Paperboard Packaging - 2012 Buyers Guide

IN THE FOLD ❘ steve CreAsey
Don’t Mistake Cheap for Value

Wherever you are in the world, and what- ever the local language, there will almost cer-
tainly be a phrase along the lines of
“you get what you pay for.” In Spain
it’s “cheap is expensive.” In China
it’s “a cent gives you a cent’s worth.”
The gist is always the same whether
you hear it from your loved one when
the Rolex knock-off you bought in a
market for five dollars stops working
or from a car salesman trying to upsell
you to a more expensive model. So,
when it comes to packaging produc-
tion equipment, is it the case that you
really do “get what you pay for?’”
If you know anything about the
company I represent it’s probably that
we are not the low-cost provider. How-
and day out? And, although a diecutter
is advertised as running at 9,000 sheets
per hour, will it achieve that without
interruption, or will it be stopping every
two minutes because the in-feed sys-
tem cannot cope with variations in the
pile? Equipment suppliers worth their
salt will have the staff and resources to
carry out a detailed analysis of a pro-
spective purchaser’s work mix and give
makeready, running speed, and produc-
tivity figures they will stand behind.

Equipment suppliers worth their salt will have the staff and resources to carry out a detailed analysis of a prospective purchaser’s work mix and give productivity figures they will stand behind.

ever, we strive to provide the best value for your investment. Of course, one of the reasons for this is carton makers don’t simply consider cost when making a purchasing decision on the equipment and consumables they need. Price sits there alongside performance, usability, resale value, budget, and a host of other factors they have to weigh before they come to a decision.

Some of these factors, especially
those relating to performance, can
be really tricky to assess with any ac-
curacy. All equipment manufacturers
give out performance information,
such as maximum operating speeds,
but the truth is that these figures don’t
really mean much unless they can be
achieved in real-life production. So
while a folder-gluer might be capable
of running at 1,150 feet per minute, can
it do this when it’s running the types
of cartons you have to produce day in
market conditions, let alone tomor-
row’s. If you look at crash-locks, for
example, older folder-gluers were only
able to produce them in one or maybe
two different ways. The latest genera-
tion of machines can often produce a
particular style crash-lock in perhaps
four different ways. This gives the op-
erator the opportunity to choose the
most efficient and productive method
for that particular carton. This also
means that newer machines can often
run many styles that machines based
on old designs cannot.