Caraustar invests in Drent Goebel VSOP

EERBEEK, The Netherlands—Folding carton producer Caraustar has invested in a Drent Goebel VSOP at its Grand Rapids, Michigan facility. The machine has seven printing towers, flexo and EB-curing on board. Paul Curtis, division manufacturer manager said, “The concept of variable size sleeves in offset is where the market is heading. We have to compete in a tough market place. Therefore Caraustar made the strategic decision to be in the top segment of the market. This means we operate in challenging markets like the dry and frozen food packaging industry.”

To cope with these demanding markets the Caraustar team invested in a seven tower VSOP from press builder Drent Goebel, with one flexo unit and EB-curing. The innovative web offset press, designed and manufactured by Drent Goebel in Europe, has a width of 33.5 inches or 850 mm. The Electron Beam Curing is important because this drying technique produces extremely high gloss and yet is widely accepted by food producers/packagers.

“We came in contact with Drent Goebel through one of our executives. We spent much time with Drent Goebel representatives from Germany and The Netherlands along with their U.S. representatives, PacSys,” Curtis said. “We also visited Drent in Germany and were impressed by the European engineering capabilities. In the long run, we decided on offset because our clients are demanding very high-quality graphics. While flexo continues to improve, offset printing sets the standards. Also the making of offset plates is inexpensive compared to flexo. Furthermore, we see a decline in the number of packages that are printed in one run. The speed to market is also becoming shorter every day. We increasingly see smaller jobs and therefore need a flexible printing press with short makeready times. The concept of variable repeat web offset is perfect for the markets we are in and wish to pursue. We consider it to be future proof.”

Caraustar’s Folding Carton Group, which bought the VSOP, is located at the company’s headquarters in Austell, Georgia. The Drent Goebel VSOP is expected to be delivered in May 2007.