Independent II (CONT’D FROM PAGE 46)
represents approximately five percent of the company’s mix, a number that will only grow now that the last two years of building and moving are done. “We’ve started with a great customer base so we’re looking to get our digital revenue to ten percent, then fifteen percent,” says MacDonald. “More importantly, our customers are happy and we can staff for two shifts. We’ve got the tools and we’ve got the market, now it’s just a mat-
Bringing you the ultimate in ERP and software solutions for the global corrugated and folding carton industries. Our industry-specific, market-leading ERP software optimizes the order-to-cash process for corrugated and folding carton packaging manufacturers worldwide. With a focus on scheduling and estimating, our software handles complex plant manufacturing processes while supporting supply-chain, corporate finance, and front-office order management.
Independent II’s Signode GCU SmartFlex.
ter of executing our plan.” Hitting those ambitious targets will be getting easier. Independent II currently runs its digital work on bleached white and performance white substrates, but with Domi- no’s recent installation of an overprint varnish unit on the press – a roll coater and another bank of dryers –Indepen- dent II will be able to put beautiful eye-popping color on coated board and successfully get it through the convert- ing process. With setups on a 4-color digital job down to mere minutes, the entire process will become even more streamlined. Clearing Bottlenecks, Overcoming Challenges “We’ve come from a system that was littered with bot- tlenecks,” says Jennings of the logistical and material han- dling challenges in Independent II’s old facility. “We’ve been able to clear them up in the new facility by working with the outstanding conveyor engineers at ACS—Auto- mated Conveyor Systems in Lynchburg, VA—who ensured there would be no bottlenecks preventing us from grow- ing our new system.” MacDonald pointedly shares the fact that the massive expansion project upon which Independent II was building its future was nearly crippled by a failed electrical design, which forced a “re-engineering” and rebuilding that cre- ated a ripple effect – the company’s 3-month plan went to a 6-month plan – at a critical time and created a proj- ect management gap that created a lot of “lingering pain.” He suggests that anyone planning a major expansion that includes working with a primary contractor should talk to MacDonald first. “The challenges faced in our project de- fined partners who could deliver and partners who could not” he says. “If you have this information in advance, it
We are now advantive! advantive.com
CONTINUED ON PAGE 50
48
www.boardconvertingnews.com
September 18, 2023
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting