Board24 opt for BHS

Board24 have opted for a 2.5m 400m/min BHS Corrugator as part of their ambitious £9 million growth plan at Preston. The selection of a full line BHS corrugator is a first for Board24 and Eric Marshall, Operations Director at Preston is excited by the benefits the new line will bring; “We have, in conjunction with BHS, specified the corrugator to offer industry leading performance while recognising the unique requirements of the UK sheet plant market.”

The machine includes the very latest developments for the production of a wide range of board grades – from the lightest recycled papers and specialist coated papers, to heavy kraft papers. These can be produced at the highest production speeds with board performance levels which will be second to none in the UK sheet feeding sector.

The machine includes; at the wet end, a Modul Facer for making flute changes in less than 5 minutes. The DF-P double facer with thin hotplates and unique Platerol automatic loading system give optimum production speeds of all board grades with best possible quality. At the dry end, the machine has a fully automatic SR-S slitter scorer with 2nd generation swing change for high speed order changes and maximum flexibility, with multi score profiles. The duplex cut off knife has the best speed curve on the market and the stackers offer the fastest order change cycle times available.

The machine also includes a Zero Defect System (ZDS), which identifies and removes all defective sheets produced from the wet end of the machine at line speed. This unique function will give significant benefits to the Board24 business in a marketplace whose end users are constantly tightening the tolerance’s for defective products from corrugated producers.

The development of the individual corrugator units and of the process control of the entire corrugator has made it possible to realise average line speeds of more than 300m/min ? including all order and quality changes. These developments will also optimise energy consumption in addition to impressive reductions in manufacturing unit cost.

In addition to the corrugator, BHS UK and Ducker Fordertechnik will also supply the additional materials handling equipment to integrate the new corrugator into the Preston site.

Phil Pinnington, BHS Corrugated Managing Director, comments; “We are delighted to be given this opportunity by the Board24 management team at Preston, who have always set and achieved market leading standards of performance and production, all of us at BHS are looking forward to delivering what promises to be one of the highest performing corrugators in the UK.”

Richard McBride, Board24 Managing Director, added; “BHS displayed an in depth understanding of our requirements and were able to put together a unique proposal that ultimately made this a straightforward decision. I am convinced the addition of this BHS corrugator, as part of a £9 million investment in the Preston site, will allow us to deliver a step change in the Board24 customer offering.

“Proven technology will ensure we can deliver improved board performance, a wider product range and enhanced flexibility. 2015 is sure to be an exciting year for Board24 and our strategic customers.”

Board24 is a member of the Logson Group, which has expanded through organic growth and acquisition to become the largest independent packaging group in the UK – comprised of Board24, Cases24, Boxes and Packaging and inspirepac. The Group stands for excellent customer service standards, offering efficiency, flexibility, stability and reliability of supply.