The story “behind” a pizza box

Cuboxal (part of Pro-Gest Group) manufactures food packaging with a specific focus on the production of pizza boxes.
The concern’s use of state of the art printers and diecutters - equipped with Bosch Rexroth technology - solidifies its dynamism and competency.

«Fortunately, people still eat pizza; in fact, with the crisis, people buy and take home pizzas even more frequently than before».
And as a consequence, the use of the special boxes used to transport them has increased as well.
With this comment, Benedetta Zago, daughter of the group’s founder Bruno Zago and Managing Director of Cuboxal, a subsidiary of the group specialized in producing food packaging, particularly for pizzas, explains how, against the current of a troubled industry, the group manages to invest and grow.

Growth objectives
This growth is documented by the production values: while in the early ‘90s of the last century the concern produced approximately 25 million units per year, today it “serves” nearly one million and 700 thousand containers per day (more than four hundred million annually).
Destined to increase: indeed, the objective is to double current volumes during the next two years.
More than 90% of the pizza boxes produced are sold abroad.
«Initially, our target market was Germany - Benedetta Zago states - and it remains so, but we are exporting more and more to Africa, the Middle East and the United States».
«The boxes also arrive at night, because we operate in a continuous cycle. Then they are prepared and folded in loading docks to be sent the next day, every operation performed by robots», explains Bruno Zago, the leader of Pro-Gest, the multinational that manages an entire paper industry of its own. Cuboxal is one of its strategic assets. «We currently employ 80, but, if everything goes according to plan, the number is set to increase.
In order to prepare for increasing demand, we have recently expanded by approximately 8000 square meters our covered property, which now totals 22 thousand square meters in all» remarks Benedetta: «An important investment in 3.5 million euro’s worth of machinery was made, out of a total of 23 million invested in the project».

High tech for superior production
A closer look at the group’s production of pizza boxes reveals that, in order to arrive at such values and such high performance, Pro-Gest relies on the power of four Nike Print 180/220 machines, and one ZEUS series HBL rotary diecutter by Massenzana Group (Favalessa) equipped by Bosch Rexroth.

Printing
In particular, the Nike Print 180/220 flexographic printing line - which can be configured according to the end user’s needs - works with up to six colors on high board type corrugated cardboard (printing from below), with suction sheet transfer, independent drives and print synchronisms managed by a Bosch Rexroth motion controller.
The machine, designed to reach a production speed of 10,000 sheets/hour, can be made in two versions, with a width of 1800 or 2200 mm.
The machine can be equipped with anilox cylinders for normal or glossy paper; rubberized rollers, negative or closed doctor blades can be used.
Nike Print can also be supplied with quick and automatic anilox changeover or double anilox installed on the machine, ready to use.
The sheet drying process can use both hot air and infrared methods.
Moreover, since the system can be configured as an in line as well as an off line printer, it is equipped with direct transfer to the diecutter or outgoing sheet stacker.
«The customer requested a machine with fast plate changeover during production, guaranteeing optimal performance in maintaining register from the first prints of the new production lots.
Nike Print achieves high precision in print definition, guaranteeing a margin of error in register very close to the best applications in the sector» explains Loris Favalessa of Favalessa SpA.

Diecutting
The 66” ZEUS series HBL rotary diecutter is made in three models: 2500, 2800 and 3200 mm.
It enables quick machine processing of prints in production and preparation of the floor-mounted diecutting unit, including paired with the Serrapid system.
The die-cutting and high quality printing are high precision.
Suction transport is conducted by overhead belts.
Equipped with an anilox roller always ready to use and direct drives, this HBL machine can work with any format and print 5, 6 or more colors.

Complete architecture
from a single supplier
For the development of such flexible and sophisticated applications, in such a highly competitive market as the current one, Massenzana Group turned to Bosch Rexroth, whose thoroughness in designing and supplying various high tech product lines makes it a point of reference for innovative solutions.
«We turned to Bosch Rexroth - Favalessa explains - because of its renowned competency with this type of machinery.
Furthermore, the advantage of having a complete architecture designed by a single supplier has enabled us to significantly reduce planning and development time frames, so that the first machine was already in operation at the customer’s facility three months after the order was placed».
Both Nike Print and Zeus HBL were created using Bosch Rexroth’s platform IndraMotion for Printing.
«IndraMotion for Printing integrates into the motion control platform a powerful machine PLC compatible with modern programming languages in compliance with regulation IEC 61131» comments Luigi Franchini, Bosch Rexroth’s Food Packaging & Printing cluster manager.
«The platform includes library functions for managing the various processes required by single sheet printers: synchronisms, register control, cam profile optimization for correct printing plate length and management of multiple print formats, commonly called the skip-feed function.
The availability of functions developed for the applications of the sector has enabled quickly setting up the prototype, enabling the builder to focus on application functions typical of the printing line» the manager adds.
The electronic platform is supplemented by IndraDrive series digital modular drives, with 36A double modular drives, MSK series brushless servomotors on the print axes, and MAD series asynchronous servomotors on transport systems and the introducer.
On the print axes, functional safety during plate replacement is guaranteed by safety functions integrated into the drives, certifiably compliant with governing regulations.
«The adoption of double modular drives and the choice of drive-integrated safety functions according to Bosch Rexroth’s Safety on Board standard - Franchini concludes - significantly reduced bulk and wiring in the electric cabinet, to the benefit of reducing testing times and the general maintenance of the applications».
The print axis drives, anilox and transport are also supplied with pre-installed reduced play epicycloidal reducers, significantly reducing the time the builder must spend assembling components.
The technological synergy between Bosch Rexroth and Favalessa is the result of investments made by Pro-gest in new production sites and developed with mutual satisfaction up to the installation of four printing lines and one rotary diecutter complete with six color units. And while Pro-gest carries on its own growth in the global food packaging market, Favalessa turns to the international market to propose technological solutions now comparable to the main European manufacturers.
And while the pizza box remains one of the images most closely associated with Italy, its production is taken care of by flexible technological solutions, precise and quick, which well represent the distinguished knowhow of Made in Italy automation concerns.