Slitting Pretty

In making a determination as to whether to slit in-line or off-line, Klein advises converters to consider how much the slitter set-up will slow them down. Long-run jobs with few changes are the best in-line slitting candidates, he notes.

The productivity of slitting itself is buoyed by sleeker approaches to supporting components and operations. Titan's Wolf explains more sophisticated handling equipment can strip, reorient, and stretch-wrap finished rolls and then place them immediately onto a pallet. Burris' Sellers cites a trend toward larger master rolls that reduce labor simply because they run longer.