Kohli raises stakes with the Thea-9one8 at its Ambernath open house

Kohli’s expansive factory in the picturesque, semi-industrial township of Ambernath follows ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 safety standards. At the heart of the facility is the nine-tower rotogravure machine, capable of running at speeds of up to 400 metres per minute (mpm).

"People should know what wonders we are doing with the Thea-9one8," says Kaku Kohli

The demo
Customers and potential clients from around the globe flock to witness live demonstrations of the machine’s functional stability as it ramped down from 400-mpm to 200-mpm and back to 400-mpm with much ease.  Kohli says, “I enjoy—bringing the speed down, then back up. It demonstrates the machine’s stability, the motor’s torque, and its ability to control inertia. While others claim minimum waste during speed changes, we’re the only ones who confidently say there’s zero waste in speed transitions and minimal waste in splicing.” During the live demonstration, the calculated waste for splicing was around 21-metres. It took approximately 3.27 seconds to splice when the machine was running at around 400-mpm.

Much like the 9one8 itself, Kohli promises transparency right from the Open House itself. It features live-streamed Q&A sessions to engage potential customers. “Imagine we have 1,000 customers and their team members and imagine if one person says - I have this machine and it's not working. We are running the press live, and anyone can question us. Sometimes even our competitors are in the audience. We don't stop anyone from attending,” Kaku Kohli says.   The company hosts Open House events, featuring live-streamed Q&A sessions to engage potential customers. “Imagine we have 1000 people and imagine if one guy says, I have his machine and it's not working. We are there live, and anyone can ask us. We, in fact, even our competitors, are also there as an audience. We don't stop anyone,” Kaku Kohli says.  

A made in India rotogravure press
The Thea 9one8 is a rotogravure press that can print on various flexible substrates, such as polyester, BOPP, paper, PE, MDOPE, PVC and others. The printing speed of the press varies from 400- to 600-mpm.

The machine was launched in September 2020. The press has been designed by Kohli Industries based on actual concepts conceived with machine operators and machine maintenance engineers in mind. The USP of the machine is its ease of operation. Kaku Kohli says, “For instance if blue ink is being used and the next job requires the same, the operator can simply take the trolley and place it in the new job area, reducing changeover time.”

Kohli says that the development of the machine took more than two years. He met with operators and engineers around the world to understand their pain points. The Thea-9one8s is built on the concept of ease: ease of operation, changeover, safety, registration, production, information, and maintenance.

The growth of the Thea brand
In the recent years, Kohli has managed to convert customers of major Swiss and German companies into loyal Kohli customers with return orders. This, Kohli credits to the ease and operational efficiency of 9one8.  So what makes one switch? “One is a bigger manufacturer, one is a better manufacturer. The customer chooses which he wants. If he wants a bigger brand, I can't give him that. There are many Indians who like a brand. Now, that mindset I can't change. So as far as technicality goes, this machine, if not better, is at par with global brands,” Kohli says. 

The confidence in maintaining transparency is a testament to fact that even if elements of 9one8 can be copied, the quality itself cannot be reproduced or replicated. “Yes, they can copy whatever they want, but they can’t take my orders,” says Kohli. It is also because the 9one8s are customised to meet client demands, as a result of which no two 9one8 are the same in the world. For example, the company has integrated an Italian-developed autowash system which is currently offered as an option on many machines. The autowash system would save a lot of manpower required for cleaning between the jobs.

The safety aspects
Kohli shares the highlights, “Each station is equipped with temperature sensors to detect overheating. If a fire occurs, the heat triggers the carbon dioxide system. The system also includes web break sensors at every station. If the web breaks for any reason, the machine will automatically stop.”

The Thea-9one8 open was hosted from 3 to 5 March at the Ambernath factory

Hiten Mehta, founder, Printgraph advises against changing doctor blades when the machine is running as such practices are not even allowed in Europe, Mexico, and Turkey. He maintains that while it is technically possible by bringing the machine down to a lower speed, it is not advisable.  

One of the things that emerged during the open house was the importance of drying rates and performance to cost. It also addressed the raging debate around solvent-based formulations for rotogravure printing inks which pose serious environmental concerns. These factors are expected to act as an impediment to the growth of the market.

The key to the 9one8 press is the cooling unit which has cold water circulation reducing solvent evaporation, thus saving costs for the customer. This also helps the press maintain optimal temperature, minimising solvent loss and energy consumption. 

Thea and the goddess of light
When it comes to the disadvantages, one of which is selling the 9one8 to a price-sensitive market like India, which continues to operate on a cost-saving mentality. In addition to that, Kaku Kohli admits that “9one8 was not designed for speed. It was designed for operational benefits.” To improve operator ergonomics, the design was adjusted so everything is at standing height, and a wider catwalk was added for easier cleaning, thus increasing the machine's height, leading to a longer drying area. As a result, even when customers want a 300-meter machine, they must opt for the 9one8’s larger drying section, limiting flexibility—making it a disadvantage for buyers seeking smaller machines.

However, Mehta attests to the fact that the 9one8 caters to different markets and customers “The beauty of 9one8 is, it can run the shortest run job, the mid jobs, it can also run in the long run.” And when asked about maintenance and service, Mehta says that Kohli makes presses in such a way that there is no service required for three to four years.

Thea is a Greek word and means goddess of light; and that's what Kohli Printing and Converting Machines aims to do. Ensure engraving of the image onto an image carrier on multiple types of packaging materials.