Matthews Australasia has launched a new Solaris laser in the Australian market created for high-speed packaging and beverage lines.
Matthews sales manager and laser product specialist Matt Nichol said the SolarJet laser was the fastest laser in the market and could open up new opportunities for laser use in difficult high speed and demanding applications.
Nichol said: “The SolarJet range includes a 100W fibre laser designed to print onto beverage cans at 2000 items a minute. This speed is in excess of 200 cans per minute faster than what else is available in the market today. It delivers high-speed laser coding without compromising print quality to high-speed production lines.”
The technology was intended for release at Interpack this year until COVID-19 put a halt on exhibitions around the world. The soft launch in Australia follows its implementation in Europe. The first Australian installation has been completed with impressive results, Nichol said.
"Having the full Solaris range separated it from other brands because it can tailor solutions for customers who need to mark on unique or unusual substrates.
“We cover both the CO2 and fibre laser technologies, with the latter used for substrates such as metals, while CO2 is perfectly suited for PET, cardboard and other similar materials, but we can also offer our customers laser with unique wavelengths, such as UV and green lasers, that allow marking on different substates.”
New owner, same distribution
Dover Corporation recently acquired Solaris but Nichol said there would be no change to the business.
Nichol said: “Matthews Australasia will continue to sustain our 20-year-long relationship with Solaris, with Dover maintaining it as an independent business with an independent distribution channel globally.
“So there are no changes for our customers; it’s just business as usual. The original agreement resulted from Matthews’ world-wide search for superior laser-coding technology. The Solaris laser system fitted then – as now – with our aim to deliver world-class technology, with low cost of ownership, and our policy of only selling proven technology.
“Matthews will continue to supply and support the entire Solaris range of best-in-class lasers without any disruptions for our customers.”
Solaris president Dr Lech Boruc said it was important to Solaris to maintain its relationship with Matthews, particularly in light of the two company’s longstanding relationship.
“Matthews told us their key search criteria back then was print performance, print quality, strong reference lists and extensive technical credentials. Although we had a large installed base globally, Solaris was not a household name in Australia at the time; we have since become one thanks to the team at Matthews.
“Over our 20-year relationship we have been extremely impressed with Matthews’ world-class sales and, equally as importantly, their technical support.”
Nichol said: “The latest technology developments in the new SolarJet range open up new markets and new opportunities for Matthews to deliver higher-quality laser marking solutions to the Australian FMCG and industrial manufacturing sectors.”
