Fujifilm official opened its new PS-10 plate production line in Tilburg, The Netherlands, yesterday, at a star-studded ceremony attended by the Prince of Orange, HRH Prince Willem-Alexander.

The event was also attended by Dutch deputy prime minister Maxime Verhagen and Japanese ambassador to The Netherlands Takashi Koezuka, both of whom spoke about the important trade relationship between Japan and The Netherlands and of Fujifilm's commitment to sustainability and innovation.

 At the climax of the ceremony, HRH Prince Willem-Alexander and Fujifilm president and chief executive Shigetaka Komori made footprints in green clay to mark the opening of what Fujifilm has dubbed its "Green Factory".

Fujifilm president and CEO Shigetaka Komori and HRH Prince Willem-Alexander

made 'green footprints' at the official opening ceremony for the PS-10 line

Fujifilm's PS-10 production line is the centrepiece of a €100m (￡85m) investment in the facility, including the installation of five wind turbines that provide 20% of the site's power, and is said to have made Tilburg the "largest single site plate production facility in the world".

The investment makes Tilburg Fujifilm's most advanced plate production facility, capable of manufacturing all of its current plates, including the recently launched Pro-T3 processless thermal plate.

Jack Schellekens, senior technical support engineer, offset plates, Fujfilm Manufacturing Europe, told PrintWeek that the company would also be launching next generation plate products at next year's Drupa, which Tilburg had the technology to manufacture.

Graham Leeson, marketing communications manager of Fujifilm Europe's Graphic Systems Division, said that the investment was testament to the manufacturer's commitment to offset printing.

"We certainly believe there is a lot of life in offset printing," he added. "The evolution of digital has certainly had an impact but that evolution is a slow one.

"There are lots of opportunities for plate products, lots for offset in particular, and that's why we've done what we've done here [in creating] a world-leading, sustainable manufacturing site.

"We believe we have the opportunity in offset in EMEA to grow market share. We are delivering plates that can have a huge impact [for printers] both from an environmental and a performance point of view."

Also included in Fujfilm's site investment was the installation of a co-generative thermal oxidiser (CTO), which incinerates waste solvents produced in the plate manufacturing process, creating steam as one by-product, which is used to generate electrivity.

According to Fujifilm, the CTO will help power the PS-10 line, reducing Fujifilm's CO2 emissions by around 5,500 tonnes per year. The manufacturer has announced its intention to work towards the goal of 100% carbon neutral plate manufacturing at the site.