OPM Group Partners with AVT for 100% Production Line Quality Control

"100% Inspection is key to ensuring all products are fit for purpose and delivered in full and on time. With AVT’s best in class print quality control solutions in place and our QA procedures.”

OPM Group has installed its second AVT Helios print inspection system with a third and fourth planned for later this year. The investment is part of the operation’s vision to become one of Europe’s top-performing label and flexible packaging printers.

The AVT Helios print inspection system is designed exclusively for labels and narrow web printing. It offers 100% Quality Assurance across the entire print production workflow – from set-up through printing to finishing – inspecting any application and any substrate or print type.

Susan Ellison, owner of OPM Group states: “Print is an increasingly competitive industry, we are constantly looking for new technologies and innovations. Our vision is to maintain our position as one of Europe’s top-performing printers of quality and innovative labels and flexible packaging. Our strategy is not designed around what or clients expect today. We recognise that the markets will expect something different in the future. And that future is starting to arrive now. The consumer driven process of printed labels and packaging is already becoming more impatient, more demanding and more discerning. To compete with this ever changing market OPM continually investigate and assess the use of new technologies, processes, and materials that will be needed to bring new products to our clients. The whole team recognises the necessity for continuous R&D to meet this strategy by achieving the perfect combination of our core areas of expertise: print, lean manufacture and service”.

Privately-owned, independent, OPM (Labels & Packaging) Group Ltd was established over 40 years ago. It currently serves more than 600 clients in both domestic and export markets spanning numerous sectors, including pharmaceutical, health and beauty, home care automotive, beverage and food.

Continuous tech investment

Since 2009, has made continuous capital investment, including printing presses as well as an fully automated MIS system, linked to Esko , GMG and ink mixing technology software to ensure that it is always at the forefront of the label and packaging technology. It runs six Nilpeter UV flexo presses complemented by finishing equipment from Bar Graphic Machinery.

AVT’s Helios printinspection system was added to OPM’s Nilpeter Asterix Flexo printing operation and at the finishing line,completed with Martin Automatic Fly and splice automation. Both Helios inspection systems are linked to AVT’s PrintFlow Manager and PrintFlow Central quality and process control workflows.

PrintFlow Manager ensures that inspection data collected from all inspection platforms is presented directly to the PCs of print managers and key personnel, promoting improved monitoring, analysis and increased internal production quality and efficiency.

PrintFlow Central enables automatic storage of inspection data as well as job setup data from AVT inspection systems into a single computer (server), enabling improved backup of job parameters/inspection data together with continuous availability of inspection data for PrintFlow Manager as well as WorkFlow Link stations.

Expected excellence

Susan Ellison further explains: “OPM has built an environment where excellence is expected. Our team understands quality is not achieved by accident. It is borne from direction, effort and attention to detail. The most dangerous kind of waste is the waste you do not recognise. Thanks to AVT, we are continuously getting better at eliminating waste and error. OPM recognises that product quality needs to be controlled constantly and consistently. 100% inspection is key to ensuring all products are fit for purpose and delivered in full and on time, utilising AVT’s best in class print control solutions and our strict QA procedures this is a given”.

OPM selected AVT after a peer inquiry about the company’s reliability, training and customer service. All feedback was positive, comments Ms. Ellison: “So we decided to go to drupa and meet the AVT Team for a demo of the latest software and equipment. Its ease of use was quickly illustrated. We also see the links to Esko workflows and KPI /control data capture as huge benefits.”

Long-term strategy

This investment is part of OPM’s aim to continually improve its QA systems on all presses and finishing over the next three years with added software automation and Martin Automation systems.

“We’re committed to growing through continual investment in people and world-class technologies,” adds Chris Ellison, Managing Director who is also the current President of FINAT, the European association for the self-adhesive label and narrow-web converting industry. “We always think about the long-term strategy. Average doesn’t work for us, which is why we’re passionate about helping our clients to achieve excellence in all areas of their work. Staying up to speed with the latest technology is mandatory.”

“We partner with customers and suppliers looking beyond traditional markets, to actively promote new ideas and add diversification to our ever-evolving product offering. Our key to successful innovation is finding inspired customers, proactive suppliers, passionate and talented staff who are committed to working togetherand who embrace the philosophy of collaborate-to-innovate. We look at innovationto develop customer value through unique solutions that meet new needs, unperceived lingering needs or altering existing market needs. That is why we all enjoy working with the AVT systems. Their innovative best in class solutions highlight opportunities for unforeseen process efficiency improvements, continuously boosting productivity even further.”