Leading Italian specialist converter Masterpack has installed a SOMA CI flexo press fitted with our corona technology to improve performance on the latest PP and PE materials that is used for a range of flexible packaging manufactured at its plant in Veruno.
Established in 1988 by Claudio Binda and still under family ownership and management, Masterpack is not a typical package print converter. From the beginning it set out to manufacture and supply high-performance flexible packaging to a cross section of the market from fresh vegetables to coffee, cookies, and pasta. Today, the company has two production sites that employ around 200 staff and generate annual sales approaching €70m.
Speaking for Masterpack, Chief Operations Officer, Raul Rizza explained: “We have never looked to chase volume here, preferring to innovate and specialise in the production of technically functional packaging at the cutting-edge of what customers demand and our technology can provide.” Proving his point are the many patents that Masterpack holds for a variety of types of pack, all branded as ‘Master’. These include MasterPeel&Reseal, MasterLabel, MasterCooking, MasterValve, and MasterZip.
The company’s print capability had been founded on Italian technology, but it was the installation of a SOMA press in 2023 that first introduced Vetaphone to Masterpack. Chosen for its ability to produce ultra-high quality flexible packaging, the eight-colour SOMA Optima 2, the company’s flagship model, has a 1050mm web width and is designed for both solvent and water-based inks with a top speed of 500m/min. The SOMA is integrated with a plate-mounter that enables automatic setting of register and pressure to eliminate set-up waste.
As one of our leading OEM manufacturers, SOMA specified the best corona technology available. The system fitted at Masterpack’s plant in Veruno is a VE1L-T treater with an 1150mm web width. It has an iHP 300 transformer handling the 8kW output from a iPM 200 generator. Ozone extraction is via 2kW blower/fan, and the entire installation is operated from a TF 415 control panel.
Speaking for Vetaphone, ASM for Italy, Giuseppe Rossi commented: “It’s good to know that Vetaphone corona is making a difference in everyday commercial operations. As the inventors and pioneers of surface treatment technology we have a vast wealth of knowledge that we can bring to any application and design and manufacture a system that is as special as the uses to which it is put.”
According to Mr Rizza, Masterpack processes around 10 million metres of plastic substrate each month working a three-shift pattern five days per week. This represents around 38 different jobs per day, so reliability is a keyword. “Our experience with Vetaphone has been excellent. Its technology integrated well and performs reliably across a broad range of substrates, which is essential here. I had been aware of Vetaphone from many years of working with plastic film so was pleased when they were recommended by SOMA, and we are already looking at a second SOMA/Vetaphone investment.”
With a thriving export business in the EU and developing interest from customers in the USA and Canada, Masterpack has FDA approval along a long list of international accreditations for quality and environmental compliance. With the ongoing development of packaging materials and constantly evolving international regulations, it will become more important that packaging converters work closely with technology suppliers to meet and exceed the latest criteria.
As Giuseppe Rossi concluded: “With our seven decades of expertise in corona, Vetaphone is well placed to assist both machinery manufacturers and their converting customers.”
