June 26, 2021

Westbury Packaging upgrade their short to medium run boxmaking capacity

Perfectly stacked boxes at Westbury Packaging

Cardboard packaging manufacturers Westbury Packaging serve clients throughout England and Wales from their Melksham, Wiltshire, base. They offer a full range of cardboard packaging solutions including distribution boxes, point of sale, and branded packaging for e-commerce. The increasing demand for bespoke packaging in short to medium run lengths was stretching their existing short-run equipment to its limits and meant that they were taking capacity away from their range of volume machinery. Their search for a more efficient and flexible replacement led them to KOLBUS Autobox.

Managing director, Ben Tupman, and head of operations, Alan Jane, of Westbury Packaging, visited the KOLBUS Autobox UK manufacturing site in Houghton Regis. They were able to see the machines in action running production jobs from 0201’s to large tray/lids, and 0401 Maltese cross designs. Alan Jane said: “Having looked at a range of options in the market we opted for KOLBUS Autobox mainly because it is a UK engineered product. When visiting the factory, it was clear that they stock a huge range of spare parts available for quick turn-around. They have their own components site to manufacture any bespoke parts on demand. They also have a team of UK based engineers. None of the other competitors offered this service.” Last month Westbury Packaging installed a KOLBUS Autobox AB300, Flexo print FP300 and Multicut MC300 with powered separation and air locks. They were supplied with 200 mm and 700 mm slotting knives for a more refined machine. The new installation has enabled them to set up bespoke sized jobs within one to two minutes. Adding print taking an extra five to ten minutes to set up, with the flexibility to print up to 1000 mm x 1000 mm on designated panels or every panel. One of their designs was a 4000 mm Chop x 2200 mm Deckle 0201, with print and hand holes. A high value product that would have required at least two or three processes as well as costly tooling. The KOLBUS Autobox produced this in a single pass, and at speed. At the other end of the scale, they produced a small, 700 mm x 400 mm 0409, with obscure internal dimensions. Westbury Packaging’s Alan Jane said: “Purchasing the KOLBUS Autobox has enabled us to move several processes in to one, saving hours of set time each day and hundreds of pounds worth of tooling. The KOLBUS Autobox Boxmaker makes high value, notoriously difficult jobs, much easier and faster to run. Since installation, we have run a huge range of products through the machine, it hit the ground running. We are getting even more out of it than we thought we would. The print unit in particular has been extremely useful for us, we feel as though it has always been there!” Arran Sethi, KOLBUS UK, said: “We are fortunate to be a part of a demanding industry that keeps our UK manufacturing business busy. As the UK Sales Manager I have to thank companies like Westbury Packaging for putting their support in us. For me, it was clear that our machinery would help to modernise their short run department. It has also helped them to maintain their position of being a Carbon Neutral company.