Business News

Ghelfi Ondulati: originality and innovation in the aim of quality

Tuesday 24. August 2010 - Thanks to a huge work in partnership with MARTIN of BOBST Group, an investment program was launched in 2005 to guarantee a constantly updated machinery so that final customer gets a superior printing quality. The latest board converting machine installed is a MARTIN FFG 924 NT RS, with a very particular configuration.

We are in the heart of the Valtellina region, a few miles from Sondrio, a wonderful mountain area with spectacular scenery which is also the craddle of the Ghelfi family that rules Ghelfi Ondulati, company founded in 1952 by Giuseppe Ghelfi.
“Originality and innovation” is the motto to be found on the Company’s website that I had visited before going to Ghelfi Ondulati, wondering what particularity there could be in a company producing and converting cardboard. The mere fact of knowing the Ghelfi team is enough to under- stand their motto. Originality in packing solutions which are always more innovative but still focusing on their customers’requirements, but also originality in their way of approaching the business world while keeping the genuine values that made Ghelfi Ondulati a big family despite the Company’s significant dimensions.
The project of “Lean Production” is not due to chance, with the whole staff involved and taking part to reduce waste hence costs.
The Ghelfi brothers with Nicoletta Selvagno, lead a permanent staff of 107 whose availability, passion for their own job and business area, rank with a devoted attention to the labour’s welfare and especially to the respect of environment. This explains recent “against the stream” decisions, to respect environment and to remain in the valley even if most of their customers are remote.
Working for the food industry
Today, the Group occupies a leading position in the Italian market of cardboard boxes intended for the packing of vegetable, fruits and food at large: fields representing 85% of their production.
With more than 50 years of experience and the machinery available on site, especially the MARTIN FFG 924 NT RS configured for high printing resolution, the Company’s purpose is to increase their number of customers and to be considered as suppliers for industry at large.
“To be competitive and overcome the transport costs to remote areas, we absolutely need to have production sites with advanced technology, for a perfect quality and reduced costs. That is why we are currently working in partnership with MARTIN and more precisely with Carlo Tarello (BOBST Italy Sales Mgr), Olivier Robin (MARTIN Area Sales Mgr) and their technical staff. A task force has been created to study highly innovative solutions which will enable Ghelfi Ondulati to better face competition, and MARTIN to propose new technologies to their other customers. We managed to use that innovation strength in accordance with our daily production requirements and with reality, hence my satisfaction” says Fabio Esposito, Production Mgr at Ghelfi.
Ghelfi Ondulati working mainly for the vegetable/fruit market which is mostly impacted by weather conditions, production must be highly flexible and lead times scrupulously respected: assets obtainable only by choosing and developing the matching technology.
Ghelfi Ondulati is a plant with corrugator: the raw material is manufactured by a corrugating machine of the latest generation installed 4 years ago, with a very modern logistic: full automation from the board storage area through the printing machine and the delivery end. The printing Dept is very up to date, with 2 BOBST MASTERFLEX, among which the only one worldwide with such a control of printing quality and volume issued from the first sheet through the last one. There is also the very new MARTIN Casemaker installed in the last 12 months in addition to the MARTIN DRO 1628 NT rotary die-cutting line. “Getting our strength from top technology added to the passion and know-how of our operators whose job is fundamental to reach a high level of quality, we can put up as high ranking suppliers of corrugated boxes” Mr Esposito adds.

The partnership with MARTIN, far beyond the usual supplier-customer relationship
Ghelfi Ondulati’s requirements were a machine for high-quality board printing and converting, providing both a fast start-up and a high performance: the staff managed by Carlo Tarello and Olivier Robin immediately proposed a casemaker 924 NT RS on a pit which provides easy access for the operators hence accelerated set-up times. The following order can be prepared with the machine running, the units that are not used for the order remaining in line. To date, the running time for a 5-colour order is 15 minutes, but with the help of “Lean Production” the target is 9 minutes maximum on all machines.
The casemaker is 2,400-mm wide and can run 20 000 sheets/hour, both feeding and delivery ends are automated, it has 5 printing units and is installed over a pit. The inking circuit benefits from innovative concepts, for a low water consumption and a satisfactory ink recovery inside the chambered doctor-blade. Also fitted is a device recovering the air from the machine.
Fabio Esposito states: “The main feature of this line is the “Dual Fold” device for a double capacity folding hence double performance, very useful when it would not be possible to run the machine at full speed. “The Dual-Fold brought a couple of advantages, in addition to double performance. First we now are in a position to run small size sheets the machine could not run otherwise, by having these sheets passed in twos on the space available for a single sheet. This leads to an increased capacity on the corrugator, with significant waste reduction”.
“We usually get a lot of feedback from our customers, but with Ghelfi Ondulati I must say we had a very special relationship. We do receive many innovative and sometimes weird ideas, but when Ghelfi give their input we well know that it is worth a try.” Olivier Robin adds, as the person in charge at MARTIN for the Italian market. Olivier speaks fluent Italian, an additional token of the great interest MARTIN and Bobst Group place in their various markets and the significant of communication. Furthermore, there is the most appreciated support from Italian Managers like Carlo Tarello.
Carlo Tarello explains: “Ghelfi Ondulati is a very important customer with whom we have close relationships: this enables us to experiment many technological innovations in a continuous and very profitable exchange. The technological support of such a big group as Bobst, present worldwide, facilitates new solutions experimenting (even if some of them may never be used). For their part, Ghelfi Ondulati made their machine and the operators thoroughly available, which is an additional token of our passion and professionalism.”
The concept of customer’s satisfaction fully applies here, far beyond a mere sales argument. Based on a narrow partnership on projects, MARTIN and Ghelfi share fast answers, fast interventions, a common will to propose and study the best technologies during the very few moments production can let (including Sundays): this is made possible by having the staffs from both sides collaborate in a very aware mode.
We do know that these common experimentations are still a “work in progress” but soon there may be some interesting novelties in the fields of printing, die-cutting and gluing not only one but two sheets simultaneously.

Geasy 1,2 & 3 now in a single run
Thanks to the new casemaker, it is possible to pass the G-Easy box in a single run (this box has been designed and patented by Ghelfi Ondulati, who holds 12 patents in all for boxes they created).
G-Easy1 is the firstborn of the G-Easy family which is totally dedicated to Shelf Ready Packaging. Its looks like a regular RSC box to be filled from the top, and it turns into a perfect shelf display which content remains protected during transport.

G-Easy2 is a RSC box that easily and quickly becomes a display unit.
Compared with Greasy1, G-Easy2 was designed for goods packed vertically then transported horizontally.
G-Easy2 provides a high level of protection for its content and a great display once on shelf. Its opening is user-friendly and facilitates the job at selling point.
G-Easy3 is easily used, like any RSC box: this new patent-pending product combines qualities of toughness and satisfactory content display. G-Easy3, like G-Easy1, has been designed for vertical handling and transport. But compared to G-Easy1, G-Easy3 guarantees an even simpler and cleaner display without any opening on its front side.