13-06-16
Member news
When Dutch label converter EDNN installed a Mark Andy P5 it reduced turnaround times from weeks to days. Nick Coombes reports from Hoogeveen.
Etikettendrukkerij-Noord Nederland (EDNN) has been a staunch Mark Andy user since the company was founded in 2005 by Gert Talen, who installed a 254mm (10”) eight-colour 2200 and set to work with one employee. As the business grew, he added a second Mark Andy in 2008, this time a 430mm (17”) 2200 model, by which time the staff had grown to four, and the company had built a reputation for top class service and reliability.
The watershed came in 2015, when Talen sold a majority of the company shares to investors, and Vincent Belksma was recruited to run the business. Having long realised that demand had outstripped capacity, Talen had already begun negotiations for a third press, which resulted in the order for a Mark Andy Performance Series. Belksma took up the story: “We knew that extra capacity would offer our customers more security and relieve the pressure on our staff, but I also saw a need for restructuring to make production more efficient.”
With 14 people now employed at EDNN (eight in production, four in sales/admin), he set about installing processes that made the production cycle more transparent, which gave the benefit of highlighting both good and bad areas in the overall business process. “One of our difficulties, and I’m sure it’s a national problem, is the scarcity of experienced and qualified staff in the industry, which applies a brake to progress with new technology, if it’s not resolved.” The answer was to set up an in-house training scheme for youngsters, which although still in its early days, is already beginning to bear fruit.
With two 2200 lines in day-to-day working, the choice of Mark Andy for the third press was not a foregone conclusion, according to Belksma. Chosen for their rugged simplicity, which has made them reliable performers, the 2200 lines are a world away from where EDNN wanted its next investment to be. And the choice in the market for latest generation technology is extensive, with any number of manufacturers offering high-spec flexo presses. “In the end, we chose a Mark Andy Performance Series press because it was the most proven of all the competition and we knew we could rely on their after sales support, which as a small company is vital,” he explained.
Building on the reliability of the 2200s, which have seen little more than routine service over the years, Belksma believes the new P5, with its semi-servo control and ‘film package’ designed for handling unsupported filmic substrates, will build on the company’s product offering. The P5 has a 430mm web width and is fitted with eight flexo print stations, corona treater, web cleaner, delam/relam, turn bars, two die cut stations (including Mark Andy’s award winning QCDC), and full UV curing, and according to Timo Donati, Mark Andy’s European Sales Manager: “Will add significant capacity to EDNN both in terms of volume, with its higher speed, and product variation with its broad substrate capability.”
Currently, more than 80% of EDNN’s business is with the food industry, for which it is ‘Grade A’ certified by the BRC, still a relatively rare occurrence in the Netherlands, according to Vincent Belksma, and a useful ‘usp’. But, he is keen to point out that no single customer accounts for more than 10% of company sales, which he sees as a security blanket. Substrates used include self-adhesive papers as well as PP and PE filmics, and while most of the output is for domestic consumption, exports to Germany and the UK are beginning to grow. A typical job for EDNN would be 5,000 to 10,000 in five or six colours, but the fast make-ready and high running speed of the new P5 extend those parameters in both directions.
One significant seasonal job comes from the mussel industry in The Netherlands. Originally three months, but now stretching to five, it provides EDNN with a boost in demand that is all the better for being predictable. “We needed 28-hour days and eight days a week to handle it before the P5 arrived! In addition to the extra volume it gives us, the new Mark Andy also allows us to add value, and that’s where the margin is,” he commented.
With a growth in demand for ‘clear-on-clear’ or ‘no-label look’ using PE, and a desire to develop business in the eco packaging sector, Vincent Belksma has set ambitious targets for the company moving forward. “I feel comfortable that the P5 will tackle anything we ask of it and allow us to grow our business into profitable new markets,” he concluded. With a €3.5m turnover, the company has come a long way from two men and one machine, but EDNN continues to prosper with its original principles of customer service and value for money.
The watershed came in 2015, when Talen sold a majority of the company shares to investors, and Vincent Belksma was recruited to run the business. Having long realised that demand had outstripped capacity, Talen had already begun negotiations for a third press, which resulted in the order for a Mark Andy Performance Series. Belksma took up the story: “We knew that extra capacity would offer our customers more security and relieve the pressure on our staff, but I also saw a need for restructuring to make production more efficient.”
With 14 people now employed at EDNN (eight in production, four in sales/admin), he set about installing processes that made the production cycle more transparent, which gave the benefit of highlighting both good and bad areas in the overall business process. “One of our difficulties, and I’m sure it’s a national problem, is the scarcity of experienced and qualified staff in the industry, which applies a brake to progress with new technology, if it’s not resolved.” The answer was to set up an in-house training scheme for youngsters, which although still in its early days, is already beginning to bear fruit.
With two 2200 lines in day-to-day working, the choice of Mark Andy for the third press was not a foregone conclusion, according to Belksma. Chosen for their rugged simplicity, which has made them reliable performers, the 2200 lines are a world away from where EDNN wanted its next investment to be. And the choice in the market for latest generation technology is extensive, with any number of manufacturers offering high-spec flexo presses. “In the end, we chose a Mark Andy Performance Series press because it was the most proven of all the competition and we knew we could rely on their after sales support, which as a small company is vital,” he explained.
Building on the reliability of the 2200s, which have seen little more than routine service over the years, Belksma believes the new P5, with its semi-servo control and ‘film package’ designed for handling unsupported filmic substrates, will build on the company’s product offering. The P5 has a 430mm web width and is fitted with eight flexo print stations, corona treater, web cleaner, delam/relam, turn bars, two die cut stations (including Mark Andy’s award winning QCDC), and full UV curing, and according to Timo Donati, Mark Andy’s European Sales Manager: “Will add significant capacity to EDNN both in terms of volume, with its higher speed, and product variation with its broad substrate capability.”
Currently, more than 80% of EDNN’s business is with the food industry, for which it is ‘Grade A’ certified by the BRC, still a relatively rare occurrence in the Netherlands, according to Vincent Belksma, and a useful ‘usp’. But, he is keen to point out that no single customer accounts for more than 10% of company sales, which he sees as a security blanket. Substrates used include self-adhesive papers as well as PP and PE filmics, and while most of the output is for domestic consumption, exports to Germany and the UK are beginning to grow. A typical job for EDNN would be 5,000 to 10,000 in five or six colours, but the fast make-ready and high running speed of the new P5 extend those parameters in both directions.
One significant seasonal job comes from the mussel industry in The Netherlands. Originally three months, but now stretching to five, it provides EDNN with a boost in demand that is all the better for being predictable. “We needed 28-hour days and eight days a week to handle it before the P5 arrived! In addition to the extra volume it gives us, the new Mark Andy also allows us to add value, and that’s where the margin is,” he commented.
With a growth in demand for ‘clear-on-clear’ or ‘no-label look’ using PE, and a desire to develop business in the eco packaging sector, Vincent Belksma has set ambitious targets for the company moving forward. “I feel comfortable that the P5 will tackle anything we ask of it and allow us to grow our business into profitable new markets,” he concluded. With a €3.5m turnover, the company has come a long way from two men and one machine, but EDNN continues to prosper with its original principles of customer service and value for money.