Benson Group Moves into Pharma Labels Sector

CREWE, England - Folding carton specialist Benson Group, UK packaging company of the year,
has announced details of its first move into the pharmaceutical labels sector
with the purchase of a Gallus EM340S printing press with a Scantech
VisionTrack rewind and inspection machine for its pharmaceutical-focused
Medica Packaging business in Crewe, Cheshire.

The company cites customer demand as being the key driving factor behind
the move. “We are now able to offer pharmaceutical customers the creation of
cartons, leaflets and labels all from one production site. We do not believe
that any other business in the UK is able to offer this single site
production focus for pharma customers,” said Mark Kerridge, Benson Group
Managing Director. “Single site production helps to ensure consistency of
print quality across all three elements, as well as offering customers the
facility to purchase a complete packaging “kit”. For many pharmaceutical
companies a single site audit also offers significant benefits.”

The seven-colour Gallus EM340S UV-Flexographic press, is capable of a
wide range of pharmaceutical label production formats, including reverse
printing, printing on adhesive, edge slit, in-line die cutting, as well as
printing onto a wide range of substrates, from paper to unsupported film,
with weights from 25 microns through to 400 microns. The flexibility of the
machine means that other printing processes and label formats such as silk
screen, foil blocking and “peel ‘n’ read”, can be added to the machine at
anytime. Print production will use Benzophenone free, low-odour printing
inks, suited for both food and pharmaceutical packaging requirements.
Anticipated average production speed of the machine is in the region of 80
metres per minute.

Quality assurance is very much to the fore with the new machine, and the
production system that is being put in place around it. Medica has installed
a press comparator system in order to compare the “first off” print
production pass to a customer approved PDF - a move that the company believes
is a first in the pharmaceutical label market. A camera system on the press
then allows a live visual check of every printed label for the machine
operator during the production run.

The Scantech rewind machine will also be equipped with the latest 100%
vision inspection technology, inspecting all pharmaceutical labels 100% of
the time. Another innovation of this machine is the re-inspection of labels
through the vision system, to ensure that all waste is removed. As well as
the vision system, the machine will have the capability to verify barcodes
and consecutively number each label all in one pass. “Accuracy and quality of
the finished product are critical in pharmaceutical work,” explains Mark
Kerridge. “This press provides a quality control system for label production
that is second-to-none.”

The creation of the pharmaceutical labelling department at Medica is
being overseen by Charlie McGrath, who brings his 25 years of label
production experience to the role of Labels and Leaflets Manager at the 100%
pharmaceutical plant. Charlie’s industry experience includes time spent in
the production of pharmaceutical labels at MY Healthcare and Field Boxmore.

About Benson Group

Benson Group, the Packaging Company of the Year for 2008, is the UK’s
leading privately owned printed carton supplier, producing packaging product
for both the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Headquarters are in Bardon, Leicestershire, where the company owns
130,000 sq ft of production and warehouse space. Benson Group achieves annual
sales in excess of GBP93 million. Food manufacturers are the main customers
at Bardon and for the company’s two North East facilities in Newcastle and
Gateshead. These two sites have a combined total of 200,000 sq ft of
manufacturing and warehouse space. The fourth site in Crewe, Medica
Packaging, serves pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. It has 73,000 sq
ft of manufacturing, warehouse and office space. Since 2000, investment in
new plant and equipment across the four sites totals in excess of GBP25
million. The company recently announced details of the acquisition of various
trading assets of Glasgow-based packaging company Cameron Linn.

Benson Group creates packaging for many well-known companies, brands and
retailers. Key account clients across the Group include GlaxoSmithKline,
Northern Foods, Reckitt Benkiser, Greencore, Bakkavor, and leading
supermarket chains.

For further information on the Benson Group visit:

www.bensongroup.co.uk/bensongroup/group-news-pharma-sector.php

Press Information

For further information on Benson Group, its operations, or on packaging
products or packaging issues please contact: Paul Tye, Benson Group,
Interlink Park, Bardon, Leicestershire, LE67 1PE, Tel : +44(0)1530-518-200,
Email: Paul.Tye@bensongroup.co.uk

Source: Benson Group

Press Information: For further information on Benson Group, its operations, or on packaging products or packaging issues please contact: Paul Tye, Benson Group, Interlink Park, Bardon, Leicestershire, LE67 1PE, Tel : +44(0)1530-518-200, Email: Paul.Tye at bensongroup.co.uk