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Machinery supplier DES says its Autobox machines are taking flight in the Australian market, as ecommerce drives demand for short and mid-run boxes in custom sizes.
Neil Southerington, DES business development manager, says the British Converting Solutions Autobox machines are becoming an international success story in the UK and US – with the company experiencing 40 per cent growth in the last three years.
He tells AP, “DES is well known for its digital media and machine sales, so it was a surprise to some that they entered the heavy iron packaging equipment marketplace. However, it’s proving to be a smart move.”
The BCS Autobox machines are gaining popularity in Australia, he says, with the first installation going to Sydney startup Custom Boxes and a second recently up and running with family-owned packager Zacpac.
Takis Valasidis, owner of Custom Boxes, saw the Autobox at last year’s PacPrint in Melbourne, and recognised it as the flexible boxmaker he’d been looking for.
Valasidis had been selling boxes bought from a manufacturer, but saw a gap in the market for economically-produced short run boxes in custom sizes. Since bringing the Autobox onboard Custom Boxes now produces boxes as large as a bathtub or fridge right down to sizes to contain just one chocolate truffle.
Autobox HiPak-HiFlex-HiCut, box making and printing system incorporating Autobox Quick Set Technology
Southerington says Autobox is a modular system that has grown from producing short runs to now offering mid-run output, with full automation. Valasidis purchased the BCS Autobox Hipak unit, which features 50 Fefco box styles built into the touchscreen, needs no tools, no forme and no skilled labour.
The Hipak switches from box style to box style in 60 seconds, and starts producing straight away in numbers from one upwards.
Southerington says the addition of a second unit, the Hicut module, takes the available output to 100 Fefco box styles, with die cut handles, simple pad print for Fragile or This Way Up type of signage, alpha numeric punching and multi out production.
He says many machines around the world are being shipped as full lines, with one or two colour flexo print units, autofeeding and delivery modules. Zacpac is the recipient of the first full installation of this kind in Australia, carried out in March.
The machine, he says, is also going gangbusters in North America; with one US customer purchasing a second line after only a few months, to establish a so-called Box Hub with no minimum order and sizes to suit clients’ needs.
He says, “The tool-less 60-second set via touchscreen means the BCS Autobox owner can service the on demand or just in time customer size box market with any quantity the customer wants. The new generation machines have met and surpassed expectations.”
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