Southern Champion Tray Nears 100 Years In Operation, Looks To Future Chattanooga, Tennesee based Southern Champion Tray is on the precipice of a rare and remarkable achievement: celebrating nearly 100 years in business. Started by ma- chinist Milt Zeiser in 1927 as a paper dish manufacturer with just four employees, the company has grown its op- eration into a team of more than 900 across Tennessee, Ohio, and Texas. Now led by its third and fourth generations, Southern Champion Tray remains a proudly family-owned company, committed to its identity as a true ‘Customer Champion’. Its enduring success stems from a strong culture built on four core values: trustworthy, servant-hearted, relational, and resourceful. A Transformative Leap Forward Keeping both customers and employees at the fore- front, Southern Champion Tray recently invested $60m in a 320,000 sq ft greenfield facility in Chattanooga, Ten- nessee. Housing a fleet of state-of-the-art equipment, the space includes an innovation lab, wellness center, and an outdoor deck overlooking the Tennessee River.
At Pamarco, we focus on print quality & consistency YOUR LEADER IN ANILOX ROLL MANUFACTURING
“It was really designed and built with our employees in mind,” said Brian Hunt, President & CEO, Southern Cham- pion Tray. “But from a customer perspective, we made sig- nificant investments in automation to drive efficiency and quality. This gives us great confidence as we go to market and deliver the level of care our customers expect.” Earlier this year, Southern Champion Tray added its flagship press, the Heidelberg Boardmaster. With its cut- ting-edge capabilities, the new inline flexo press replaces a 25-year-old machine and represents a major technolog- ical leap forward for the company. Impressively, the Boardmaster performs ‘on the fly’, non-stop job changeovers – meaning the press prints without interruption from job to job by fully automating the plate cylinder setup and coming onto impression with only thirty feet of waste. Each print deck has two print units: while one unit is busy with production, the second one is being readied for the next print job. CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 Southern Champion Tray’s Chattanooga, TN facility.
Guiding converters in Anilox Selection Care & Handling Operator Training
info@pamarco.com 404-691-1700 Pamarco.com
28
www.boardconvertingnews.com
November 17, 2025
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease