Chesapeake doubles Tewkesbury pharmaceutical leaflet capacity with KBA spend

Chesapeake Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Packaging has doubled its patient information leaflet printing capacity after investing in a two-colour KBA Rapida 106 B1 press.

The machine will be installed at a new facility in Tewkesbury, which will replace Chesapeake's existing site in the town in the next few months.

Communications manager Bob Houghton said: "We are relocating the factory and the new press will be installed there once it is open. It will double the capacity for patient information leaflets in Tewkesbury.

"We are pretty close to finalising the move now; things are still going through, but we expect to be able to say something about that in the near future."

As the machine is only used to produce pharmaceutical leaflets, Houghton said it does not have as high a specification as the company's existing Rapida 106, a six-colour, two-back-four perfector at its Greenford plant. However, it will have the capacity to print 300m leaflets per year.

Both presses are equipped with a lightweight stock option, which reduces minimum substrate specification to 0.04mm, ColorTronic off-press ink and register control system and DriveTronic.

The Tewkesbury press has been installed with a RapidKut reel sheeter to enable handling sheeted paper and reels and with Sensoric Infeed System (SIS).

Chesapeake's investment in the KBA continues a £45m worldwide spend by the pharmaceutical giant, which also included a Bobst die-cutter earlier this month.