With several industry-leading brands, Maxcess is able to offer a range of high-quality, complete unwind-to-rewind solutions for the label and packaging printing industry. To learn how the company supplies its customers, L&NW recently met with Devin McCart, Global Product Manager at RotoMetrics – A Maxcess Brand.

DM: In our discussions with customers, we have heard time and again about the challenges facing processors in the industry. Price pressure continues to be an issue. Whether due to inflation, the need to change materials, increased operating costs or other factors, processors are looking for better ways to control their expenses. Many customers are engaging outside consultants to drive continuous improvement efforts.

Maxcess offers a variety of aftermarket add-ons and upgrades, as well as on-site press services and support to help customers identify continuous improvement opportunities to increase performance, productivity and output. From press audits to technical training to installing innovative solutions, we can help converters optimize press performance from unwind to rewind to minimize waste and reduce downtime.

DM: With the ongoing challenge of replacing the experience and knowledge of retiring or soon-to-be-retired Baby Boomers and Generation X employees in the press area, there is clearly a skills gap in the market. This loss of institutional knowledge can lead to more operator errors, which result in more waste and scrap. The problem requires a greater focus on onboarding, training and educating new employees to ensure presses operate properly and tooling is not damaged.

Customization is another trend we hear about frequently from our customers. This leads to shorter print runs, the need for quick changeovers and the ability to work with new or different materials, inks and adhesives. Converters and operators must find ways to minimize downtime and setup and changeover times.

These factors also impact many converters’ sustainability initiatives. Shorter run lengths and new materials create efficiency issues and increase waste and scrap. Finding ways to work better, faster and smarter is critical to reduce press and material set-up time and avoid potential product returns.

DM: We have spent a lot of time listening to our customers and investing in research and development to create solutions to address these challenges:

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  Increased focus on automation: Many of our products launched last year include automated customer solutions to improve press performance. From Tidland RD AutoScore, where changeovers are measured in seconds instead of minutes, to fully automated crease depth and cut width control. In addition, as with many of our products, we have incorporated digital touchscreen interfaces to offer intuitive, easy-to-set-up products that also store data for easy job retrieval. Fife Guideline is another example of expanded use of automation. We have also used automation internally to improve our manufacturing processes, particularly in the production of our new portfolio of flexible dies.
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  Focus on Industry 4.0 solutions: Maxcess has invested heavily in research and development over the past few years. This investment has produced several innovative solutions that help converters work better, faster and smarter. Our Maxcess VisionMax inspection systems provide 100 percent print and surface inspection. The systems also use AI to train the system to identify and categorize defects and errors to create future efficiencies. Our RotoMetrics RotoScan Smart Anvil will be the first fully automated smart die station that automatically corrects die errors caused by pressure changes and other variables to reduce waste and extend die life.
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  Continuous focus on product improvements: Given the market changes we have experienced in customization, materials, inks and adhesives, RotoMetrics has spent the last year re-engineering and re-manufacturing our flexible die portfolio to better tailor our dies to the needs of the market. We know the one size fits all approach to die cutting doesn’t work. Customers need a specific solution for paper, foil, abrasives, thin liners, intricate patterns and other applications. Our new flexible die portfolio offers the right die for every application, plus exclusive durability and high performance coatings like RotoRepel that extend die life by double what the competition can offer. Combining our flexible dies, magnetic cylinders and AccuAdjust adjustable anvil creates a smart die station solution that provides the versatility for variability converters need to meet today’s challenges and changing market.

DM: In the traditional T&L business, we have helped converters move from paper materials to films. This evolution has enabled converters to expand beyond the core business and use materials not traditionally processed to create new business opportunities for a broader customer base. We help our customers explore new processing opportunities in RFID, microfluidics, nonwovens, security, tamper evident, braille and other industrial applications. With decades of experience in guidance, tension, tooling and more, we partner with our customers to grow their business in entirely new ways.