Duralam, Inc., Appleton, WI, has added a new Soloflex six-color flexo press with a maximum web width of 24" and a 20.5" repeat. This narrow-web press from Windmoeller & Hoelscher (Lincoln, RI) was added to give the flexible packaging converter the ability to handle short-run orders, including private-label, sampling, test market quantities or even seasonal printing runs. Cantilevered print and rewind stations permit quick changeovers. The new press will "allow customers to take advantage of specialty marketing opportunities in a more cost-effective manner," says Steve Shepard, Duralam's vice president of marketing. Before the press was added, Duralam's volume requirements and lead times could create barriers to lower-volume orders. In Ireland, Lawson Mardon Superior, Dublin, Ireland, has installed a 10-station gravure press from Rotomec (West Hartford, CT). As part of a major expansion program, LMS installed the new press in a new 21ꯠ-sq-ft plant adjacent to its existing factory in the Finglas area of Dublin. The $5-million machine handles webs up to 40" wide at speeds over 1ꯠ fpm. It also features quick changeover; rollers can be changed quickly without tools. At the launch of the new press, Alan Marlborough, managing director of LMS, said the new press indicates high confidence in LMS by parent company Lawson Mardon Packaging. The new press, he says, will produce 10-color webs, or 8-color print plus in-line cold seal and a release lacquer, or designs that combine both surface and reverse printing. Paramount Packaging Corp., Chalfont, PA, has ordered an eight-color Starflex CI flexo press from W&H (Lincoln, RI) for installation at its Longview, TX, plant during first quarter '95. In this first purchase by Paramount from W&H, one key was fast changeover that's accommodated with the Robolift® robotic system and by the Flexorex® system to register deck positions while the press is stationary. "It was a choice between going narrower, or finding a press with robotics that worked as advertised and reduced changeover time," says Jonathan Isen, head of corporate operations for Paramount. The company is a fully integrated flexible packaging converter that does film extruding, printing, laminating and bag converting.
