Inkjet & Digital Printing

HBO Novas growth in label orders during pandemic revives investment deal with Konica Minolta

Thursday 16. July 2020 - An investment in all-inclusive digital printing and finishing systems as well as business consultancy assistance from Konica Minolta is a catalyst for access to new growth markets in labels after the merger of two print companies with complementary expertise in the Nordics - Haugesund Bok & Offset (HBO) and Nova Print Stavanger AS.

Konica Minolta’s AccurioLabel 230 roll-to-roll toner digital production press will be going into newly-named HBO Nova AS’s production plant in Haugesund, Norway, in July. The labels will be finalised on Grafisk Maskinfabrik’s DC 330 finishing equipment, a specially developed converter for digitally printed labels, which will be installed at the same time.
The complete converting and finishing unit from Konica Minolta will enable HBO Nova to offer its customers digitally-printed self-adhesive labels for every imaginable purpose, in small and medium-sized editions, in the highest possible quality. One niche market already being actively explored is labelling for beers following a sharp rise in the number of micro-breweries, but also national and international breweries which are already customers, may use HBO Nova’s offerings for self-adhesive labels printed on the new Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 230 for niche markets. Food sectors – including meat and tomato – are also ripe for digital label production where HBO Nova sees opportunities locally as well as in Western Europe and in the Middle East.
The machinery investment agreement was originally planned for completion in March until Covid-19 resulted in lockdown and a delay. However, when label volumes continued to rise, HBO Nova decided to press ahead two months later.