(Editor's note: This story is a sidebar to the feature, Co-Packer puts the pieces together.)
To keep the shop running smoothly, Dunn and Katz rely on Gerry Delgado, plant manager, to mind the details and capitalize on new technology. On the shrink-tunnel line, for instance, Delgado’s testing a new, thinner multilayer polyolefin film that promises resource-reduction and price benefits without compromising strength and performance on multipacks.
Because such films generally require tighter tolerances, he’s now working with the supplier to “make sure we can use this film on our older equipment. We’re tweaking things like our tunnel temperature, dwell time at the sealer and the position and even the shape of the knife blade.”
Asked how he manages the plant on a typical day, Delgado sounded just like Dunn or Katz when he said: “There is no typical day, because we deal with so many different products. Every minute is a challenge. And I love challenges.”
“Gerry’s a genius,” says Dunn, “if he ever walks out, I’m right behind him.”
Adds Katz: “Hey, wait; he said if I ever left, he’d be right behind me!” To which Dunn says: “You see, this is how we work as a team — None of us would want to be here without the other.”
