Closures
of reputation
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Rauh GmbH & Co is known to European
beverage producers. Managing director
Florian Rauh spoke to Julia Snow about
the company’s most recent addition to
the group.
“In the last 10 years our company has moved on a lot from the traditional focus on crown corks, we
widened our product portfolio, increased our productivity and have moved into new markets.”
T
he Rauh Group is a leading producer of closures for beer, wine,
sparkling wine, spirits and mineral water. The name stands for
working in partnership and continuous improvements in quality
standards, as well as guaranteed prompt deliveries.
The company’s aim is to expand the business with high quality
products that combine tradition and innovation in perfect harmony. The
company, headquartered in Küps, Germany, supplies a comprehensive
range of bottle caps and closures for breweries, wine bottlers and soft
drinks manufacturers.
In 1947 Bartholomäus Rauh, the grandfather of today’s managing
director, founded the company in Knellendorf, taking up the production
of swing stoppers two years later. In 1969 crown caps were added to the
product range and in 1972 the foundation for a die casting production unit
was laid. The production plant for crown caps in Küps was built in 1987,
and in 1996 is started the production of aluminium closures. In 2001 Rauh
acquired Plutal 2000 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and in 2004 it opened PS Printservice in Neuhaus-Schierschnitz.
Leading position today
“In the last 10 years our company has moved on a lot from the traditional
focus on crown corks,” says Mr Rauh. “We widened our product portfolio,
increased our productivity and have moved into new markets.”
The growth has been supported by a string of investments including a
new winding facility in Germany in 2004 and the optimisation of the long
caps production in Slovenia over the past three years. The company operates from three locations today: its headquarters in Küps, producing crown
corks, swing stoppers and screw- top closures; its site in Ljubljana which
makes screw-top closures, crown corks and print facilities; and finally its
Lohne facility, which brings its expertise in screw- top closures, natural
corks and cork stoppers to the mix as well as plastic closures and print.
Rauh’s customers are located in Germany and its neighbouring countries,
but the UK is also an important market – resulting in an export share of
around 30 per cent. Mr Rauh is satisfied with the mix of customers that
ranges “from small breweries to international players, with whom we keep
in touch via our agents. We also are constantly making new contacts at fairs
and exhibitions.”
Extending the portfolio on offer
The most recent acquisition took place in August, when Rauh bought the
company Bramlage Verschlüsse in Lohne from the UK-based rigid packaging producer RPC Group plc. Bramlage’s product range includes natural
and synthetic corks as well as aluminium and special closures. The two
companies have been collaborating since 2006, with Rauh supplying roll-on
aluminium closures to Bramlage.
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New KBA-MetalPrint High Speed 6-Colour UV Printing/Coating Line at PS-PrintService in Neuhaus-Schierschnitz
From the start in 2004 the print shop from PS-PrintService in Neuhaus-Schierschnitz was equipped with modern KBA printing presses.
Since May 2012 however, one of the most state of the art high speed lines in metal decorating, supplied by KBA-MetalPrint, went into production
at PS-PrintService.
Consisting of a 6-colour MetalStar PR printing machine, followed by the new developed inline coater, MetalCoat 480, and a triple box stacker with
dynamic vacuum overhead stacking technology, this line combines maximum flexibility with highest production quality. Nearly every function of the
line is automated on all components of the line and allows fastest change-over times from one job to the next. By this even small jobs can be carried
out economically.
State of the art MetalStar PR 6-colour printing press for highest demands
The DensiTronic Colour Quality Control ensures a perfect match to the required decoration design and suggests online corrections if necessary.
The ACRC Automatic Camera Register Control provides perfect register after the first draw of a test sheet. 5 interdeck UV-dryers, 1 end dryer after
the printing press and 1 final dryer with additional underneath cure behind the inline coater guarantee that all UV-inks and UV-varnishes are fully
cured even on the backside of the sheet, while due to the UV-lamp ELC control the energy consumption is kept at the minimum level.
Automatic transfer of the job data from the prepress department via CIP-link directly to the printing press in combination with fully automatic
printing plate change, automatic washing of rollers and cylinders as well as automatic sheet size setting on all components of the line make life very
easy for the printing personnel operating the line and ensure highest efficiency.
No matter, if tin sheets (rectangular or scroll) or aluminium, the line is designed for it and provides damage free and monitored (within the press)
sheet run through the line at highest speeds up to 9000 sheets per hour.
At the end of the day this new line presents the proper tool for a perfect and highly economic production in metal decoration.
The new KBA-MetalPrint printing and coating line at Print Service assures high efficiency as well as economical production.
For further information please contact:
KBA-MetalPrint GmbH, Wernerstr. 119-129, 70435 Stuttgart, Germany
Phone: +49-711-69971-0, Fax: +49-711-69971-670, [email protected], www.kba-metalprint.de
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A closure for every bottle
Top quality for satisfied customers
Rauh produces standard crown corks from tin-free, tin plated and stainless
steel plates. Twist-off crown corks consist of a special plate, lacquering and
sealer which ensure, along with a special threaded bottle neck, that the bottle can be opened with a twist.
Aluminium closures are popular owing to their technical and optical
characteristics. They are used for carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, and made from a special aluminium alloy to which multiple printing
finishes can be added. A gas-proof closure with a security ring can provide
temper-evidence, although roll-on aluminium closures with a paper seal
can also guarantee temper-evidence at a lower price with its low injury risk.
The swing stopper has experienced a comeback during the last few years
owing to the fact that it is recloseable and conveys a ‘premium’ and traditional
image. The heads are made from porcelain, plastic or a combination of the two.
The choice of corks is huge: From natural corks – with or without
vinosave membrane – to cork stoppers and pourers for spirits bottles,
through to neocork and polyethylene corks. There is even a champagne
cork that provides an easy-open ‘twist and plop’ option.
Closures are an important factor in the quality of a beverage and are therefore subject to special technical standards, including the strictest hygiene
rules and processes to rule out contamination. Rauh’s quality management
guarantees a high quality level with excellent communication structures
between the departments concerned with quality and safety.
The complex interaction of all production processes, the efficiency of
the production and the resulting high quality level of the closures build the
basis for long-term customer satisfaction.
Mr Rauh says that its acquisition of Bramlage has strengthened the company’s position: “The trend in wine goes from cork to plastic or aluminium,
and we can now provide comprehensive solutions to wine producers –
whichever material they choose.” The acquisition, as a natural progression
of the existing partnership, has created one of the most important players
in the German market which enables the company to integrate further into
the industry.
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Visit: www.rrauh.de