Working in partnership
Six months on from the merger of leading die making competitors RotoMetrics and Gerhardt, the newly combined operation has settled in well, according to both parties, and recently hosted leading global manufacturer and supplier, Avery Dennison, for one of its Customer Technical Support meetings at RotoMetrics’ UK headquarters and production facility in Aldridge, West Midlands. Nick Coombes reports from the company’s newly enlarged UK operation, which employs 220 at its 76,000 square feet facility, where the merger has been more about combining than rationalising.
Speaking for RotoMetrics, Mike Frazier, VP Global Operations commented:
“The merger means that we now manufacture flexible dies on four continents: Europe, America, Asia, and Australasia, using state-of-the-art technology, including the new laser hardening technique that gives the die a longer working life. This global coverage means that customers have greater access to our extensive range of products and technical support, irrespective of where they are located. This speeds up response times, and with a more local supply network, allows us to maintain a keen pricing structure.”
Describing the consolidation of the two product portfolios as: “Like finding the missing pieces of a jigsaw”, Frazier added: “we have an opportunity to develop our carton business in a way, and at a pace, that would have been difficult without the merger,” but he was also quick to reassure all label printing customers that their needs were still of paramount importance to the company, and that RotoMetrics would maintain existing product lines and prices, as well as develop new and productive options for the market.
The opportunity to introduce significant new technology occurred recently at Labelexpo in Brussels, where RotoMetrics launched the AccuStar™ range of flexible dies, the first product line to be fully developed by the combined company. The AccuStar dies are very well received by the growing number of label converters who need more accuracy in die cutting large volumes of synthetic-on-synthetic work.
Claimed to be a unique product, researched and developed in response to a change in market demand, AccuStar offers more accurate perforation and die-strike, combined with a longer life. This has been achieved by a new technique, which uses lasers to harden the dies (for longer life), and precision machine finishing, which offers greater accuracy. AccuStar features more acute blade angles and a range of optional surface treatments, making the dies suitable for, amongst other applications, the die cutting of abrasive thermal transfer products.
Also on show in Brussels was the AccuStrike Anvil, which allows press operators to adjust blade clearance accurately to cater for different liner thicknesses. The unit allows independent bearer adjustment, is maintenance and calibration free and its drop-in design allows fast changeovers. The Brussels expo also featured RotoMetrics’ new semi-rotary hot foil stamping cylinder, which is made from brass, for optimum heat conductivity, and has optional steel sleeved journals and bearers.
Neil Lilly (Sales Director) takes up the story: “RotoMetrics and Gerhardt both considered themselves market leaders and efficient manufacturers, but we have learned much from each other, and by employing ‘Lean’ techniques and the 5S’s (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain), we have become more productive internally. We are now a better company, with the resources to develop and exploit new products and market opportunities.” Seen as the ‘icing on the cake’, the new company has the opportunity to fine tune products from the Research & Development labs to full-scale production.
The two-day meeting, held at Aldridge by Avery Dennison, was a clear sign that this leading substrate supplier believes its personnel could learn something valuable from the combined RotoMetrics/Gerhardt organisation. Speaking for Avery Dennison, Technical Sales Manager, David Torley, commented: “We hold these team meetings twice a year to establish a closer understanding with leading technology manufacturers. If we have a grasp of each other’s products, we have a better chance of helping our mutual customers to solve any problems they encounter.”
Taking in, variously, visits to Board Mills, Ink, and Press manufacturers, the concept for Avery Dennison is to avoid unwelcome surprise complaints from its users. With the trend towards die cutting of increasingly thinner materials, the need to understand how accuracy of the die-strike can be guaranteed is invaluable. As Torley concluded: “Die-strike is the final action between our substrate and the RotoMetrics die, so we need to be speaking the same language. I liken their sophisticated production techniques to Formula 1 – it is real science in action, and takes the subjectivity out of testing. In today’s market, that’s critical!”