Extending the life of BOBST machines

With the extension of equipment life, BOBST and the packaging industry win on both counts: repairing and upgrading machinery avoids environmental impacts related to the production of a new machine, but it also reduces customers’ operating costs dramatically by ensuring that the efficiency of older machines remains at its best.

As long as the resource consumption (such as energy) of an older machine does not significantly exceed that of a new model, extending the life of the equipment is worthwhile to preserve the environment.

This assumption is truer for a BOBST machine that is built to last. From component selection to the assembly process and quality controls, everything in its manufacture aims at robustness. BOBST machinery is known for its reliability and longevity. Compared to similar equipment available on the market, its lifespan is on average longer and reaches between 15 and 30 years.

Equipment upgrades, retrofits, and enhancements are vital for converters to improve their productivity, remain competitive and meet the ever-changing packaging requirements of brand owners.

Depending on the configuration, age, and condition of the equipment, an upgrade often costs less than purchasing a new machine. In addition, it extends the life of the equipment while slowing down its obsolescence. BOBST has deployed dedicated teams to tackle obsolescence related issues. Being one of the main causes of obsolescence, electronic parts are replaced with alternative components.

But upgrading the machine to the latest standards has also the potential to reduce its environmental footprint. Retrofitting, for instance, is a great option to replace electric components with less energy-intensive alternatives.

BOBST features a large span of retrofits and upgrades to solve problems of productivity, quality, or sustainability and to extend the life of the machine:

• Annual contract to maintain critical devices (pump, chiller, coating heads) and reduce energy costs;
• Refurbishing refrigeration units with more environmentally friendly gas;
• Fluid folding to improve the quality of bending and reduce the waste to throw away;
• Energy saving motor upgrade (new IE generation);
• Improved operations for better printing on polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) based films using greener materials.

Since 2012, around 6.7% of the installed base of BOBST machines for the folding carton and corrugated board industries have been upgraded to reduce their environmental impact.

BOBST offers an exclusive reconditioning service for old equipment following the circularity principle. The machines are taken back on-site and renovated before being reinstalled into their customers’ production lines. Unique in the packaging industry, BOBST’s remanufacturing concept (which includes some “carousel”) fosters sustainability and allows the company to extend the life of its machines while reducing its environmental impact through modernization (new electronics).

In addition, Cm Service Srl, the Italian supplier specializing in refurbished corrugated machines that BOBST took over in 2021, has also developed its activities in reconditioning large-format equipment. As a result, by the end of 2022, Cm Service had refurbished eight packaging machines for customers in six different European countries.

This advanced filtration technology removes impurities and contaminants from the oil used in industrial machinery. Recycling and reusing oil lowers the need for costly and environmentally damaging oil production. With clean oil, machinery becomes more efficient, which reduces the consumption of energy and carbon emissions, and has fewer impacts on the environment.

BOBST has developed with Nexales – the Swiss publisher of digital B2B solutions – a unique application for Mobile Sales to actively market its retrofit and upgrade solutions. The Group can thus offer them even more efficiently to its customers to extend their machines’ life and participate in reducing their carbon footprint.