Founded in Hungary in 1993 by Endre Varga, Varga-Flexo is now under the second and third-generation management of son Dénes and his daughter Dorottya. A visit to its headquarters in Lengyeltóti tells the story…
Endre Varga had been designing and building flexo presses for 15 years before he set up Varga-Flexo Ltd in 1993 with a vision to offer a new style of mid- to wide-web CI flexo technology along with laminators, slitters and plate mounters. His quest was to combine quality with affordability, and the proof of his success is a customer portfolio that now covers 22 countries with more than 250 machine installations, and a collection of international product design and innovation awards.
Keen to offer more than a ‘me too’ approach to a market already well supplied by a range of global manufacturers, Varga set out to work closely with his customers on a personal basis. His aim was to meet their requirements for high quality, short changeover times, cost-effective operation, and a quick ROI with operator-friendly machines – but to do this effectively he knew he needed to get close to them and build a level of trust.
“Playing the long game is of key importance to us, so all our machines need to be reliable – and they have been, since 1993. Responding to our customers’ trust in us, we provide a stable background and constant support that over the years has evolved into an alliance based on mutual confidence – it’s what sets us apart,” Dénes Varga explained.
The company is based in a modern facility in Lengyeltóti, some 150km south-west of the Hungarian capital city of Budapest. Production and service personnel work from here and currently number 35. The facility also houses drive technology and electronic workshops where the latest developments are tested before implementation. The production line here is constantly expanding in capacity as production technology is updated to meet the changing demand of customers.
“Our good relationship with customers does not end after installing the machines, but continues with training for operators and maintenance, a 24-hour service hotline, and spare parts ordering. We know we need to continually improve support to keep machines at a high level of production. We offer online remote monitoring system as an accessory to the machines enabling free and immediate remote support for the machine operators whenever they need it,” he added.
It was this attention to detail and customer service, combined with the need for reliability, that prompted Varga to turn to Vetaphone. Surface treatment is a relatively small but massively important link in the production chain, and Varga knew that if it wanted to offer top quality to its customers, it needed the best ancillary equipment.
As pioneers in corona and plasma technology, Vetaphone was the perfect match for Varga, as Area Sales Manager Karsten Koch explained: “There was an immediate synergy between the two companies, both of which are family-owned and managed. Varga was looking to combine quality and reliability with value for money, and Vetaphone’s extensive knowledge allows us to tailor our range of technology to suit specific requirements. The corona technology we supply to Varga is fully integrated and interfaced via Profinet with their CI presses, high powered up to 7kW, and capable of treating at 275m/min.” The ongoing cooperative partnership provides a free two-way flow of technical information that is mutually beneficial. “We are constantly developing and improving our surface treatment technology to match changing market needs, so feedback from our OEM customers and their end users is vital,” he added.
One of the Varga lines that Vetaphone technology is supporting is the new Varga Oktoflex Casing machine. Speaking for Varga, Global Business Development Manager Zoltan Kelemen explained: “This sector of the package printing market is important to us, and our CI flexo technology is a perfect fit. The Varga Oktoflex Casing machine is designed specifically to produce food casings and combines top quality print and with its non-stop reel change function and fast job changeovers, makes it an ideal machine to handle today’s shorter print runs. It has a small footprint and low operating costs to give a quick ROI. Quality is assured by 100% inspection and the press meets Industry 4.0 standards for automation efficiency – we see it as a real winner!”
The Casing press is an adaptation of the Varga Oktoflex Premium line. In Casing form, it is available in web widths from 500mm to 800mm and in up to 10 colours with a top production speed of 300m/min. It features gearless drive, can handle reels up to 600mm diameter and has solvent-, water- and UV-based ink technology for making artificial casings and shrink tubes from substrates including BOPP, PE, PET, PA, CPP and paper, as well as aluminium foil.
Concluding, Dénes Varga said: “We design all our machines to be operator-friendly, cost-effective and reliable, and we expect the same standards from our co-suppliers. Our experience with Vetaphone corona technology has fulfilled our expectations and we are pleased to recommend it to our customers. My Father built the business on playing the long game and this is how we see our future with Vetaphone.”
