Omet showcases folding cartons at open house

In December, Omet hosted an open house at its Innovation Park in Molteno, Italy, to showcase an in-line carton system before it was shipped to a customer. This came at the end of the year as Omet celebrated its 60th anniversary.

The event started with a welcome speech from Marco Calcagni, Omet sales and marketing director, who expressed his satisfaction with the results achieved in 2023 in collaboration with the company’s technology partners. Partners present at the event included BST, Ecoleaf, Flexo Wash, GEW, Nazdar, Rossini, Simec Group, Simonazzi, tesa and Zeller+Gmelin.

Sfera

Michele Spreafico, Omet’s remote service technical and service digitalization project leader, introduced Sfera, the company’s new digital platform, which monitors in real-time all connected Omet machines, analyzes its data, and assists customers in making better operational decisions.

‘The digital transformation of enterprises has become a strategic priority to remain competitive in today’s ever-more dynamic and demanding market,’ says Spreafico. ‘This transition involves leveraging advanced solutions based on the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cloud Computing. Embracing these innovations enables a company to achieve several objectives: operational efficiency, competitiveness, customer insights, cost reduction and innovation.’

Spreafico explained that the IoT is a set of technologies aimed at creating an interconnected network of physical devices capable of collecting, analyzing and sharing real-time data, opening a wide range of opportunities for intelligent monitoring and advanced management of business operations.

‘Omet aims to be at the forefront of this transformation,’ says Spreafico. ‘Sfera is the result of this vision, Omet’s industrial IoT solution. This digital platform is designed to handle various crucial aspects of connected machines and production lines, fully harnessing the potential of AI. With this innovative project, Omet puts a powerful tool in the hands of its customers to tackle the challenges of Industry 4.0.’

The Sfera platform offers a wide range of functionalities, including efficiency analysis, bottleneck detection, process telemetry, monitoring of energy consumption and preventive as well as predictive maintenance. Access is provided through a web app, divided into modules with specific permissions and roles, to enforce data security.

‘With Sfera, the converters are constantly connected to the beating heart of the plant, no matter where they are. In fact, the application is also accessible from mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, allowing managers to monitor and manage the workflow in real-time.’

Alessandro Chiodi, Omet marketing specialist for aftersales and service, provided a preview of Gaia, an AI-based chatbot capable of addressing Omet customers’ technical questions in multiple languages. ‘This will offer 24/7 assistance that extends beyond troubleshooting to provide maintenance suggestions, optimization tips for machine usage and training for operators,’ says Chiodi.

Press demos

The main point of interest at the open house was an Omet Varyflex V2 line configured for in-line folding carton production for the food, tobacco, cosmetic and FMCG markets. The press was due to be shipped to a customer after the event. It will be configured with a non-stop unwind, web cleaner, corona treater, 10 flexo units, two rotogravure units with chill drum and extended hot air dryers, a cold foil unit and a final vertical flexo unit with hot air dryer.

All print units are equipped with the Omet Vision registration system. The converting section of the line includes a decurler, embossing station, creasing station, and rotary die station, followed by matrix removal, BST Tubescan inspection system and flying cut sheeter. On the delivery is an accelerator/de-nesting unit and a shingling delivery table with the option of using a high-pile stacker.