Green Go-Getters

Southeastern's green mentality extends to several other aspects of the flexo production workflow. First, the company makes exclusive use of UV and water-based inks in its operations. On the UV side, Mader reports Southeastern spent more than $1 million to remove its presses for conversion to energy-efficient UV curing technology from GEW. He estimates this investment saves an average of 347,268 KWh annually. In addition, customers can currently share in the conservation benefits of silica-cleaned anilox rollers, a process that Mackert says eliminates the need for approximately 120 to 150 gallons of cleaning chemicals per week. Finally, supplier discussions are underway to ensure flexo plates are consistently recycled.