Lawrence Paper Co. (CONT’D FROM PAGE 30)
part of the American Packaging expansion in Hutchinson.) Earlier this year, Hill replaced the Ibis at Jayhawk Boxes with yet another Isowa machine, a brand new Falcon Flexo Folder Gluer, which became the first Falcon-Ibis replace- ment in North America. “To keep up with the speed of our Isowas and other converting equipment, we have installed Alliance prefeed-
Lawrence Paper Company manufactures its own board on a 98-inch Fosber corrugator, which has undergone significant upgrades in the last 10 years. The knife will be upgraded next year. Packard says the company does purchase board through some partnerships for “specialty situations,” but the large majority of what Lawrence Paper uses is produced “in-house.” Like other corrugator and sheet plants throughout North America, lead times were extended during the pan- demic, from 3-5 days for the majority of customers to as much as three weeks. Packard says that lead times are back under a week and notes that there has been “sig- nificant” growth during that time. “We’ve seen 20 percent increase in square-feet produced over the past two years. We feel pretty good about that.” An Investment In Isowa Lawrence Paper Company has, in fact, been on a 5-8 year run of massive capital improvements, plans that were in motion long before the pandemic happened. In terms of machinery investments, Justin Hill’s companies have had a long and rewarding relationship with the Japanese machine manufacturer, Isowa. In 2009, Lawrence Paper Company installed the first Isowa Falcon Flexo Folder Glu- er in North America in Lawrence, Kansas; it installed the first fixed-position Ibis Flexo Folder Gluer in the world at Jayhawk Boxes in 2011. (This machine is now running as
ers, breakers and load formers thoughout the plant,” says Packard. “This means most processes are automated, which ultimately means lower labor costs. We can now do more with less.” Russ Packard, left, and Justin Hill, who has a long and reward- ing relationship with Isowa.
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32 November 15, 2021
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