BUCKS, UK,
Nov. 22, 2010
(Press Release) -
Chesapeake Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Packaging continues to invest in advanced image verification systems to offer its customers world class manufacturing quality standards. These systems support its substantial recent investment in a number of new printing presses and other ancillary equipment across its global business.
Simon Tokelove, Head of Asset Management at Chesapeake, said, "We have invested in a number of advanced image verification systems for our pharmaceutical business. We have carefully selected the best system to suit the product type and particular needs of each operation. This investment emphasises our firm commitment to delivering the highest quality products to our customers. All the systems closely monitor manufacturing quality providing further customer reassurance."
Many sites across Chesapeake's Pharmaceutical and Healthcare division have benefited from this programme. At Chesapeake Belfast an EyeC offline system was installed earlier in the year following the successful installation of the same system at Chesapeake Gent. The same system is also being trialled at another location and it is expected that this will lead to further installations later in the year. Also, in Ireland, new blank leaflet detectors are in place on all folding machines at Chesapeake Westport. This investment, complementing existing barcode readers, adds an extra layer of security to this world-class leaflet and booklet operation focused on the pharmaceutical market. All of the folding machines at Chesapeake Greenford are also now fully equipped with pharma or blank code readers.
At Chesapeake Leicester an online image inspection system has been fitted to its new sheet-fed Komori S40 press which has recently been installed. This camera based system offers 100% inspection even when the press is running at full speed. The system monitors both colour and content ensuring the pharmaceutical cartons produced at the site meet the most exacting standards. Similarly, at Chesapeake Neu-Isenburg, Germany a Vision Expert system will be fitted before the end of the year to underpin carton production at the site. This new investment further amplifies Chesapeake's unrelenting efforts to guarantee product integrity and supply customers with an exact print each and every time.
In the U.S., Chesapeake Lexington has also incorporated a vision inspection system to provide 100% automatic inspection for label production. The AVT Print Vision / Helios system has been fitted to the rewind inspection unit. The new system is the latest technology and its capabilities include print-to-print and print-to-die cut registration as well as the detection of missing copy, broken type, irregularities, and colour variation. The system is ultra user friendly with an alert and reporting mechanism to ensure any defect is identified and only items passing the inspection criteria are delivered to the customer.
Other sites in the U.S. at Raleigh and Long Island have also benefited from recent investment that reinforces their continued commitment to 100% inspection. All leaflet folders are fully equipped with bar code readers and print detection units.
In Asia, Chesapeake Kunshan, near Shanghai, have also fitted an in-line inspection system to its newly installed narrow web Mark Andy 8-colour label press - the first and most advanced press of its type in China. The AVT Print Vision / Helios system provides 100% automatic inspection and scans all labels for any imperfections offering a reliable quality guarantee. A similar twin headed system that can inspect both sides of a patient information leaflet is also being added to Kunshan's in-line leaflet press. These systems have the ability to detect anything from a missing label or leaflet to defects in characters, colour variations, mis-registration, spots, missing print etc. A reporting mechanism alerts the user to ensure any defect is corrected and only items passing the inspection criteria are delivered to the customer. This camera based system, capable of monitoring any material type, operates perfectly even when the press is running at optimum levels.
Bobby O'Connor, Divisional Sales & Key Account Director, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare, said, "The response from our customers has been overwhelmingly supportive. They know that quality is not negotiable and this is a value we share. We will continue to invest in the latest inspection systems to ensure we consistently meet and exceed their expectations."
