Develops and manufactures inline digital and flexo printing systems for pharmaceutical packaging, blister foils and BFS containers.
Hapa AG
Volketswil (Zurich), SwitzerlandNew on Amplifa
About Hapa
Hapa AG is a Swiss manufacturer of printing systems for the pharmaceutical packaging industry, headquartered in Volketswil near Zurich. The company develops and produces inline and nearline printing solutions for web materials such as aluminium blister foil, carton board and labels, as well as systems for direct printing on sealed blisters and Blow-Fill-Seal containers. The portfolio includes digital drop-on-demand printing systems, UV flexographic and hybrid solutions, including in-house ink development and workflow automation for Pharma 4.0 environments. The processes are designed for GMP-compliant packaging lines and cover materials such as aluminium foil, PP, PE and PET. Hapa employs around 170 staff worldwide, exports 90% of its machines and is a member of the Coesia Group. Founded in 1933, the company is certified to ISO 9001:2015.
- Site
- Volketswil
- Processes
- Web printing (digital, flexographic and hybrid) for pharmaceutical web materials, Blister printing – direct printing on filled and sealed blisters (late-stage customization), Label printing (high-speed, high-volume pharmaceutical production), UV flexo printing (inline) for pharmaceutical web materials, In-house ink development (DOD inks, durable and abrasion-resistant), Workflow automation / software solutions for pharma packaging (Pharma 4.0), Consulting, Application testing
- Materials
- Aluminium (blister foil), PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), Carton board, Aluminium foil (blister foil), Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene (PE)
- Certificates
- ISO 9001:2015
- Founded
- 1933
- Employees
- 170
- Industries
- Pharmaceutical packaging industry
- 01
Consulting and application testing
- 02
Development of printing systems and software
- 03
In-house ink development
- 04
Manufacturing of printing systems
- 05
Commissioning and training
- 06
Service, maintenance and lifecycle upgrades
Materials and Processes
Aluminium foil (blister foil)
Main substrate for inline printing on blister machines since the Hapamatic in 1970.
Polypropylene (PP)
Mono-material packaging for sustainable pharmaceutical packaging solutions.
Polyethylene (PE)
Printing substrate for mono-material packaging in pharmaceutical production.
PET
Printing substrate for mono-material packaging in pharmaceutical production.
Carton board
Substrate for coding and printing of folding cartons, as early as the Druma machine in 1953.
Digital Drop-on-Demand printing
Validated inline printing for GMP-compliant packaging lines with durable, abrasion-resistant inks.
UV flexographic printing
Inline printing process for pharmaceutical web materials in high volumes.
Direct-to-container printing
Replaces labelling, embossing and pad printing directly in Blow-Fill-Seal production.
Locations
Volketswil (Zurich)
CHHeadquarters, development and manufacturing
- Materials
- Aluminium foil, PP, PE, PET, carton board
- Digimatic H 380
- Webjet H903 3D
- Blisterjet Agile
- H863 LabelJet
- BFSJET
- redcube plus
- evo+ printing systems
- Web 4.0 5D
Printing Applications
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web printing (digital, flexographic and hybrid) for pharmaceutical web materialsSurface | – | – | – | – | Aluminium foil (blister foil), PP, PE, PET |
| Blister printing – direct printing on filled and sealed blisters (late-stage customization)Surface | – | – | – | small batch sizes | Aluminium foil (blister foil) |
| Label printing (high-speed, high-volume pharmaceutical production)Surface | – | – | – | – | Label material, Carton board |
| Surface | – | – | – | – | Plastic (BFS containers) |
| Surface | – | – | – | – | Aluminium foil, Carton board, Labels |
| UV flexo printing (inline) for pharmaceutical web materialsSurface | – | – | – | – | Aluminium foil, pharmaceutical web materials |
| In-house ink development (DOD inks, durable and abrasion-resistant)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Workflow automation / software solutions for pharma packaging (Pharma 4.0)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
10 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital printing system for web materials (web printing) | Hapa Digimatic H 380 (alu web printing) | – | – | – | – |
| Digital printing system for mono-material packaging | Hapa Webjet H903 3D | – | – | – | – |
| Digital printing system for sealed blisters | Hapa Blisterjet Agile | – | – | 2025 | – |
| Label printing system | Hapa H863 LabelJet | – | – | – | – |
| Direct-to-container printing system for BFS production | Hapa BFSJET | – | – | 2016 | – |
| Modular digital printing system for pharmaceutical applications | Hapa redcube plus | – | – | 2015 | – |
| evo+ family printing systems (hybrid, flexo, fully digital) | Hapa evo+ | – | – | 2023 | – |
| Digital full-colour inline web printing | Hapa Web 4.0 5D | – | – | 2024 | – |
| Inline printing system for aluminium foils for blister machines | Hapa Hapamatic | – | – | 1970 | – |
| Carton coding/printing machine | Hapa Druma | – | – | 1953 | – |
Additional services
Quality
Hapa AG's quality management system is certified to ISO 9001:2015. The printing systems are designed for validated inline printing in GMP-compliant pharmaceutical packaging lines.
| Evidence | Volketswil (Zurich) |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001:2015 |
History
- 1933
Founded in Zurich by Curt Bäbler as a patent brokerage; the name Hapa stands for "Handel mit Patenten" (trade in patents).
- 1953
First entry into printing technology with the Druma printing machine for carton coding; several thousand units sold.
- 1962
Recognition of the need for inline printing technology with the advent of the first blister machine.
- 1970
Introduction of the Hapamatic, the world's first inline printing system for aluminium foils for blister machines.
- 1990
Relocation of headquarters to Volketswil near Zurich; introduction of UV flexographic printing systems and later digital printing technology based on risographic UV technology.
- 2006
Joined the Coesia Group headquartered in Bologna.
- 2007
Introduction of the world's first fully digital DOD printing system for inline printing of blister foil.
- 2010
Acquisition of a long-standing supplier and development partner to establish an in-house ink business.
- 2015
Market launch of the redcube plus, a modular digital printing system.
- 2016
Introduction of blisterjet and BFSJET for direct printing on sealed blisters and BFS bottles.
- 2023
90th anniversary; market launch of the evo+ family (hybrid, flexo and fully digital printing).
- 2024
Introduction of Web 4.0 5D for digital full-colour inline printing.
- 2025
Introduction of blisterjet agile for late-stage customization of sealed blisters.