Customer Service and Responsiveness

Solventless lamination provides the versatility needed by Hood Packaging Corp.'s plant in Decatur, Ga. to help it meet the needs of its customers.

HOOD PACKAGING CORP. is a fast-growing manufacturer of printed packaging products, specializing in customized paper and plastic bags. The company's roots go back to 1959, and it spent its first 30 years as a one-plant operation named Southern Bag Corp.

In the early 1990s, the company began a series of acquisitions to expand its reach in packaging. First, two multi-wall bag plants were acquired from Georgia Pacific, along with the operation of Patria Packaging of Valdosta, Ga. In 1996, Southern Bag Corp. made a significant move into the growing plastic packaging market with the acquisition of the U.S. operation of Sengewald, Inc., which consisted of plants in St. Paul, Minn. and Grand Forks, N.D. With these operations, the company formed Hood Flexible Packaging.

After adding two more paper packaging plants from International Paper, the company further expanded Hood Flexible Packaging in 1998 with the acquisition of All-Pak, Inc. and its plant in Decatur, Ga. Finally, Southern Bag Corp.'s parent organization, Hood Companies, bought Bonar Packaging and its seven plastic and paper packaging plants in Canada and the U.S., and Southern Bag and Bonar were joined in 2001 to form Hood Packaging Corp. (HPC).

Atlanta Business Unit

The Decatur plant forms the Atlanta Business Unit of the HPC Plastic Film Division. According to Tony Alvarez, general manager, the products manufactured at this plant include printed roll stock and pre-made bags and pouches for the bakery, coffee, pet food, hosiery, frozen prepared foods, lawn and garden, and confectionery markets.

The printing operation includes three flexo presses. A PCMC 8-color mid-web press and a PCMC 10-color wide-web press provide high-quality process printing and quick changeover capability. A Uteco 6-color wide-web press is best for line work, says Alvarez. The Decatur operation also includes complete in-house graphics services that can provide original design work through prepress and platemaking.

Hood Packaging Corp.'s motto is "Consider it done!" and the Decatur plant operates with this as a driving force. "Our philosophy centers on continuous improvement for providing our customers with a quality product which fully satisfies their needs and expectations in every regard," says Alvarez.

With 90 employees, the operation is still small enough to have a "personal touch" with its customers, reports Alvarez. "We have empowered work or core teams that make sure we consistently produce quality products that are delivered on time."

Extraordinary customer service and responsiveness is how HPC differentiates itself from its competitors. "Our management team has a clear, common understanding and coordination of effort for achieving goals from the customer's perspective," says Alvarez. "Speed-to-market is critical. Customer responsiveness and consistency, with on-time delivery and field tech service is the hallmark of the Decatur operation."

Lamination adds product variety

The ability to laminate various films allows the Decatur plant to produce a wide selection of products to meet its customers' needs. Films can be combined to provide various properties to meet a customer's need for product protection, shelf-life performance, and marketing advantages. Steve Lee, plant manager, reports the range of their products includes PE, PP and PET laminations for form and fill applications, and pre-made stand-up pouches with high-end graphics.

The Decatur plant began using a solventless lamination process four years ago when it purchased a Comexi CL Laminator. Prior to that time, lamination was done with water-based adhesives.

"Solventless laminating was a new process for Hood Packaging," says Lee. "Extensive research in laminators, adhesives, and supporting equipment available at that time was performed with Comexi chosen as the best source for laminating equipment for the Decatur plant."

The solventless laminating process has provided several benefits to the Decatur operation. These include greater versatility, better economics, and improved environmental compliance with air quality regulations.

These added benefits do come with trade-offs, says Lee. One disadvantage is that solventless adhesives generally require more curing time (about 24 hours) before any additional steps in the process can be performed.

The Comexi CL Laminator is an off-line operation. "The Decatur plant utilizes quick response and just-in-time support for our customers, which require quick changeovers and short runs that an in-line could not provide," he adds.

Meeting market challenges

Hood Packaging Corp., like all other package printers, is facing many challenges in the markets that it serves. Chief among these, reports Alvarez, are shorter lead times, the ability to hold or improve margins due to price erosion and higher material costs, and low-priced foreign competition.

So far, HPC has successfully managed its business for growth. Kevin McCarthy, vice president and general manager of the Plastics Division, reports growth of 20 percent in 2003 and 16 percent in 2004. He also says the company is forecasting substantial growth in 2005.

Part of the reason for this enthusiasm is the capability for 10-color printing. McCarthy says that this has opened up new, higher value market opportunities.

Further enhancing the company's capabilities, it has recently started up a Windmoeller and Hoelscher co-extruder. This will be used to provide improved barrier properties from the extrusion of up to three separate resins.

"For the future," says Alvarez, "our technical staff is continuously searching for new methods and products to serve our customers."

To augment its solventless laminating process in Decatur and its water-based laminating capabilities in Arden Hills, Minn., HPC has invested in UV and EB coatings and is currently investigating the use of UV, EB, and extrusion laminating processes, says McCarthy.