Lucaprint Group Upgrades Pordenone Plant with Rapida 106


The Lucaprint group, one of Italy's leading packaging printers, recently installed a new KBA Rapida 106 at subsidiary Sa.Ge.Print in Pordenone. Established in 1953, Lucaprint employs 120 people and posts annual sales of around Euros17m ($24.3m).

Based in northern Italy, alongside Sa.Ge.Print in Friuli and its own plant in Veneto Lucaprint has a third production plant, WorkUp, which is also in Veneto. Together, they offer a complete service from the initial draft to printing, finishing and distribution. Although the packaging market did not escape the economic crisis unscathed, the Lucaprint group maintained its growth curve unperturbed. Since last year it has been pursuing plans to expand abroad. The target is to export as much as 30 per cent of its output - initially to France and northern Europe but rapidly followed by Brazil and India.

The Lucaprint group makes folding cartons and packaging from solid and laminated board, available with a choice of special features. Other products include shop window and floor displays, catalogues, brochures, ring binders, books and other publications. It also offers a complete service for implementing internet projects. Customers come from the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, optical and food processing industries.

Lucaprint, which is based in Pianezze, mainly prints large-format packaging on a Rapida 162a six-colour coater press and another large-format KBA press. Sa.Ge.Print in Pordenone specialises in the production of small-format folding cartons and packaging along with high-grade commercials.

Accreditations galore

"We are one of the biggest packaging printing groups in Italy, and our primary objective has always been to deliver consistent quality excellence," stresses group president Dr Alberto Luca. "We are keen to maintain the outstanding quality of our products and ensure that we can satisfy constantly shifting market demands."

The result is a long list of accreditations and certificates: "We believe they are crucial - just think of food safety, for instance," explains Dr Luca. "We were among the first companies in the sector to achieve EN ISO 9001 accreditation back in the mid-1990s." In 2008 Lucaprint added EN ISO 14001:2004 environmental certification, and a year later its endeavours towards food safety accreditation were rewarded when it became the first enterprise in Italy to be granted EN 15593 certification, a major international standard governing hygiene management in the production of food packaging. Lucaprint's most recent certification was EN ISO 22000 In 2010.

The production plant in Pordenone has been completely refurbished and upgraded. The Rapida 106, which is a six-colour version with a coater, extended delivery and board printing capability, is just one piece of new equipment.

Business links with KBA date back 15 years

Giuseppe Augiero, a member of the Sa.Ge.Print management board, says: "We are aiming to enhance our quality standards on an ongoing basis. This is only possible with cutting-edge technology. The Rapida 106 is part of an automation strategy for our plant that will enable our entire production chain, from goods reception to order fulfilment and warehousing, to be managed automatically via the web." When the new investment package was first tabled, enquiries were sent to a number of vendors, but Lucaprint's positive experience with its existing Rapida162a is what tipped the balance in favour of KBA. "We are totally satisfied with KBA technology. Our business links with KBA date back more than fifteen years to the purchase of a B0 press. That is one reason why we wish to continue our relationship with KBA: it is a matter of confidence and trust. We are glad we made this decision."

Website: www.lucaprintgroup.com

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