Cover Story?Sheetfed offset, providing best overall value
February 2004
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Caraustar's Chicago Carton Plant uses its strengths in sheetfed offset printing to be a best-value supplier of paperboard packaging.
SHEETFED OFFSET PRINTING is a specialty at Caraustar's Chicago Carton Plant. They've been doing it for the past 40 years, since the founding of the original Crane Carton Company by Alan Crane.
The plant provides printed virgin and recycled paperboard materials to a variety of end-use markets, including dry and frozen foods, hardware, automotive, entertainment, and software. With Caraustar's status as one of the largest North American producers of recycled paperboard, Paul Curtis, general manager of Caraustar's Chicago and Grand Rapids, Mich. plants, says there is a natural emphasis on the use of recycled paperboard. The paperboard stock printed at the plant ranges from 0.012 to 0.054˝, and is printed using low VOC and soybean oil-based inks.
Part of an integrated company
Caraustar acquired the Chicago plant in October, 2000 from Alan Crane and his son, Bruce. At that time and under some pressure from their larger customers, Alan and Bruce decided that the best way to secure a solid future for the business and its employees was to sell the operation to a larger integrated company. Their foresight seems to have paid off as the plant has maintained its solid footing during the recent period of industry consolidation.
The plant is run by 153 hourly and 26 salaried employees and consists of five offset presses—two Planetas and three MAN Roland sheetfed presses—and six diecutters. As a sheetfed offset printer, the plant's emphasis is on high-quality printing. Caraustar augments this positioning by operating with a philosophy of providing the best overall value for its customers.
"We strive to produce cartons that run better in our customers' operations than those from our competition," says Curtis. "We focus on process control and continuous improvement, and can provide a one-stop shop to help our customers in all aspects of their packaging needs—from graphic design and prepress through designing and recommending new packaging and filling lines."
He points out that throughout all of Caraustar's operations, manufacturing managers are actively involved with customer accounts. This provides them with the foundation and knowledge they need to provide best-valued products.
Although the plant provides printed packaging materials for a diverse range of consumer markets, a key market for the operation is its dry and frozen food business, along with ice cream novelties. Because of the emphasis on this market segment, the plant applied for an audit and rating of its quality and sanitation practices to be done by the American Institute of Baking (Manhattan, Kan.).
SHEETFED OFFSET PRINTING is a specialty at Caraustar's Chicago Carton Plant. They've been doing it for the past 40 years, since the founding of the original Crane Carton Company by Alan Crane.
The plant provides printed virgin and recycled paperboard materials to a variety of end-use markets, including dry and frozen foods, hardware, automotive, entertainment, and software. With Caraustar's status as one of the largest North American producers of recycled paperboard, Paul Curtis, general manager of Caraustar's Chicago and Grand Rapids, Mich. plants, says there is a natural emphasis on the use of recycled paperboard. The paperboard stock printed at the plant ranges from 0.012 to 0.054˝, and is printed using low VOC and soybean oil-based inks.
Part of an integrated company
Caraustar acquired the Chicago plant in October, 2000 from Alan Crane and his son, Bruce. At that time and under some pressure from their larger customers, Alan and Bruce decided that the best way to secure a solid future for the business and its employees was to sell the operation to a larger integrated company. Their foresight seems to have paid off as the plant has maintained its solid footing during the recent period of industry consolidation.
The plant is run by 153 hourly and 26 salaried employees and consists of five offset presses—two Planetas and three MAN Roland sheetfed presses—and six diecutters. As a sheetfed offset printer, the plant's emphasis is on high-quality printing. Caraustar augments this positioning by operating with a philosophy of providing the best overall value for its customers.
"We strive to produce cartons that run better in our customers' operations than those from our competition," says Curtis. "We focus on process control and continuous improvement, and can provide a one-stop shop to help our customers in all aspects of their packaging needs—from graphic design and prepress through designing and recommending new packaging and filling lines."
He points out that throughout all of Caraustar's operations, manufacturing managers are actively involved with customer accounts. This provides them with the foundation and knowledge they need to provide best-valued products.
Although the plant provides printed packaging materials for a diverse range of consumer markets, a key market for the operation is its dry and frozen food business, along with ice cream novelties. Because of the emphasis on this market segment, the plant applied for an audit and rating of its quality and sanitation practices to be done by the American Institute of Baking (Manhattan, Kan.).
Companies Mentioned:
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