Slitter/rewinder lets contract converter live in the "here and now"

Lynanne Feilen -- Converting Magazine, 1/1/1999

A self-proclaimed "firehouse," Howard Applebaum's Action Point, Inc., business lives for the moment. As president and owner, Applebaum oversees over 1 million lbs of film and film laminations at any given time. The recently installed Stanford Model 2038 cantilevered slitter/rewinder keeps pace with this busy, 10-person contract converting operation in City of Industry, Calif.

The company converts plain and printed roll stock, bags, pouches and sheets. Packaging films under its roof include biaxially oriented polypropylene, barrier-coated BOPP, cellophane, and ovenable, microwavable and barrier polyesters.

Rivaling the inventory of any coater/laminator of films, it stocks polyester/polyethylene, barrier BOPP/ PE, cellophane/ PE, paper/PE/foil/PE, polyester/PE/ foil/PE and paper/PE laminations.

Webs of the aforementioned films and laminations are kept on standby for any one of six Stanford doctor machines and custom-built, three- and four-color flexographic presses. Action Point serves the food, floral and vitamin (daily-use pack) industries.

The real McCoy

The business has grown through "word of mouth," says Applebaum, and its reputation for quick turnarounds. This is not possible without the right equipment to do the job.

Like every successful business, Action Point cultivates long-term relationships. Its connection with Stanford dates back to 1985. It was then that a friend in the industry got Applebaum out of a jam by rewinding a 200-roll job "more efficiently than we ever could," he says, automatically selling him on the equipment used to fix the job--a Stanford.

This summer, a state-of-the-art, 70-in.-wide, Model 2038 cantilevered slitter/rewinder was installed to complement Action Point's 30-, 36- and 40-in. wide Stanford machines. Completely computer controlled, a shaftless unwind ensures that no lifting is required. "This machine is so user friendly and easy to setup," says Applebaum, who knows how to operate the machine. It also boasts recipe storage to facilitate turnaround of future runs. Action Point slits a lot of plain film, and it's then, says Applebaum, that "we run it full blast," meaning 1,500 fpm (depending on the material).

"It's a real production machine," he says. Options include Goldenrod removable shafts, which Applebaum says "really make a difference in setting up and running the machine," and is another operator-friendly advantage. On Applebaum's request, Stanford installed lift-out shafts that facilitate log winding, which required a nonstandard drive system. Operation of the Model 2038, similar to Action Point's existing Stanford Model 338, involved only a two-day learning curve, led by Stanford.

"We want it now"

As an example of its quick turnaround, Applebaum recalls a recent Nike promotion at a New York Yankee's baseball game. It received the job to print and slit peanut bag roll stock on a Thursday night and delivered the job Tuesday. The free peanuts were handed out to fans in Yankee Stadium on Friday.

The specialty jobs Applebaum calls "now business" comes from major, out-of-state converters. For example, a roll came in rewound incorrectly, placing the eye marks on the wrong side of the roll. Action Point had the job fixed within hours. This specialty business can take from 500 to 5,000 lbs of film. "Our batting average is good," says Applebaum. "We can supply them 'now,' 80 percent of the time."

More information from:

Stanford Div. MAN Roland, Inc., Box 578, Salem, IL 62881, 618/548-2600.

Goldenrod Corp., 100 Union City Rd., Prospect, CT 06712, 800/465-3763.