe.

The redesigned model retains the well-established platform concept of the Gallus EM 430 S along with its unrivalled process flexibility. Benefiting from the best substrate flexibility of any label press in its class, the Gallus EM 430 S can process any substrate from just a few microns to 450 microns thick – everything from foil to card, including aluminium foil and tube laminates.

Due to its changing order situation, RAKO has also invested in a new Gallus EM 430 S in both Germany and France. The new machines are designed for a combination of flexographic and screen printing and are used in multi-shift operation – mainly for oil and cosmetics labels. Sven Kozlowski, who oversaw all the commissioning processes at RAKO and trained the press operators on all three new machines, has been won over by the high performance of the Gallus EM 430 S: “The results achieved are truly unique. We are all very impressed with the machine!”

Sven Kozlowski with operators of the new Gallus EM 430 S at the RAKO plant in Witzhave.

Use of aluminium printing cylinder sleeves

The new aluminium printing cylinder sleeves are also being used on the Gallus EM 430 S machines at the RAKO plants in Witzhave and France. These exceptionally precise and robust sleeves are simply slipped onto a high-precision printing cylinder shaft and held in place by a clamping system at the touch of a button. Unlike synthetic printing cylinder sleeves, aluminium sleeves do not age and retain their dimensional stability over the machine's entire service life, resulting in consistently high and stable print quality. What's more, there is no wear-related ageing or maintenance with aluminium sleeves, which makes them a one-off investment for RAKO.

Plastic sleeve and aluminium printing cylinder sleeve.

The new Gallus EM 430 S

Following its successful installation at the RAKO GROUP and other selected customers in highly diverse market segments, the Gallus EM 430 S is now available in series production. Thanks to the revamped machine's state-of-the-art technology, including its UV curing systems and control components, operators can make sure they are equipped for future challenges and applications in the label printing industry. 

The RAKO management team are unanimous in stressing: “We made the right decision when opting for the Gallus EM 430 S!”