LABEL SHIFTS INTRODUCED

In order to support our continued growth in both printed labels and plain labels we have recently introduced a new evening shift in our label production area. We estimate this will give us a 25% boost in output and should as a result shave 2 or 3 days from our current leadtimes. We're very pleased with the growth we've experienced particularly in flexo printed labels and are ready to expand the shift pattern further if it's required. 

New machinery / drupa!

We are pleased to announce the addition of an Omega 330 label converting line to our label making facility. The Omega has a metre OD unwind stand and 2 inline die cutting/perforating units and we have attached our Vectra STR turret rewinder for optimum efficiency.

The Omega 330 is designed for large runs of blank labels and makes us much more cost effective in this competitive market. The second die cutting unit means we can perforate and bullet cut in one pass and the turret facility enables us to handle very small run lengths and cores.

On the printed front we recently visited the Drupa exhibition in Dusseldorf. Drupa is the world’s largest print expo and there was plenty to see in terms of the self adhesive label market. Star of the show was Benny Landa who was exhibiting nanography (ink using nano pigment particles) for the first time. Whilst it’s still early days in terms of the inkjet technology used to apply ink there is no doubt that the print industry would undergo a revolution if Landa is successful in bring nanography to market. The incentive for label printers is the prospect of switching medium run length work from flexo to inkjet with press speeds of up to 200m/min in the offing.

We expressed an interest in the Landa W5 press which prints reel to reel at 560mm web width.  It’s probably about 2 years before this press hits the label printers but we felt it prudent  to stay abreast of developments. Die cutting and finishing speeds will be the key to unlocking the full potential of the press as there is virtually no downtime between print jobs. 

Blue sky thinking:

We recently took our team leaders on a blue sky thinking day at Fab Labs UK in Manchester.  Set up by the Manufacturing Institute, Fab Lab UK is a fully funded resource available to businesses and entrepreneurs.

What is a Fab Lab?

"A Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) is a fully kitted fabrication workshop which gives everyone in the community from small children through to entrepreneurs and businesses, the capability to turn their ideas and concepts into reality."

http://www.fablabmanchester.org/

The team at Fab Lab help facilitate creative thinking allowing ideas to be converted in to physical prototypes where applicable or simply helping with the processes involved in encouraging innovation and initiative within the business.

We plan to have 4 visits to the Fab Lab over the coming year focusing on People, Products, Processes and Sales and Marketing. Our intention is to introduce innovation , invention and initiative into the business in these 4 key areas and we hope ultimately that our customers benefit directly from the fresh thinking and new ideas that are generated. We'll keep you posted on developments which will directly impact on you as we go!

High demand for printed labels and plain labels

HIGH DEMAND FOR LABELS....

Following the successful acquisition of Commercial Label Products in December we have begun to improve our offering to the extended customer base now available to both businesses.

Since the turn of the year we have seen unprecedented demand for both plain labels and printed labels and this has meant that Production have had to increase capacity by working extra overtime across all processes. We have also taken steps to increase capacity through the acquisition of another Omega 330 die cutter slitter/rewinder. This in line converting machine is designed for long runs and comes with a 1000mm unwind facility to accommodate larger reels of label stock. The intention is to have this machine up & running in April with our Vectra Turret Rewinder attached for maximum efficiency.

The extra demand is largely due to the introduction of CLP customers to the Windmill facility. Across both the Stockport & Congleton sites we now have the ability to produce virtually any label in any volume which means that our customers have a convenient one stop shop for all their label requirements.

On the tape front raw material prices remain stable moving into Q1 of 2012. Having seen dramatic increases in the cost of BOPP & PVC adhesive tapes during 2010/11 we are now hoping for a period of stability.

Andrew Southern
Managing Director

31st Jan 2012.

Reduce packaging costs whilst maintaining your product/company advertising.

As we all know the last few years have been particularly challenging and have forced many businesses to cut back on promotional expenditure and to re-think their branding and product presentation. Most will have considered the quality of boxes used and perhaps reduced the pre- printed element of their overall packaging.

The necessity to reduce cost whilst still maintaining a professional image means that packaging products which can fulfil a number of different functions including product or company advertising will come to the fore. One such product is custom printed packaging tape.  With printed packaging tape the following functions are fulfilled in one low cost option.

•  You seal the box
• You advertise your company or product
• Your pack is tamper evident 
• You remind your customer of who supplied the product and who to contact for re-ordering.

When comparing printed packaging tape to the more expensive options of pre printed boxes or self adhesive labels there is no question that it provides a value for money solution to a number of issues not least how to reduce packaging costs without losing that all important opportunity to promote your business.

Should you already purchase printed tape but wish to further reduce costs then thankfully there are a number of options available in terms of material and adhesive type which will allow you to achieve your aims.

Vinyl tape with a solvent rubber adhesive is still the most popular substrate for bespoke printed tapes due to its superior print finish and good all round adhesive. That said vinyl costs have increased dramatically over recent years and therefore options such as polypropylene with a high tack acrylic adhesive are becoming increasingly popular.

Developed in order to address earlier issues with the adhesive performance of low noise acrylic tapes  new high tack acrylic PP has a superior initial tack and once bonded to the box surface has the best overall levels of adhesion of all self adhesive packaging tapes, superior even to solvent rubber.

Savings of up to 30% can be achieved by moving from printed vinyl to printed high tack acrylic PP, which in the current climate is something worth considering. Certainly from your client’s perspective there will be no discernable difference in the appearance of your final packaging, in fact PP tapes tend to have a whiter appearance and on simple designs will look just as attractive as vinyl.

Update on a few fronts

Update on a few fronts:

·         The acquisition of CLP has gone well so far and we hope our customers are beginning to see the benefits of the combined range of the two businesses.  Sales of both printed labels and plain labels are performing exceptionally well at the moment.

·         We are in the process of purchasing a new plain press to complement the Opal 2 we have currently. This will double our plain label capacity and ease pressures in rewinding thereby reducing leadtimes.

·         Delivery performance for Dec was 94% which is slightly below our 95% target but not too bad given the usual pre Christmas rush.

Windmill acquire Commercial Label Procucts

On 1^st December Windmill acquired Commercial Label Products as part of our continuing growth strategy in self adhesive printed labels and plain labels. We had identified investment in a major digital label facility as a key driver for growth . The printed tape and label markets are very competitive and organic growth rates have been low over the last couple of years due to the challenging economic environment in which we operate. We felt that the returns on the acquisition would enable us to move forward more quickly.

The merging of the Windmill & CLP facilities is very exciting and gives us a unique opportunity of adding to our own printed label offering by introducing  digital labels as well as  inkjet and rotary letterpress.  We also have a very efficient production facility for plain labels meaning there are no label jobs that we cannot take on regardless of run length. We now have printing capability on HP Indigo, Xeikon, Jetrion and Markandy presses along with plain label production on our in line Vectra slitter/rewinder. 2012 promises to be a good year as we begin to offer our range of products to a wider customer base.