Growth Spurs Investment in Automation — Southeastern Runs Non-Stop With Martin Automatic Equipment
Posted: February 20, 2009
ROCKFORD IL — Southeastern's new facility in Palm City, FL, has been up and running since early 2008 under the direction of flexo production manager, Jeff Ganswindt. Southeastern provides labels for leading companies including Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. At the center of the new operation is an 8-station 22-inch Comco C2 press that prints flexible packaging and specifically beverage labels.
The volume of labels required the new Comco press to run continuously as much as possible. Ganswindt and Southeastern agreed with Comco's recommendation to purchase a Martin Automatic splicer and rewinder for the press to provide non-stop production capabilities.
The Martin MBSF butt splicer features driven spindles and a very low-tension capability to handle the light films (typically 1 mil BOPP and PET) at speeds up to1000-fpm matching the Comco's printing capability. Printed rolls are rewound and automatically offloaded by a Martin LRD transfer rewind. With both machines' cantilevered spindle designs, operators benefit from not having to handle shafts at either end of the press. And, Ganswindt noted, "The operators love the Martin equipment because it is so reliable."
The C2 press was built by Comco on spec, and it was initially paired with a manual unwind. Of the installation of the Martin butt splicer and rewind, Ganswindt reported, "It went in and started running production immediately. We've seen a significant increase in both run speeds and throughput, and there's also been a welcomed decrease in film waste. The Martin equipment was definitely the right decision for us."
Given the increased productivity and cost reductions that Martin equipment gave Southeastern on their Comco C2 press, Ganswindt is adding a Martin butt splicer and transfer rewind to their existing 22-inch ProGlide press to enable non-stop running at 750-fpm.
