A comment by industry consultant Bob Larson probably sums it up best: "Diecutting converters must realize that they have to develop effective two-way relationships with tooling providers, not with the goal of cutting 10-15 percent of the price. The goal should be in improving productivity that adds to bottom-line profits."

To get a bead on the state of diecutting technology today and where the industry is headed, Converting recently surveyed about three dozen diecutters, diemakers and their machinery/material vendors. The resulting opinions paint a picture of both significant promise and current conflict.

Unfortunately for all parties involved, more often these days the conflict revolves strictly around price. The supply chain is now a series of price-cutting links as end-user customers, converters and diemakers each pass along the "lowest bidder" mantra.

"Customers are starting the e-bid processes which will only hurt us converters," says James Banister, cutting process manager for folding-carton converter Rock-Tenn Co. in Milwaukee. "It seems like customer-converter partnerships and good delivery and quality are thrown out the door to the lowest bidder."

But this way of doing business is self-defeating and certainly not without its limits. "Converters who are focused on buying cheap tooling have to understand that they have probably pumped the well dry in squeezing discounts out of their providers," says Larson, president of Larson Worldwide Inc., Norwell, MA. "In many respects, they are doing more harm to the industry than good."

John Dombkowski, product manager with City Stamp Works, Ludlow, MA, concurs. "Cheaper is better" is a misconception, he says. "In tooling, you get what you pay for. If you choose the least expensive option, you will be forfeiting quality and service, which in the long-run will not improve your bottom line."

But converters aren't completely to blame. "We have an oversupply of diemaking companies," Larson explains. "Many diemakers have shot themselves in the foot by selling their products by lowering prices. The profit motive seems to elude them."

The eternal debate over price aside, converters and diemakers also face a host of challenges—not the least of which is the equally eternal demands for high quality, high productivity and fast turnaround.

"A few years ago, [tooling] delivery times would normally be three to four days; today turnaround time is about 48 hrs," says Clint Medlock, president of Stafford Cutting Dies Inc., Indian Trail, NC.

"We now face another challenge of getting the die to the customer efficiently," adds Medlock, who is also president of the Intl. Assn. of Diecutting & Diemaking, Crystal Lake, IL. Expedited freight service is often the costly solution. A $500 tool may incur shipping of $100. "Not something the converter wants to accept easily," he says.

"Customers are consolidating their business to a few diecutting partners to reduce costs and improve quality," says Steve Hanson, president of Precision Gasket Co., Minneapolis. PGC supplies a complete line of diecut non-metallic parts for the OEM market. "We believe tolerance requirements from OEM customers are definitely tightening."

PGC is addressing these demands via new project teams. "We recently changed from non-technical sales representatives to degreed sales engineers as project leaders," Hanson explains. "We also bring the customer into the discussions earlier now to prevent downstream dissatisfaction."

One answer to speeding production is modular diecutting stations that reduce changeover time. "Computerized controls with sophisticated feedback and monitoring systems speed up run time, and afford better operator control with reduced manpower," says Paul Madill, president and CEO of Bernal Technologies, Rochester Hills, MI. "Adaptability will be the most important quality in the future."

In today's increasingly high-tech world, converters are also worried about losing the artistry that they feel makes their business special, says Mark Batson Baril, president of diemaker/cutter Cut Smart Mfg. Inc., Waitsfield, VT. "I think that trend has been going on for thousands of years but seems to be hitting our converting market hard as the world gets smaller and information access get faster and faster."

Intricate jobs lend their share of challenges for today's converters as well. "Difficult designs that are make-ready-intensive and literally non-feasible unless reworking and sorting downtime are factored into the cost" is a particular problem mentioned by Rock-Tenn's Banister. "In my case, the newer diecutting equipment isn't capable of stripping the necessary scrap areas, and after many hours of trials, we've had to reduce the sheet size and produce with fewer cartons per sheet."

Material advances and new customer applications are presenting converters with an ever-growing array of substrates to die-cut: flexible and semi-rigid materials such as papers, plastics, rubber, non-woven fabrics, carpet—and even fiberglass. Fortunately, diemakers say their tooling is up to the challenge.

"There's a larger rule selection that can accommodate the materials being cut with dies, and auto-benders allow for more accurate bending," says City Stamp Works' Dombkowski.

Many of the converters and suppliers we surveyed say increasing use of rotary dies versus steel-rule platen dies appears to be a significant trend. Converters are finding it basically more efficient, says Bob Potratz, sales manager for Action Rotary Die, Addison, IL. "They realize a savings of labor, time and capital since most jobs can be achieved in one pass on one rotary diecutting press," he says.

"Solid rotary dies provide close dimensional tolerances and the ability to closely control depth of cut for kiss-cutting applications," adds Robert B. Vigder, president of Corfine Inc., Muncie, IN. However, current limitations typically include a maximum web width of 40 in. or less and relatively high die costs, he says.

That cost, counters Potratz, is the result of the craftsmanship required to make a precision solid-rotary die—as is true of any cutting tool. "We find it amusing when [a customer says] 'just make another die and have it ready by tomorrow,'" he says. "The combination of different steels, the complexity of the images on the die and the amount of inches that have to be engraved often lead to production times of five or more working days."

There are several solutions to every diecutting situation, says

Larson, and establishing an open dialogue among the converter, diemaker, diecutting-press supplier or consultant is the key to productivity and profitability. "The bottom line is using the correct tooling and

systems to best cut a material," he says.

Medlock agrees: "The speed of your machine is directly related to the quality of the tools. Keeping abreast of the latest technologies in toolmaking assures the converter's success. You may not care how they are doing it, but you sure want to know they are doing it."