“Digitalization of the packaging supply chain is both evolution and revolution!”
That declaration was made June 8, 2022, by Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of Bobst Group. It preceded other rapid-fire revelations. All were voiced to an international cadre of journalists, assembled for the organization’s first live press event in three years. Key among them, this statement: “The revolution will take five, six, seven years.”
Bobst referenced four pillars of the corporate vision—connectivity, digitalization, automation and sustainability—dubbed them “transformative” and professed, “We see clearly. We never stop.” Then he announced that a roadmap for every product line has been developed. Each one features very smart, highly automated machines that incorporate recipe management into the equipment to establish a user-friendly platform for humans—one that is both simple and streamlined.
All photos courtesy of BOBST
In reporting that 5 percent of profits are invested in research and development initiatives, directed at making the vision, developed two years ago, a reality, the CEO said, “Step-by-step, we enter into the world of fully connected, fully automated data exchange.” Later, he added, “Together, we can embrace a better future with confidence.”
Elaborating on the point, Bobst stated, “The future will be driven by even more connectivity and proximity, more digitalization and flexibility, more automation and productivity, and more sustainability and responsibility… The key enabler of this vision is the new, updated BOBST Connect; which provides digital solutions to prepare, produce, react to, maintain and optimize the production workflow of a job.”
While crediting shorter lead times, reduced steps, zero-fault packaging, color consistency, goods protection, agility, mass customization, short runs and waste reduction as the foundation of the new business model; Bobst pledged to “connect and collaborate,” then said his firm will support converters embarking on a similar journey.
Indicating that printers’ paths will likely embrace Packaging 4.0 theories and practices to address quality, efficiency, sustainability and proximity, he claimed recent developments of “All-in One” presses and introduction of the “OneLabel Portfolio,” stand as proof that BOBST and its customers will be linked for profitability of the business, jointly understand every detail of what is involved and together optimize print output of every machine.
Before launching into a brief analysis of market trends by application, Bobst observed, “While it was impossible to predict world events of recent years—like the pandemic, global conflicts and subsequent consequences for our industry, such as shortages of materials and manpower—we did correctly identify the overall packaging industry trends.”
And in admitting that select courses of action have been accelerated, he acknowledged, “The newly launched version of BOBST Connect offers a host of features and functionality to help customers optimize their packaging at every stage. By linking up every single step of the process, it heightens efficiency, control and data knowledge, improving quality and efficiency across the value chain.” In essence, it keeps things simple and streamlined.
Applications Assessed
Turning to a quick review of what is happening in respective areas of the business, Bobst noted:
- Labels are experiencing steady market growth. Demand for faster time-to-market is constant. The latest technological advancements embrace co-existence of flexography, digital and other print processes in the same plant, as well as increasing reliance on automated workflows
- Similarly, in the flexible packaging arena, the CEO said growth is forecast. “Sustainability is being stressed. Innovation is the answer”
- Dynamics of the corrugated marketplace center around the exponential growth in e-commerce brought on by the pandemic lockdown. Here too, sustainability is an ever-present concern
- The folding carton business has to target trends common to the other areas, specifically, faster time-to-market and new consumer habits
Connect Brings Change
Briefing the media further, Leonard Badet, head of group technology, described what he termed the fundamental strategy driving all corporate moves in four words: “Change the entire industry.” Then he listed out what is entailed:
- Manage the workforce
- Achieve automation
- Get more productivity from existing assets—the machines
- Capitalize on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to prepare, produce, react, maintain and optimize—link equipment and third-party software
- Secure consistent interaction with the outside world
- Become systematically more productive through job and recipe management, tool monitoring, maintenance management, quality management—“Do this to improve that”
Badet announced, “From July on, all machines will be offered together with BOBST Connect.” He described it as an end-to-end digitalization solution driving packaging productivity, then credited the connective platform with leveraging data, improving quality, efficiency, features and functionality to optimize packaging.
That said, he offered an update on pending introductions on a module-by-module basis.
“The equipment monitoring module is now available. Performance monitoring is available. Job and recipe management is coming. Tool monitoring is coming. Maintenance management is coming. Quality management is coming. The order of introduction follows the path in which they are listed.”
Labels on Demand
Patrick Graber, strategic marketing manager, turned his remarks to members of the press that cover converters of one to 1 million labels. He reported 30 percent digital adoption in value, 13 percent in volume—print output—among that printer community. He also pinpointed label market growth at 4 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). By process, he said:
- Flexography, toner and EP are slightly decreasing
- Offset and gravure are flat
- Inkjet is growing
- Letterpress is flat
According to data collected by BOBST, digital print value is up 12x from April 2021 to April 2022. At present, more than 300 BOBST label presses have been installed.
Key concerns common to most all converters were listed out as: sustainable solutions, flexibility, agility, efficiency and workforce profitability. Graber placed challenges as managing multiple technologies, processes and substrates, while fulfilling expectations that require labels on demand.