Focus on Folding Carton Innovation
September 2005
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A new Gallus folding carton production system has helped Cadmus Whitehall Group focus on helping its customers face increasing competitive pressures.
THE CADMUS WHITEHALL Group has roots dating back to 1902, close to one hundred years before it moved into its current flagship facility in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1997. This building covers more than 300,000 square feet with more than 300 associates, a big step from the business in the early 1900s. Jerry Lux, president, Whitehall Group, attributes this growth to the company's "commitment to customer service and a focus on each customer. It is innovation and technology that really separates our business in the minds of our customers."
To maintain its strong market presence—which was marked by $78 million of business in FY 2005—Cadmus has to have top-notch equipment to run its folding carton printing business and compete in this competitive industry. For this reason, Cadmus has ordered its second Gallus KM 510 in-line folding carton production system for the Charlotte facility. This system will augment a similar Gallus press installed in May 2004.
"This technology is a great complement to our offset printing capabilities," said Jay Gibble, VP of manufacturing, Cadmus. "The 20˝ web format is perfect for smaller package structures and shorter runs increasingly common in today's market. However, it's the broad range of in-line value-added features such as foil stamping, screen printing, and film lamination that really puts this technology at the head of the class."
There's good in small packages
As Gibble said, Cadmus had to choose a new production line that would help them with a relatively new phenomenon in the converting business—smaller cartons and shorter runs. Cadmus has primarily used offset printing for its carton work, which historically provided the best combination of graphic reproduction and flexibility. But today, flexo has jumped into the foreground of its production options.
"Recent advances in flexo technology have allowed us to add flexographic printing to this mix in the past two years," Lux said. "Combined with improved digital prepress capabilities, this technology is now capable of competing with offset. This is particularly true with smaller carton structures and shorter runs increasingly common in the market today."
Cadmus supplies products for the healthcare, apparel, technology, and consumer goods packaging markets, but its core competency is graphic reproduction—which is why Lux said Cadmus uses multiple processes including flexo and offset—to add spice to its printed products.
"While we work everyday to tweak our processes to find efficiencies, our ultimate goal is to work in tandem with our customers to make a more dramatic impact on their businesses. This may manifest itself in the development of innovative package structures that boost sales of the product. It may be the introduction of alternative substrates or production processes to improve time-to-market or reduce costs. It could be a new inventory management program," said Lux.
THE CADMUS WHITEHALL Group has roots dating back to 1902, close to one hundred years before it moved into its current flagship facility in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1997. This building covers more than 300,000 square feet with more than 300 associates, a big step from the business in the early 1900s. Jerry Lux, president, Whitehall Group, attributes this growth to the company's "commitment to customer service and a focus on each customer. It is innovation and technology that really separates our business in the minds of our customers."
To maintain its strong market presence—which was marked by $78 million of business in FY 2005—Cadmus has to have top-notch equipment to run its folding carton printing business and compete in this competitive industry. For this reason, Cadmus has ordered its second Gallus KM 510 in-line folding carton production system for the Charlotte facility. This system will augment a similar Gallus press installed in May 2004.
"This technology is a great complement to our offset printing capabilities," said Jay Gibble, VP of manufacturing, Cadmus. "The 20˝ web format is perfect for smaller package structures and shorter runs increasingly common in today's market. However, it's the broad range of in-line value-added features such as foil stamping, screen printing, and film lamination that really puts this technology at the head of the class."
There's good in small packages
As Gibble said, Cadmus had to choose a new production line that would help them with a relatively new phenomenon in the converting business—smaller cartons and shorter runs. Cadmus has primarily used offset printing for its carton work, which historically provided the best combination of graphic reproduction and flexibility. But today, flexo has jumped into the foreground of its production options.
"Recent advances in flexo technology have allowed us to add flexographic printing to this mix in the past two years," Lux said. "Combined with improved digital prepress capabilities, this technology is now capable of competing with offset. This is particularly true with smaller carton structures and shorter runs increasingly common in the market today."
Cadmus supplies products for the healthcare, apparel, technology, and consumer goods packaging markets, but its core competency is graphic reproduction—which is why Lux said Cadmus uses multiple processes including flexo and offset—to add spice to its printed products.
"While we work everyday to tweak our processes to find efficiencies, our ultimate goal is to work in tandem with our customers to make a more dramatic impact on their businesses. This may manifest itself in the development of innovative package structures that boost sales of the product. It may be the introduction of alternative substrates or production processes to improve time-to-market or reduce costs. It could be a new inventory management program," said Lux.
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