Gluing: values and confirmation

2015 has been a year “of substance” for Robatech, which has chosen Converflex to share with the world its big news: the start of a partnership with Leary, the concern’s constant attention to ethical and environmental issues and 40 years of history to celebrate. Davide Morten, manager of the Swiss group’s Italian subsidiary, shares his thoughts.

«Robatech was able to participate at Converflex with renewed gusto, thanks to the market challenges the concern has overcome and the benchmarks it has reached: valuable experiences that we wished to share with the many visitors interested in our new offers for the converting and paper sectors».
These are the first considerations of Davide Morten, which recall a particularly exciting 2015 for the gluing systems producer, as much from a commercial as a technological standpoint.

Announcing an alliance
«For the first time officially, and in Italy - Morten explains - we are presenting the strategic alliance we undertook in 2014 with the US W.H.Leary, a leading company in the production of cold glue application equipment, as well as quality control systems for the paper industry». This is a substantial and very important agreement, because it creates a perfect market complementarity: indeed, Robatech has long held a dominant position in the production of hot melt equipment, while Leary leads in that of cold gluing. Both concerns are distinguished by strict quality controls, in addition to their shared vision and market position goals. Converflex, given its central role in the converting sector, was chosen as the most suitable occasion for announcing the partnership».
It’s worth recalling here that the partnership is a commercial one: the Robatech Group is selling, distributing and supplying service and assistance for Leary products worldwide, making use of a deeply rooted global organization. «Leary, for its part - Morten points out - is distributing, integrating and guaranteeing the maintenance of Robatech products in North America, the UK and other strategic regions, such as South America.

The re-organization of the areas of interest was facilitated by the fact that the respective areas of influence were already clearly defined geographically: Leary’s core market has always been the USA, whereas Robatech has historically been less present there. Moreover, the distribution of Leary products in Europe is less significant, whereas Robatech is the indisputed leader here».
In every respect, this was a brave and risky operation, especially because entrusting distribution of one’s own products to “another” company requires a completely shared set of intents and purposes.
«That’s why, in this phase, company-wide motivational training exercises for our sales staff is crucial. They will be supplied with knowledge tools and perceivable progress criteria that can be met within specific timeframes».
This complex operation was also made possible by the strong identity of both concerns, which have maintained the same ownership schemes since their origins, while still full-fledged multinationals with extensive structures.
«It should not be forgotten, in fact, that both Robatech and Leary were founded as family enterprises and grew over the years to overtake the global market».

“Clean” equipment, low consumption and safety
Robatech brought to Converflex 2015 its latest offers in terms of hot-melt equipment, perfected with adjustments to optimize environmental impact, operator safety and energy consumption. The latter is made possible by insulated tanks, fittings and guns, reduced unused energy dispersion, elimination of potential operator risk zones, active carbon filters against any harmful fumes released into the air...
The highlights presented at the fair (e.g. the RobaFeed integrated filling system and its optional extension GranulateContainer) thus offer a valid example of how “ethical” considerations can orient technological design and advances.
«The latest Robatech developments - Morten goes on - guarantee first of all the safety standards required by the packaging industry as a whole, but they can also make the difference in more demanding sectors, such as food and pharmaceuticals».

Quality control: Leary’s contribution
Robatech is integrating its portfolio, now also offering Leary quality control systems. «In particular, there are solutions that verify, upon outfeed from the box shaping line, not only that the glue has been applied, but also if it is properly spread, in the right place, in the right quantity, in the right length… otherwise the piece is expelled». In this way, the compliance of each single box with set requirements is 100% guaranteed.
Other controls enable preventing mix-ups among packaging units, a problem often faced especially in the pharmaceuticals sector. «On this front, we offer integrated solutions that, in addition to performing gluing, check the barcode, in real time and at very high speed (up to 700 meters per minute), expelling non-compliant pieces that would have escaped the operator’s attention».   

RobaFeed
Automatic filling system, run using a melting device that sucks the correct amount of adhesive as needed and monitors the part left in the container. There are many advantages: no overfilling of the tub or line stops; lower risk of carbonisation, greater protection against harmful fumes.

GranulateContainer
It protects the adhesive from environmental alterations or those due to UV radiation, preventing contamination and clumping of the granulates. The suction lance is fed continuously and constantly. Automatic monitoring and a large plexiglass observation window on the cover enable controlling the filling station, even visually. In order to process particularly viscous granular adhesive at high environmental temperatures, Robatech developed the Jumper variant, on which a compressed air lifting plate intermittently rises and falls, mixing the adhesive inside.

40 years of history
From a small family enterprise based in Switzerland, Robatech has grown to establish itself on a global scale, becoming a multinational that boasts 60 branches in 51 countries worldwide.
This year Robatech celebrates its 40th anniversary and welcomes the involvement and participation of all, customers and employees alike.
Indeed, to the former the concern dedicated the campaign “40 years 40 months” as part of the “Register Your Equipment” project. Users who, during the course of 2015, purchase a Robatech installation and register it on the dedicated web platform will enjoy a warranty extension to 40 months (in lieu of the standard 24), further proving the concern’s confidence in the quality of its products.
To employees, on the other hand, Robatech is offering a three-day cruise in Greece, aboard a ship completely reserved to them. During a voyage from Athens to Santorini, they will get a chance to meet and socialize, celebrating together the value of such a meaningful occasion.