EDMONTON, Canada—Jet Label & Packaging Ltd, producer of labels and printed tape for a broad range of industries, has announced commitment to total platform redundancy at its primary manufacturing facility in Edmonton. Acquiring duplicates of critical machinery and components is meant to bring speed and economic benefits for customers, and minimize risk by diminishing delay due to scheduled or sudden machinery downtime. The redundancy is necessary to maintain customer satisfaction while growing double digits annually, according to Jet Label.
At its Edmonton production plant, Jet Label has doubled up on all equipment—including the twin HP Indigo digital presses and Delta die cutters. Other couplings include a pair of wide presses, eight-color flexo presses, and rewinders for each press width. The company also is moving toward complete redundancy at its Coquitlam, British Columbia facility, which it secured by acquiring United Label Company last year.
With proper preventive maintenance, today’s flexo and digital machines remain robust and rarely experience unforeseen mechanical breakdown, according to Jet Label. “Although ‘outliers’ rarely occur, we don’t want to jeopardize our customers,” said Darrell Friesen, Jet Label’s president and CEO. “Our customers do not worry about having all their eggs in one basket.”
For printing industry manufacturers like Jet Label, commitment to total redundancy is a calculated risk. Despite obvious benefits of production consistency and customer reassurance, manufacturers typically make infrastructure investments based on anticipated business needs. “Our decisions in adding redundant equipment has been realized across platforms, with causes like unexpected downtime, unexpected operator availability to unexpected growth.”
“Part of our commitment to total redundancy is an expectation of continued growth,” continued Friesen. “We’re willing to put the pieces in place as a landing zone for new business, a proactive approach that lends itself to in-person appraisals by prospective customers or, increasingly, cyber-tours.”