1+1>2 global cooperation to create the best solution

Birds of a feather flock together. A common hobby will bring people together. This principle is not only established in personal life, but also in business affairs. The cooperation between Kohmann and ITW Dynatec is a business model. The Kohmann company produces gluing and windowing equipment, while the Hanat company offers gluing technology. This partnership has attracted widespread attention from users in Europe, Asia, China, and Africa. The two companies have a worldwide network of offices and dealers that users consider a decisive factor for success. Because when it comes to maintenance and service, responsible technicians are in sight. "It is coincidentally, the head offices of our company and Garnett are located in Mettmann near Düsseldorf," said Michael Kohmann, president of Kohmann Machines GmbH in Germany.

The original intention of each cooperation project between Kohmann and Rantech is to find the best technical solution for the customer. Quality is more important than price. Kohmann has 38 employees and annual sales of about 4 million euros. Kohmann has been able to tailor packaging solutions for its customers. This flexible service has earned it a good reputation worldwide. Their customers are not only printers, but also manufacturers of media products, such as Bertelsmann, which manufactures CD envelopes using Kohmann equipment. One important factor that differentiates Kohmann from its competitors is the ability to find ways to solve packaging problems. Because the pattern control of the gluing system plays an important role in the custom development of the machine, the company has been involved since the very beginning.

Cannes is an international group that provides cold glue and hot melt technology to the world. It has passed ISO 9001 certification and has agents in almost every country. The company's headquarters in Mettmann is responsible for coordinating its operations in Europe, Africa and the Near East. From the company name (ITW Dynatec) it can be seen that it is affiliated with ITW Holdings Inc., which is located in Chicago and has annual sales of approximately US$10 billion.

Sincerely cooperate to find the best solution

The recent collaboration between Kohmann and Cannes to tailor-make packaging machines for Irish food manufacturers who need triangular sandwich packaging demonstrates the close cooperation between the two companies.

Mr. Kohmann said: “Obviously, this is not a standard carton, so it needs a custom design.” The inner surface of this carton has a layer of adhesive coating with the cardboard. Therefore, the use of adhesive glue is not appropriate, and short glue line bonding should be used.

The company's R&D group decided to use the standard Kohmann folder-gluer Starlet 520 as the prototype, and then modify it according to actual needs. The Starlet 520 gluing machine can produce straight boxes, self-locking bottom boxes, double-wall corrugated boxes and CD sleeves. Its main features are: low maintenance costs, compact structure and easy change of the size of the web. And, Starlet 520 is very popular with users, it is considered a good machine for making money. And, it has a small footprint, only 5m long. Its sturdy, compact structure ensures efficient and productive production.

As an important part of the transformation of the model, Wannatte provided the DY 2008 gluing pattern controller. The basic model of this controller has four channels, but the channel can be added at any time. Mr. Werner Gamper, sales manager of Garnett, said: “We chose this controller because of its ability to perform complex pattern coating. It is the best choice for double bead and single point application. And, DY 2008 It guarantees maximum accuracy and can be cold glued and hot melt glued."

In the end, Kohmann recommended a cold glue solution for this Irish customer's triangular sandwich packaging. The DY 2008 graphics controller is expanded to 8 channels. Mr. Gamper said: "Our DY 2008 has enough capacity to control the pneumatic components of the Starlet 520, although strictly speaking they are not part of the gluing system." This highlights the decisive advantage of the pattern controller that each channel can be used differently. The mode operation or start it alone.

Cold glue is generally sprayed with a separate nozzle, or three or four parallel lines are ejected simultaneously with the nozzle plate. These nozzles can be freely mounted on the high-speed DynaCold dispensing head, which is economical and highly repeatable. Mr. Kohmann said: "After gluing, the fiber of the material is quickly bonded together. Therefore, this cold glue coating has 100% controllability."

The production of the transformed Starlet 520 folder-gluer now reaches 2 to 23,000 sandwiches per hour. Mr. Kohmann stated that the machine cold glue will be continuously replenished during operation. “In theory, it can be produced in 24 hours.” However, he recommends that it is best to clean the machine every time a shift is changed. Because, management, cleanliness and correct operating habits are the basis for maintaining efficient production. Mr. Kohmann also stated: "Employee training during system commissioning is just as important as the system itself."

Long-term cooperation for a better future

In the past, Kohmann cooperated with Mercer and Macon. In 1992, the two companies merged with LTI to become the current company. In the past, Kohmann only produced window shutters. After the success of its folder-gluer product, Kohmann and Lennart decided to strengthen their cooperation in the future and get involved in a new field, DVD-pressing equipment.

The two companies reached consensus on high quality awareness, good customer service and the pursuit of best technology solutions. Obviously, these are the foundations for the two companies to continue their long-term cooperation.

Source: "Global Box Industry"