Dyss gives box manufacturer a clean sheet

Print Solutions

As a traditional sheet plant that has been manufacturing heavy duty boxes and cartons since its inception in 1983, S Lester Packing Materials has recently implemented a new strategy to win new business. This strategy has included the recent opening of a design and innovation centre; central to this new innovation centre is a digital cutting table from AG/CAD.

Aimed at attracting new customers by offering the ability to turnaround prototype and small production run jobs at speed, the new innovation centre is targeting bespoke packaging solutions and also creating a platform for taking potential new business from the design and concept stage through to shop floor production at greater speed. Tasked with developing and running the new innovation centre and specifying the appropriate machinery, S Lester employed the services of Anthony Quinn as its technical sales manager in August 2016.

Commenting upon the selection of the X7 2235T digital cutting table for sample and short run production, Anthony said: ‘We looked at a number of machines but we produce packaging out of corrugated board from micro-flute through to heavy duty CA flute and 17 mm thick triple board. We also cut a range of display board, honeycomb, foamcore, plastics and much more. To crease and cut such thick materials with precision required a heavy duty machine with a powerful cutting head. This immediately eliminated a lot of vendors. Once we whittled the suppliers down to two, we did extensive research that involved a five year cost projection as well as asking other packaging and board manufacturers about their experiences. It soon became evident that AG/CAD was the frontrunner in the process. From a personal perspective, this suited me as I have worked for many of the UK’s leading OEM packaging companies and most of these have Kasemake software and Dyss cutting tables, so I have been familiar with AG/CAD for over 25 years.’

Historically a trade supplier rather than consumer based business, S Lester has built its business model around projects with production runs from 100 to 30, 40 or more than 50,000. With the arrival of the 3.5 by 2.2 metre Dyss, the Staffordshire ‘big box’ manufacturer is seeing a huge influx of new consumer businesses requiring fast turnaround samples and small quantity packaging projects. As Anthony continued, ‘We bought the Dyss to open up a prototype and small batch run service whilst also taking potential customers through the pipeline to full production runs where applicable. Since the Dyss arrived, we are now receiving cutting formes for production runs on an almost daily basis. This is a clear sign that the device is taking new customer enquiries from the design stage through to the production phase at an incredible rate. For short production runs, we don't need cutting formes as the Dyss will run small quantity jobs without the set up costs. Additionally, using the Kasemake software from AG/CAD to design projects, we can export files direct to the cutting forme manufacturer. This speeds up cutting forme production, improves precision, reduces lead times and eliminates the hand drawing of forme designs.’

Anthony continued, ‘The Dyss is proving itself on a daily basis whether its short run work or development work for downstream production runs. One new online confectionary retail customer recently required three box designs and a production run before Mothers Day. We designed the three boxes using the Kasemake software and produced samples on the Dyss all in a single day whilst the customer was on-site. An order was placed the next day for over 3000 boxes for each of the three designs.’

‘Another example of the Dyss generating business was noted with a new automotive customer. The company had been using a long term brown box supplier that had made an error with a shortfall on quantities, leaving the customer in a difficult position. As a high volume specialist, the previous box supplier wasn't geared up for a short volume run of 60 boxes with die cut trays. Additionally, it wouldn't have been cost effective to re-set the production line for a small volume. The automotive company approached us and we duly obliged, completing the boxes and trays in just 24 hours. Extremely grateful for supporting their predicament, this new customer also recognises that we are positioned for both small run fast turnaround projects with the Dyss as well as having the capacity for long production runs. We fully expect this new customer to turn into an £100,000 a year account, which is credit to the machine.’

As a company that primarily works with heavy duty corrugated board, S Lester worked closely with AG/CAD to specify a machine for its exacting demands. To this end, the X7-2235T was delivered with a heavy duty combo head with a removable URT tool. The URT tool was fitted with a 150 mm diameter HD Creasing tool that generates over 48 kg of down force to ensure that all types of corrugated board regardless of thickness could be creased. This creasing tool has proven ideal for creasing everything from 9 mm thick CA board through to 16 and 17 mm thick triple board.

This heavy duty combo head machine also incorporates two tangentially controlled tool slots. To cater for the complete boxboard demands of S Lester, AG/CAD supplied the cutting table with an electric reciprocating knife with 12,000 revs per minuute speed and a 2 mm stroke for processing corrugated, display board, honeycomb and foamcore. The Dyss was also supplied with a selection of reciprocating knife tools and corresponding toolholders, creasing tool bodies, a creasing roller holder and a 74 mm diameter roller for grades up to BC flute. For more complex cutting, AG/CAD provided a V-Cut tool body and a series of blade holders for 22.5, 30 and 45 degree cutting. ‘This complete set of tools and respective holders from AG/CAD allows us to do everything from mitred folding and creasing through to the most precise cutting of heavy duty boards. As a company, we are delighted with the Dyss and we look forward to the numerous ways it will help us generate further success for S Lester,’ concluded Anthony.