Flxon Executive Outlook
Paul Sharkey President
on The Toyota Way instuted 5 years earlier and therefore was not open to input. We le it like that. While I am slightly familiar with The Toyota Way, I am certain such systems would be open to input that could specifically and quickly eliminate 4 per cent of waste. Yet why not here? I have since dis cussed this situaon with others in the industry, both suppliers and converters. It turns out my ex perience was not unusual. Apparently many big companies get bogged down in people issues. It begins with management’s inability to hire and re
Your Future in Flexo?
In recent years, we’ve read about and seen the evidence of the astonishing achievement of the flexographic prinng process. Technically, flexogra phy can print a 4,000 dpi dot. New wide web press es are running at 2,000 fpm and with Expanded Color Gamut; downme between jobs is reduced to a few minutes. There are pressrooms running 24/7, changing doctor blades once a week. In short, what was once a compromised process favored for its low cost is now quality compeve to other print methods based on quality and cost. In a way — we are in the Golden Age of Flexo. Yet — a majority of today’s pressrooms are not operang at such advanced levels. While most have benefited from improvements in prepress, anilox, inks, ink metering and so on, they sll operate today much as they did 20 years ago. When dis cussing pressroom KPIs, many admit to struggling with the same issues as before. Waste resulng from print defects is oen higher now that ma chines are running so much faster. Fixing a defect on press produces 10,000 feet of printed waste. Recently a flexible packaging pressroom admied to operang with a ±18 percent waste rate; a num ber that has been more or less constant for 10 years. They said the value of 1 percent of waste is $200,000. This admission came aer observing pressroom pracces related to job changes — to be almost nonexistent. Yet — when I suggested 4 per cent or $800,000 could be easily trimmed off that rate by establishing more comprehensive basic Stan dard Operang Procedures coupled with operator training — something FLXON can help with — the conversaon died. During a follow up, I was told the pressroom was following a corporate direcve based
tain the right people. And it’s al most impossible to overcome a pressroom level resistance to change ... even when it’s clearly for the common good. Geng back to the advance ments in flexographic technology. It turns out companies who invest in
the newest technology and invest in connuous op erator best pracces training are beer able to con sistently meet their customer’s quality needs at lower price points. They prevent waste before it happens. FLXON, like other supplier stakeholders in the industry, is challenged by how to help press rooms gain their compeve advantage. We spe cialize in helping pressrooms drive waste out of their everyday pressroom pracces beginning with print defects. Even with a proven track record and no financial risk, most listen politely but don’t act. Is Darwin Right ... does survival belong to the fiest? Will there be another round of consolida ons and closures in the industry? Will fewer new machines running more efficiently with fewer oper ators replace old presses and pressrooms? If so – how will it affect your business, your future?
12 Executive Outlook Flexo Market News
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