The new facility streamlines manufacture and shortens lead times through decoration in Europe
Quadpack has officially opened its new decoration center at its manufacturing plant in Kierspe, Germany. Already a center of excellence for PET injection and airless packaging manufacture, the factory now boasts a 900m2 facility with five high-capacity decorating lines and 11 assembly machines. The facility is part of Quadpack’s strategic plans to become a leader in decoration in the industry, following the acquisition of Wicklein Kunststoffveredelung GmbH in October 2021. The increase in assets and know-how, along with a significant investment in the Kierspe plant, means that it now offers an extensive range of decorating services.
Ernesto Cara, Head of Industrial Process at Quadpack, said: “The new decoration center positions the Kierspe plant as a European leader in sustainable manufacture and decoration. Our increased decoration capability allows us to bring in-house a service that was previously outsourced. In doing so, we will be able to speed up delivery times and cut the carbon footprint of our ‘Made in Europe’ solutions.”
€1 million has been invested in the creation of the decoration center. The site is supported by a four-tonne metal structure to create an open space with room to expand. A climate control system and air filters create the ideal conditions for decoration. The center is staffed by 36 employees, with specialist training in decorating techniques.
As of today, the new decoration and assembly lines allow Quadpack to finish proprietary and bespoke solutions manufactured at the plant, for a fully streamlined workflow, with plans to add more machines in the next months, totaling 10 decoration lines and 14 assembly machines.
A reduction of up to 50% in average lead times for finished packs is expected at the Kierspe plant. Early projections estimate an annual saving of 170 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
With the new center, Quadpack’s in-house decoration services in Europe now include silk-screening, hot-stamping, full-cover hot-stamping, pad printing, metallization, color matching and laser etching, with new techniques soon to be included.
The opening of the center conforms with the company’s operational strategy to deliver solutions in the region, for the region. Quadpack’s plant in Dallas, Texas, also has decoration capabilities, allowing Quadpack to manufacture, stock, decorate and assemble complete packaging solutions in EMEA and the Americas.