Thimm Group invests in its Romanian site to further expand its printing expertise

Corruflex, from the German machine manufacturer Koenig & Bauer, is currently one of the most modern flexo postprint systems. Since early 2021 it has been enhancing the portfolio of the Romanian plant of Thimm pack’n’display with high-quality post-printed products. “With the installation of the new machine, we can now also offer high-quality direct printing on corrugated cardboard directly to our customers in the Central and Eastern European market,” reports Michael Weber, Head of Corporate Strategy + Marketing at Thimm Group. Market requirements for post-print quality have also increased.

Weber continues: “We are setting new quality standards at Thimm pack'n'display with the installation in Sibiu. The machine is the first of its kind in the Eastern European market.” Due to the very high register accuracy of the printing press and the use of anilox rolls in the required specification, colour prints up to the 49/50 grid range can be achieved. The new machine can also easily produce photo printing on high-quality paper. In addition to using uncoated paper, high-quality coated paper can also be printed on using the integrated dryer in the individual printing units and a powerful final dryer.
“Should a fault occur in the print image for production reasons, the faulty printed sheet is automatically detected, ejected from the machine and the quantity is aligned so that quality and quantity remain at the same level,” says Weber explaining the print image monitoring of the system. “Another highlight is the roller-free feeding of the corrugated cardboard sheets into the machine. This prevents calibration loss and the sheets are not damaged at any time.”

The system has a working format of 1.52 x 2.80 m and reaches speeds of up to 10,000 feeds per hour. Thimm Group is impressed by its performance. “This investment has enabled us to increase production capacity many times over. The printing press has a capacity of up to 30 million printed square metres per year, which is an increase of 150 percent compared to our previous printer,” continues Weber. The plant employees in Sibiu are also very pleased with the modern machine. “The machine can be set up during ongoing operation for a new, second job. This was previously not possible with the existing system without stopping and moving the machine apart.”

In order to install the new printing system with its total length of 30 metres, some prior modifications to the plant were required. Thimm Group has invested several million euro in the Romanian site. Sibiu employs around 308 people, 222 of whom work in production.