Challenges & Opportunities
Mitch observes that Yellowstone’s prime focus has long been produce packaging. Yet, he notes, “Over the past 10 years or so, we set out to diversify offerings into frozen foods, roll stock, lawn and garden, pet foods, lamination and stand-up pouching. Yellowstone has come quite a way since I started in 2006. The decision was made to seize opportunities for growth and expansion to other markets as they presented themselves. We continue on that path.”
He continues, “We really do focus on service, relationships; understanding needs, requirements, expectations; and becoming a valued partner, not just another supplier. Our customers expect high-quality product and exceptional service. We deliver it.”
Harkening back to years past, Mitch says, “The expectation on flexo was a lot simpler 5- or 6-color, line print, back then; fast forward to today and we’re talking about well over 200 lpi—225 lpi, 250 lpi, implementation of 10-color presses, increased plate technology, higher expectation on the finished package, lean lead times that are constantly squeezed down, quick promotions, specialized packaging, no inventories, two-week windows and shorter runs. Run speeds are almost twice as fast as older equipment—up to 2,000 fpm.” To that he adds, “We go where the market is heading by planning investment in high screen aniloxes, plate making—whatever is necessary to keep up with expectations of customers—like short lead time and no pass-along costs.”
Lou admits, “Registration is always an issue. Trapping, too. These days, they want zero trap—gearless technology. Sometimes people forget that not every substrate has the resilience to stay put. That’s a challenge in mechanics and graphics. Some films are stretchy and more difficult to hold registration on. We always buy virgin resin and don’t cut corners on quality accepted, profile, cleanliness of equipment, etc. We print good register and both monitor and optimize tension control. It’s all part of being able to sustain the quality both we and our customers are looking for.”
The print production manager acknowledges the plant is still in the process of implementing lean manufacturing and is introducing Kaizen exercises. “Optimization is key. Fingerprinting is substantially upgraded. It applies to ink, anilox, press… We continue to look for ways to optimize better than we are. We can’t become stagnant. Technology is constantly changing.”
From his perspective, Lou maintains, “In this day and age, it’s more of a challenge than ever before to find people to get into the business, learn it and wait for pay out.” He decrees, “Everyone that works here is career path and performance based. We put a lot of training into young people. SOPs and hands-on training are more important than ever before in trying to retain employees as things change so rapidly. It’s a big challenge for all of us in this industry.”
Alan insists, “We look at our company as a family. We like to have that type of relationship. It means making people feel like individuals of value. Yellowstone is privileged to have a pretty solid group of employees with 10 or more years tenure, with many more between the five- and 10-year mark. When it comes to new hires, we do have some turnover, but once they understand the company, we succeed in retaining long-term talent. Quite a number of our team members have been here since our early beginnings.”
Lou focuses on taking people who come in with no experience and seeing that they learn the printing business from the bottom up. “We get them trained to do the job—any job. People are evaluated and communicated with on expectations on a daily basis. Cross training in inks, plates and press is required. We try to move people up based on performance, not tenure. Our mantra is, ‘Learn and perform.’”
Mitch elaborates on the point. “We want team members to want to be here. We encourage them to become versatile assets that we can use. We cross train. We look for people willing to take initiative to make this more than just a job.”
Industry Connections
Beyond upgrading technology and training, Yellowstone stresses continuous education. Lou remarks, “We learn a lot from FTA, via utilization of all the benefits it offers. That includes access to what is going on in the industry, seminars on new technologies, participation in meetings and events. There is always room for additional education. We really have to redouble efforts on that front.”
“We look forward to attending Forum and INFOFLEX. We have put a lot of people through FIRST Individual Certification and we’re getting ready for more,” he adds. “At Yellowstone, we realize, only the strong survive. For those who want to stay in the game, it’s all about knowledge and the need to diversify.”
Along those lines, he also says, “We all learn from each other. We are all friends in this industry who respect fair competition. FTA is a resource. It should be utilized. Yellowstone buys copies of FIRST 6.0 and encourages employees to read them and use them as a guide for troubleshooting. We are committed to attending FTA events and sending five or six team members to network—prepress and production shift supervisors rotate through for exposure purposes.”
Looking ahead, Lou states, “We want to see Yellowstone Plastics as one of the elite printers up there getting FTA Excellence in Flexography Awards for optimizing. Getting there as fast as we can means being a part of the great things FTA represents. Active engagement with our association helps generate business.”
Mitch seconds that vision. “We enjoy interacting with FTA and its members and participating in its awards competition. It would be an honor to achieve recognition. I’m hoping our efforts position us to realize that goal.”