L-R Dave Garton, operations manager at Reflex Labels’ Mansfield site; Reflex Labels Mansfield facility; and compact power supplies for the GEW E2C UV system
Labels&Labeling |63
Win-Win at Reflex
Reflex Labels has seen spectacular savings in energy usage with the implementation of a new UV
curing system. Andy Thomas reports
With six label manufacturing sites across the UK, Reflex Labels
is one of Europe’s biggest label converting groups. The
company supplies a diverse range of customers including the
food, household and beauty sectors and has grown rapidly in
its 10-year history, now turning over around £50m annually.
Reflex attributes its success to challenging every process
that is used in the industry and taking a fresh approach which
incorporates a commitment to quality standards and environmentally sustainable business practices. Operations manager
at the Mansfield site, Dave Garton, explains that the all of
the company’s electricity comes from green, carbon-neutral
sources and their UV inks are free from environmentally
harmful chemicals such as benzophenone and ITX3.
‘Supermarkets are constantly under scrutiny from consumers
and pressure groups alike, with issues such as carbon
footprints and recyclability under the microscope. As a result,
they turn to their supply chain for more environmentally
friendly labeling and packaging solutions to avoid bad press
and ensure continued growth,’ says Garton. ‘As well as being
good for the environment, sustainable practices are also good
for business. Operating in a more environmentally responsible
manner not only reduces our overheads but is also crucial for
gaining and maintaining business with our customers.’
For Reflex, sustainability reaches as far as ordering ‘range
extending’ electric cars for the company fleet and a zero-tolandfill policy.
Energy requirements
At the heart of the issue is energy use, which for the Mansfield
site had become a bottleneck on production capacity as
successive press installations had put them on the limit of their
available electricity supply.
‘We had been looking to invest in a new power substation
in order to make way for the additional presses that we need
in future. At the same time, we were also looking at a major
investment in the existing presses, some of whose UV systems
were around 10 years old and needed to be replaced with a
future-proof solution,’ says Garton.
‘That was when GEW first introduced the E2C low-energy
UV system that they were working on, promising big cuts in
energy use and increased curing power. Early tests indicated
that energy use could be reduced substantially over other
UV systems, and we were also encouraged by GEW’s more
robust approach to the system’s design and manufacture.
The E2C offered substantial improvements across the board,
including power supply, lamp and reflector technology.’
After the first installation had bedded down, Garton says his
team was ‘stunned’ at the results. ‘We measured a reduction
from 154 Amps per phase to just 64, while increasing the
press’ speed by 17 percent. Overall, we are using 59
percent less energy to cure. Off the back of these savings,
we installed a new Mark Andy 2200 press and are still below
the capacity of our original electrical supply, so the new
press is effectively being run at zero net cost, energy wise. A
further two machines have been upgraded with E2C to free
up additional electrical capacity and make way for further
expansion in future.’
Reflex notes that the E2C also increased uptime on the
machine as much less maintenance is required. The reflectors
are cooled from the rear instead of the front, which virtually
eliminates airborne contaminants being drawn over the
system’s optical components.
Reduced downtime
While other UV systems require regular cleaning to maintain
peak operating efficiency, this procedure is rarely necessary
with E2C, says Dave Garton. In addition the system’s very high
energy efficiency means that minimal lamp power is needed
to run the press, resulting in significantly prolonged lamp life.
‘Downtime has fallen through the floor and there has been a
big reduction in the need for spare parts and maintenance
intervention,’ enthuses Garton. ‘We are seeing lamp life of
over 2,700 hours with no edge curing problems – quite simply,
if it runs at lower power, everything lasts longer.’
Using low-energy lamps also decreases the amount of
heat radiation onto the substrate, which is further reduced by
actively air-cooled reflectors. A wider range of heat sensitive
materials have been processed successfully with the E2C
system, including thin PEs and PETs.
‘The E2C lamps have also raised the confidence of the press
operators to run the machines faster. Additionally, with seven
machines on the floor and demand for further expansion, the
compact footprint of the system is another win,’ says Garton.
A key strategy at Reflex Labels is to roll out improvements
tested at one site across the whole group. The new UV
curing technology is consistent with the group’s sustainable
operations policy and looks set to become a standard across
all production sites.
March 2013 | L&L