Maintaining high intensity performance

IST’s new UV Analyser is portable and measures UV lamp output in the intermediate drying area. Image: IST Metz

Recent increases in natural gas prices along with rising demand for canned beverages and other canned products have created growing interest in UV and UV LED curing systems among can manufacturers looking for cost effective ways to expand two- and three-piece can production.

While the Covid-19 pandemic and government quarantine measures continue to hold back can making investment in Asia, other major can markets are seeing increased levels of investment as can manufacturers upgrade and expand their production facilities to keep pace with growing orders from customers.

IST Metz UV and UV LED curing systems update

IST Metz, a major global supplier of UV and LED systems for the can making, paper and plastic printing industries, is handling rising numbers of enquiries as more can makers consider installing UV and UV LED systems.

“In principle, markets for IST Metz and its UV systems are stable, but growing in some areas: Asia is quiet but in South America, Europe and the Middle East the UV equipment market is growing,” commented Mario Werner, Sheetfed/ Metal Decorating industry sales manager for IST Metz.

“Interest in UV and new technologies is increasing throughout Europe due to rising energy and gas
costs, and latterly worries about gas availability.

“Another factor is the price of electricity – people are looking for energy solutions without gas and to
reduce their energy use.”

Rising consumption of canned beverages currently is a major driver of can demand growth as environmentally conscious consumers switch to metal packaging in preference to drinks in plastic bottles.

“Beverage cans are seeing the most growth because of the younger generation. When they go to a party they buy drinks in cans, not a bottle,” Werner said.

“They buy canned beer, energy drinks and other drinks on-the-go; it’s a more casual lifestyle. Modern beverage cans look fancy and young people like fancy cans.”

IST Metz has launched several new UV curing technology innovations during the past year as part of continuing efforts to upgrade the range of UV curing facilities available to customers.

Werner noted that IST’s newly introduced UV Analyzer is a convenient portable UV measuring system that measures UV lamp output in the intermediate drying area.

The app-based UV Analyzer kit consists of the UV Analyzer App for Android and iOS smartphones
that can be downloaded from Apple App Store or Google Play, while IST Metz supplies the UV Analyzer measuring strips and UV Analyzer Stick.

“UV lamp output is measured on the conveyor system but not inter-deck as it moves from cylinder to cylinder. We have created a new measuring system using smartphones. We have tested it for six
months and now we are launching it everywhere,” Werner said.

In use, the measuring strip is glued to the substrate and then measured after irradiation with the measuring stick, which is linked to the smartphone app via Bluetooth. The app displays the measured UV dose in mJ/cm2. The reading is exportable from the app for quality assurance and recording purposes.

IST’s Set Stack end
dryer with four UV lamps.
Image: IST Metz

Another new development is the very small, compact pure air-cooled UV lamp unit named MBSC.

“In view of its compact design, our MBSC lamp is ideally suited for moulded article printing,” Werner said. “Here we can offer LED pinning and LED final drying in combination with a very small powerful lamp system as a complete system supplier.”

IST Metz also has worked on excimer technology recently which the firm supplies to can manufacturers wanting to produce a matt can surface coating finish.

“Excimer technology is used in many industrial sectors. Irradiation of the surface coating with short wave-length excimer beams causes polymerisation in the top layer of the coating. This produces
shrinkage and so the film near the surface will show micro-folding, resulting in a matt finish,” Werner explained.

“First attempts with excimer technology also have been made in metal decorating and can finishing. Special UV coatings are gelled on metal sheets using LED UV, folded by means of excimer technology and then cured by a standard UV lamp. The result is also a matt surface.”

Meanwhile, energy-saving and increased production automation are two major topics that all IST Metz customers want to discuss when finalising specifications for new equipment orders.

“In metal decorating, many customers are looking for a replacement for thermal gas drying, not only
in panel printing but everywhere where heat or gas is required for a drying process,” Werner said.

“UV curing would be a partial replacement. Ink and coating suppliers also are working continuously on further developments in this area.

“Our projects for UV applications in the can industry include UV and LED-UV in the printing of Thermos-formed cans, and UV-LED Rim Coating.”

In contrast to thermal oven drying which requires both gas and electricity, UV curing systems require
only electricity to operate. “UV systems are designed to use as little electrical energy as possible. LED UV, for example, is switched off completely when not in production,” Werner explained.

“LED systems also can be switched off laterally depending on the format segments.

“In stand-by mode, UV lamp system energy consumption is reduced to 20 per cent to 30 per cent depending on the unit type.”

UV processing is not the solution in every situation, however. “UV is one of the possibilities to become independent from gas, but for certain requirements and further processing UV is not yet applicable everywhere,” Werner noted.

“Our customers usually have both UV and gas thermal curing systems in their factories as they use
a conventional primer varnish and a drying oven – they cool the metal sheets and then print with UV, so they need a gas oven too.”

Switching from existing UV lamp technology to LED-UV is another topic of interest for many can
manufacturers. “Mostly people ask for more digitalisation, flexibility, energy saving and availability. Remote control is part of the requested digitalisation or data storage and recipe backup, etc,” Werner said.

“With our UV lamp systems, for example, thanks to reflector inlay technology, it is possible to quickly
switch from a warm reflector (URS-A / UV and infrared is reflected) to a cold system (URS / only UV is reflected and infrared is absorbed) and vice versa.”

Incorporating Smart Control and IPS technology, IST Metz UV systems are able to detect the actual
condition of a UV unit and display it in real time. Werner explained: “The operator immediately recognises when a UV system has a sniffle, is not feeling well and can take immediate action to reduce
waste and counteract by making adjustments.”

Greenbank Technology two-piece can Omega Pin Oven and internal bake oven update

Greenbank Technology is reporting another large increase for the second year running in the production of Omega Pin Ovens and internal bake ovens (IBO), along with can washers and dryers.

The upbeat news comes after the company responded to the can market boom during the last 12 to 18 months by expanding its manufacturing capacity to handle the current surge in exports and UK curing equipment orders.

“We have expanded our manufacturing capacity and hired more people to supply the rising market
demand, not only for our machines, but for after sales support too. We all saw the increase coming but Greenbank proactively made the decision to prepare for this,” said Victoria Barrett, Greenbank Technology’s global sales and marketing manager.

“It was a good decision as we have made about 30 per cent more equipment than last year across all
our can washer, dryer and curing equipment range.

“Our customers want more can making capacity. Everyone is rushing to fill the forecasted extra beverage can demand in the next few years with new can lines and by upgrading their capacity.

“There is some news going round that the anticipated demand for cans is still increasing but not quite as quickly as predicted. But so far, we are still seeing orders being placed for equipment to supply new can lines out into 2024 and even 2025; it’s an even split across all our range of equipment.”

Internal bake oven. Image: Greenbank Technology

Equipment orders from beverage can plants in the Americas and Europe are driving Greenbank’s
business growth, while more recently there has been a surge in demand for curing equipment to install in food can plants.

“We have shipped mostly to South and North America, followed closely by Europe and then the Middle East,” Barrett said.

“The growth in the beverage market has been the focus of the metal packaging industry for some time now. If the slow-down in beverage can requirements potentially continues, then food can demand is now playing catch up.”

Growing consumer preference for metal packaging due to its recyclability and its contribution to sustainable living is driving the increase in new products being packed in cans, and lifting overall can demand.

In addition, Barrett noted the Covid-19 pandemic caused consumer habits to change and already rising can use to accelerate as more people bought canned food, beverages and other canned products to consume at home during lockdown and afterwards.

“Now the biggest market influencer we are seeing is the increasing cost of living and the looming prospect of recession which in the past has driven demand for metal packaging even further,” Barrett said.

Meanwhile, in addition to supplying major two-piece can manufacturers with high-capacity equipment, Barrett noted that Greenbank supplies ‘mini’ curing ovens to a specialised customer base.

New markets for small capacity curing ovens have appeared in recent years including chemical suppliers, lacquer producers and ink manufacturers who require the smallest type of R&D laboratory-sized can washing, drying and curing equipment which typically runs at less than 100cpm.

Image: Greenbank Technology

“We’re seeing an increasing requirement to be able to supply small capacity equipment for specific
can production types,” Barrett said.

“Emerging markets, craft brewers and other startup beverage manufacturers that want their own can manufacturing facility require the full range of production equipment to be able to make anywhere from 300cpm to 1000cpm.”

In addition to can manufacturers’ demands for greater production efficiency, rising energy costs and threats to natural gas supply availability following the outbreak of war in the Ukraine are also influencing customers’ plans when ordering new equipment.

“Energy costs and soaring gas prices are a concern; also, government targets for Net Zero emissions, as can manufacturers have to follow these directions,” Barrett said.

“Alternative energy must be the focus for us and our customers long-term. The drive to move away from fossil fuels entirely will happen soon.

“In the short-term, gas supplies are an issue for our customers in some locations. We are receiving a lot of requests to convert burners to LPG instead of natural gas, which historically we have only ever had from very specific regions.

“We can offer ‘dual-fuel’ LPG/natural gas burners and gas sets to customers if they wish.”

Buoyed by rapid production growth and record exports, 2022 is turning into an exceptionally busy year for Greenbank Technology following its recent merger, announced in June and due to go live in October, with fellow CPM Group member, Proline Engineering, which makes conveyor systems for can makers and other industries, to form CPM Packaging Division.

Blackburn-based Greenbank and Manchester-based Proline, both of whom will retain their individual brand names following the merger, often supply their equipment to the same can factories but until now have served their customers separately.

“Proline supply equipment to move cans in, out and between Greenbank’s and other suppliers’ equipment. Together we can offer a more complete package,” Barrett commented.

“For example, Pin ovens together with Pin strippers and oven inspection conveyors, or washer infeed conveyors and vacuum transfer units with can washers and dryers.

“On top of the obvious equipment package benefits, customers will get a more concise and streamlined experience at every point of contact – sales, project management, shipping and logistics.”

As part of plans to streamline operations, Greenbank and Proline are due to begin searching for a new joint production site this year.

“We are looking for a centrally located, new joint facility. As well as coming together and having everyone under one roof to maximise collaboration between teams and overall efficiency, we are looking
for room to grow even further; it’s very exciting,” Barrett said.

“Greenbank and Proline currently work in different ways. In bringing them together, we will get to work through each process and find the best solution for both businesses.

“In addition to creating a more efficient and comprehensive business model, our customers will reap the benefits of both businesses adopting best practices from each other and from having a multiskilled team of engineers.”

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