PLL Packaging Sdn Bhd is an integrated packaging printshop located in Kempas, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, specialising in heavy duty carton and boxes, slip sheets, paper pallets, offset boxes and other paperboard products for various industries, including aerospace, foods, electronics, supply chain and logistics. The company, which currently employs 160 people, was established as a enterprise in 2001 and converted to a private limited company in 2003. The business originally started as a subcontractor provides finishing services and gradually moved upstream in the supply chain to include print production.
Mr Phan Nong Kok, managing director of PLL Packaging says “Initially, we installed a second-hand five-colour printing press (without coater) but we were unable to achieve the high print quality required by the market, which result in limited types of jobs to be produced and a loss of competitiveness. However, the Covid pandemic created a new demand and the company decided to invest in new presses and expand its own production.” The company offers a wide range of packaging printing both domestically and internationally, and the installation of the Speedmaster CX 104-5+L and other solutions is aiming to further expand our export business sector.
“We are a corrugated paper supplier, but due to increased demand of our customers, we moved to offset printing, and PLL has become a one-stop center to produce fully integrated paperboard-related products, without having to rely on other suppliers. Today, PLL has set up excellent facilities and with modern machinery to provide its customers with innovative, high-quality and reliable products and services.” Mr Phan stated.
Over the past decade, the quality requirements on the market have never been higher. Basic four-colour printing is already sufficient for corrugated board printing. But we now need to be more competitive, and demands and expectations are getting higher. Nowadays, a low resolution print quality is unacceptable, brand image, brand color, high resolutions with spots colors are the basic quality requirement nowadays.
Mr Phan says “In particular, the Heidelberg workflow Prinect Production, integrated with CtP and printing press, allows seamless end to end management of the production process. In prepress, there is no need to rely on external colour separation houses for plate output and colour management. This significantly increases the efficiency and quality of our in-house production and gives us complete control over the entire production process, without having to rely on external suppliers.”
PLL's proximity to Singapore means that we can attract customers from neighboring Singapore, but the shortage a skilled workforce is an issue. This is a major concern for us as many workers prefer to work in Sin?gapore due to the major differences in exchange rate.
We therefore need to be more efficient with our limited resources, and we have installed the Speedmaster CX 104-5+L to help us achieve this. We have also installed the workflow system Prinect Production Manager, the CtP Suprasetter A106 and the Polar Cutter 137 PF.
Another reason for installing the Speedmaster CX 104 was the quality of support. We were initially users of the other press manufacturer, but when our press went down during the pandemic, we were unable to get support from the manufacturer. So, after many internal discussions, we decided to partner with Heidelberg Malaysia, not only for their product technologies that give us cutting edge in our business but also their service support. As a total solution provider, solutions from Heidelberg are user-friendly and Heidelberg remote IT support made it easier to deal with any problems that arose, saving us time. In addition, queries to the Key Account Manager are handled quickly, which is very reassuring for us as users.
We are currently practicing ISO 14001 and 9001 since year 2009. ISO qualification is very important to us in order for us to maintain our production, processes, environment and quality consistency. We are happy that Heidelberg is offering ISO 12647-2 certification for offset printing standardization as well and we have successfully implemented it with the support, guidance and help from Heidelberg Malaysia. With this certification, we hope that we can explore more of the overseas markets and gain the confidence of international print buyers and in turn gain more business to come.
With the Speedmaster CX 104, the production team has been able to reach higher production efficiency. Waste paper has been reduced by approximately 50% and preparation time has been significantly reduced. From ink profile to print, the process is fast - less than 30 minutes - and the productivity (OEE) reporting from Heidelberg Prinect Production Manager give us a clear picture of how production is going.
Efficiency is an essential requirement in the face of rising labor and material costs and the need to become more competitive and strengthen our business in the future as one-stop centre. In this respect, we are satisfied with the complete solution and partnership provided by Heidelberg.
