Diecutter Speeds Folding Carton Turnaround

At ABOX Packaging, located in Kaufman, Texas, speed, efficiency, and quality are traits the company's growing customer base has come to expect. The 37-year-old packaging company, located 27 miles southeast of Dallas, is a custom manufacturer of high-end folding cartons, serving a variety of different market segments including medical, food packaging, and office supply products.

ABOX Packaging is led by industry-veteran Keith Thompson, who serves as the company's president. Thompson purchased ABOX Packaging nine years ago from the company's original owners.

"We have gone from 50 employees to 125 employees," Thompson proudly says. "And we are at 4 1/2 times the sales revenue from when I purchased the company."

Thompson attributes the company's success to his employees, who he refers to as "incredible". He also gives credit to the company's strong base of more than 200 customers. "They are very loyal," he contends. "We work hard to retain our customers."

Speed rules

If ABOX Packaging has a niche, it is speed, Thompson reports. "We can turn around a job in two or three days if needed," he says. "It's all about speed today. Anyone can buy a press that will print great, or a diecutter that will diecut. It's how quickly you can make it happen for the customer."

To address this need for speed, ABOX Packaging installed a Heidelberg Dymatrix 106 CSB (integrated cutting, stripping, and blanking) diecutter in late 2009. Thompson maintains that the addition of the Dymatrix machine has increased diecutting productivity by about 25 percent.

Thompson notes that the Dymatrix diecutter runs faster than the company's previous machines, which required offline blanking. ABOX Packaging can now diecut, strip, blank, and send jobs directly to the gluer, eliminating the need to perform manual scrapping or offline blanking.

"When I started looking at diecutters, I looked at three different brands," Thompson recalls. "And I was very impressed with the Heidelberg machine. Three years later we are incredibly happy with it. It has done exactly what they said it would do."

Thompson knew he needed a machine that could handle shorter run lengths, frequent job changeovers, and was easy for the staff at ABOX Packaging to use. The Dymatrix diecutter helped meet those needs, while lowering makeready times and boosting quality.

Diecutting efficiencies

With the integrated features of the Dymatrix machine, ABOX Packaging employees can work more productively and efficiently. The servo drives of the diecutter's feeder ensure reliable sheet feeding, while double sheet detection makes sure sheets are supplied to the feed station one at a time, regardless of sheet thickness, Thompson maintains. In addition, the company ordered the machine with Heidelberg's optional DySet technology, which offers exact sheet feeding, and eliminates front lay trips, at high production speeds, even with unjogged piles.

ABOX Packaging has also benefitted from the Dymatrix's tool frame kit and centerline positioning system that allows the use of universal and standard tools for stripping. Dedicated tools can be adjusted both in and against the direction of sheet transport.

All this helps the company accomplish its mission. "The normal turnaround time in the packaging business is two to three weeks," Thompson explains. "We pride ourselves on the fact that we average much less than that."

Early start

At least part of ABOX Packaging's success should be attributed to Thompson, who possesses a whopping 47 years of experience in the printing business. He cut his teeth in the printing industry at the tender age of 13, to make money to purchase a motorcycle.

"I told my Dad I wanted a motorcycle and he said to get a job," he remembers with a laugh. "I said I am only 13 and he said again to get a job."

Thompson's mother knew someone who worked at a local newspaper and they hired him to work midnight to 3 a.m. cleaning its newspaper press. He has been hooked on the printing industry ever since.

While working at the newspaper, Thompson learned how to run a small printing press. "That's what got me started and I was fascinated by it," Thompson recalls. "I got the motorcycle and it cost me $301 and my payment was $12 a month." He went on to earn a degree in Print Management from East Texas State University.

Thompson has come a long way from the late nights he spent cleaning presses. "I have owned a couple other printing companies and have been very successful in sales for two large commercial printers here in the Dallas area," Thompson says.

While he owned a commercial printing company, he got into folding carton printing "by accident" in the mid-1990s. "It turned out to be a very rewarding step for me," he contends, adding that he also previously owned a small packaging company. So when the opportunity came up to purchase ABOX Packaging in 2004, Thompson jumped on it and has never looked back.

According to Thompson, one of the strengths of ABOX Packaging is the ability to provide its customer base with an intricate inventory management program. It doesn't hurt that the company boasts a total of 185,000 square feet throughout three buildings.

"We inventory over 2,000 products on a daily basis," he points out. "We are fully self-contained; we don't have to go outside for any outside services."

Thompson notes that ABOX Packaging makes its own dies, sheets its own board using a 59˝ Maxson sheeter, and inventories a large amount of materials to handle just about any customer request on-demand.

"Customers want speed," Thompson reiterates, "especially with print-on-demand. Customers say, 'Here is a box I need—tomorrow.' How fast we can produce the job, and having the right equipment and materials on-hand is the key to the whole process."

Investing for growth

In the ABOX Packaging pressroom, the shop uses a 6-color, 28 x 40˝ Komori LS640C press and new 8-color, 28 x 40˝ Komori LS840C press, both of which have hybrid UV capabilities. Disposable aluminum plates are made in-house using a Fuji computer-to-plate system.

Building off its positive experience with the Dymatrix diecutter, ABOX Packaging recently signed a deal to purchase a pair of Heidelberg Varimatrix 105-CS machines, which will be delivered to the company this fall.

"The employees are very excited about working with the new equipment," Thompson reports, adding that they are also planning to add two new folder/gluers in the near future. The shop's bindery already features three folder/gluers, a Lodestar 130 laminator and a Kawahara stipping/blanking unit.

"Getting the right equipment in here that will perform on a daily basis is important," Thompson says. "And I think we have done a very nice job of doing that."

The additional printing and finishing capacity will be welcome at ABOX Packaging, as Thompson predicts that his staff will be a busy bunch for the remainder of 2012.

"We are on a great growth pattern," Thompson contends. "We are up about 20 percent for the year over last year's sales figures, and we have some new contracts coming in over the next few months."

The additional growth comes at an important time, Thompson says, as he sees more commercial printers trying to get into the package-printing game. While that increased competition can be an interesting challenge, Thompson feels his company is well positioned to ward off less experienced companies.

"Commercial printers don't have the tools, experience, and opportunities a packaging company has," he states. "So if someone orders a box, we have the materials on the floor, we sheet it, and we are gone. We have to be prepared for any job, at any time."

With its valuable and unique mix of experience, talent, and equipment, ABOX Packaging has readied itself for success in an increasingly crowded carton printing arena. pP