Genesis Packaging & Design, a corrugated and preprinted-linerboard converter in Lemont, IL, continues to push the limits of high-quality graphics by staying current with the latest technology and listening to customer demands.

"We're always looking at new equipment, new personnel and new computer systems to help us do a better job for our clients," Genesis president Vince Baratta says during a recent visit by Converting. "It's important for us to stay up-to-date with new technologies since our customers are demanding it."

Along with customers looking for ways to make their packages "pop" off of the shelves and be eye-catching to consumers, they were also looking to Genesis to fill their short-order needs. "Our clients came to us and said, 'There's no one in the Chicago area with a preprint press that will run small quantities,'" Baratta says. "Our clients were asking us to do that. Our clients are the type that will order from 150 to 20,000 cartons as promotional pieces."

To meet their clients' needs, Genesis invested in a Wolverine Flexographic Mfg. Co. Model #PW-65 central-impression flexographic press (www.wolverineflexo.com). The 65-in., six-color preprint linerboard press was installed in January with the help of Dri-Tec Mfg. Group (www.dri-tec.com), who also manufactured the enclosed reverse-angle doctor blades and the custom designed BCD dryers.

The press can handle web widths of 66 in. with up to 50-in. repeats at maximum speeds of 1,000 fpm. Genesis prints on metallic papers, 4- to 10-mil films, all types of linerboard for B-, C, E-, F- and N-flute corrugated, as well as SBS paperboard in calipers up to 26 pt.

"One of the nice things about this press is that it can also do UV coating," says Tom Beemsterboer, Genesis general manager. "This is one of the few presses in the Chicago area that does preprint with UV coating in-line."

To create printing with that customer-friendly "pop," Genesis in-stalled a Prime UV Systems (www.primeuv.com) Prime Optimum two-lamp UV-curing system. The 68-in. units allow curing of coatings across the press's maximum 66-in. web. "It was a very simple decision to make," Baratta says. "That's what our customers wanted, something that is eye-opening, and UV is the way to go." Genesis also has the ability to use all types of UV inks and coatings. "It's been a very great investment for us. It's been up and running fully since the end of January, and it's been fantastic," he adds.

Not only did the new CI-flexo press and curing system satisfy the needs of current customers, it also opened up new markets for the converter. Genesis has been able to tap into the cosmetics, automotive, food and beverage industries with the kind of high-definition printing these markets want. Using Parmaco Global Graphics (www.pamarco.com) anilox rolls with screens in the 700-lpi range, it regularly achieves print levels of 120–133 lpi.

Genesis has been growing steadily since Baratta and Beemsterboer started the company in a 27,000-sq-ft building in Addison, IL, in 1999. Six years later, Genesis has grown to 22 employees and relocated to a facility about three times larger. Their current location in Lemont houses three flatbed diecutters: two 42 × 62-in. Bobst (www.bobstgroup.com) units and a 50 × 70-in. Thomson unit (www.thomsonind.com), a 49 × 63-in. Stock laminator and other finishing equipment.

"The company has been growing every year, and the most important thing is the people that we have," Baratta says. "You can have the best equipment in the world, but if you don't have the right people running it, it doesn't mean anything."

For an expanded version of this article, go to www.convertingmagazine.com