Looking to expand current capacity and take on new business in high-end process printing, flex-pack converter Farnell Packaging (www.farnell.ns.ca) of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, invests in its second Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp. (www.whcorp.com) CI-flexographic press.

“Our main reason for again choosing W&H equipment has been our positive experience with the existing W&H equipment,” explains Danny Christianson, Farnell's vice president of operation. “The quality, service and support offered with [our first] Novoflex® have enabled us to improve our print quality. We are looking forward to continued growth with this press addition.”

Farnell then bought an eight-color Primaflex® CM press in January and began installation in June. It sent operators to W&H's facility in Germany for training and in turn, W&H sent a team to Farnell's plant for the commissioning and onsite training. By August, the press was producing commercial work.

“Our traditional market is the food industry and those people are looking for high-impact packaging,” says David Stanfield, Farnell vice president of sales and marketing. “You have to have tight registration. You can't be 'loosey goosey' so you need good tools. (The Primaflex) has been running perfect so far.”

The press, which comes with W&H's Easy-Set fully-automatic impression setting system, can handle web widths up to 52 in., has a maximum printing width of 50 in. and a print-repeat range from 14.5 to 31.5 in. Production speeds of up to 1,000 fpm are possible, according to W&H—a speed which has been exceeded in Farnell's facility, Stanfield says. The Primaflex joins four other wide-web presses (including the Novoflex that was installed in 2003) and three narrow-web presses. The company also has an array of slitter/rewinders, bagmaking machines and a blown-film extruder.

Farnell was established in 1961 by Donald and Amy Farnell as a consulting agency and in the '70s moved into the bagmaking market. In 1979, it began producing pressure-sensitive labels, and in 1980, invested in wide-web equipment for producing flexible packaging. By 1985, Farnell was a fully-integrated converter of film, flexible packaging and p-s labels.

Today, after more than 40 years as a custom manufacturer and distributor of packaging to the food industry—focusing on the frozen food, bakery, fish, fruit and vegetable markets—the company manufactures blown film, roll stock, bags, sheets, p-s labels, shrink films, tissue overwrap and heavy-gauge sacks and pouches. Farnell also offers customers mono- and co-extruded films, printing, slitting and bag converting.

It also provides biodegradable film extrusion, for which it recently won the 2007 FTA Environmental Excellence Award. The Flexographic Technical Association (www.flexography.org) annually recognizes companies for their pioneering efforts in developing innovative processes, products and management approaches that have had a positive impact on the environment.

The FTA awarded Farnell for its technical innovation in creating biodegradable- and compostable-film products. This film packaging reportedly reverts back to biomass, water and carbon dioxide in only 12 weeks—a timeframe comparable to paper. “Our interest in sustainability stems from the interest and values of the owners,” Stanfield says. “Before people even thought about sustainability, we were doing it. We were recycling everything.

“(The owners) are well ahead of their time. Converting uses a lot of energy and they were always concerned about decreasing our carbon footprint and looking to be more efficient.”

Wanting to reduce its environmental impact, Farnell began working with compostable films back in the 1990s and, in partnership with Warner Lambert, began developing biodegradable packaging. In 2003, after years of R&D and hard work, Farnell became the first Canadian company to be certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute as a producer of biodegradable film. Since then, it also has been recognized by the US Composting Council and the Biodegradable Institute.

In step with the rest of its sustainable packaging efforts, the company also distills the solvents from its Sun Chemical inks and recycles the water and solvents. “Recycling is not just good business sense,” Stanfield explains. “It's good for everyone.”

The accolades for Farnell do not end there. The Packaging Association of Canada (www.pac.ca) awarded the company three Gold Awards during its 2007 National Packaging Competition. In the Flexible Packaging division, Farnell won for its Compliments Little Ones Brand diaper bag for Sobeys, Inc., and its Kroger Co./Beacon Light fish packaging for Sea Star Food Corp. In the Environment Recognition division, its CPSC Biodegradable Bag for the Canadian Plastics Sector Council took home a Gold award.

“We are constantly looking to improve,” Stanfield says. This commitment is evident in the quality of work Farnell has been producing, considering the numerous recognitions given to its products. “We like to see ourselves as the flex-pack supplier of choice—a partner looking to grow with our customers.”

The investment in the new W&H Primaflex press is just another example of that commitment. “We continue to reinvest on the best technology to get to the marketplace faster, with good quality products,” Stanfield says.