Spanish label converter, Mirmar SA, has added to its stable of Mark Andy flexo presses with another of the manufacturer’s award-winning Performance Series. The family owned business, now under second generation management, is a long-time Mark Andy user, having installed a 10” four-colour water-based 4120 press back in 1987, when the company was founded. Over the ensuing years, Mirmar has invested in 11 Mark Andy presses, with a total of more than 80 print units!

Mirmar now has three Mark Andy P5 presses and two P7s, all with 438mm web width

Speaking for Mirmar, CEO Mr Jaime Mir Pastor commented: “Flexo technology is perfect for our product portfolio here, and Mark Andy manufactures the best narrow web press for day to day production, in my opinion. We are very proud to work with them and grateful for their ongoing support.”

The latest batch of eight-colour Performance Series presses began to be installed in 2013 when the P5 that was demonstrated on Mark Andy’s Labelexpo stand in Brussels was delivered direct to the plant near Valencia, Spain, after the expo closed. Coincidentally, it was the 250^th Performance Series press to roll off the line in St Louis – a number that now exceeds 650 worldwide in the eight years since launching.

Phil Baldwin of Mark Andy with Mirmar’s CEO Jaime Mir Pastor

The three P5s and two P7s now at Mirmar all have the 438mm (17”) web width and are variously fitted with corona treaters, web turn bars, delam/relam, cold foil, screen print units, QCDC, and AVT 100% inspection. The specification and capability of the P-Series is allowing Mirmar to expand from its traditional base of food, household, and beverage labels, into the more niche areas of homecare and cosmetics, and other high quality sectors, like the wine industry, where added value is required, and margins are significantly better. This is changing the company’s substrate base from largely self-adhesive papers and thermals to PP and PE.

Drawing particular praise from Mirmar is the speed with which the P-Series presses can be made-ready and the ease with which jobs can be swapped from one to another as machine availability changes. Management data shows a low downtime figure, which combined with the company’s double-day shift operation (06.00 – 22.00hrs), allows Mirmar to offer same day service for urgent work. It also gives a significantly faster ROI, according to Pastor.

Currently growing at a rapid rate, largely due to the extra productivity of the new Mark Andy presses, Mirmar’s staff of 35 supply most of their output to the domestic Spanish market, with exports to Portugal, Malta, and Morocco. As it gears up to expand its customer portfolio, Mirmar is working towards BRC accreditation, and already holds FSC and ISO 9001:2008.

About the Author

Lena Chmielewska, Senior Sales and Marketing Assistant at Mark Andy Poland, is focused on finding solutions that provide success to label customers. With extensive flexo printing and plate making experience, she’s knowledgeable in the label, packaging, and corrugate markets and understands the ever-evolving demands. You can also find Lena on LinkedIn.