When evaluating a new press, Portco considers five attributes to be critical:
- Press safety is a prerequisite to any press project. The company expects any press that it’s evaluating to include the most modern safety devices and methods
- State-of-the art quality control systems are necessary to hold quality that exceeds customer expectations
- Ease of use is a major consideration in regard to operator safety and training
- Manufacturer support is another issue to consider, as any lost time can be costly
- In order to compete in the modern market, quick changeovers are critical. Presses must have features that aid in reducing this task time
“Flexography over the past decade has made tremendous gains,” says Castillo. “With the advancement of plate technologies, we are able to achieve higher density process colors and fine screen values. As a result, we can print at much higher linescreens than ever before, offering our customers a higher-quality, repeatable graphic for their brand.”
But the biggest advancements the company finds most important are geared around sustainable offerings. “Creating packaging that meets the needs of our future and protecting our environment is an exciting and challenging prospect,” notes Castillo. “Packaging is an important component for food safety and food preservation. Keeping the package out of the landfill and developing packaging that does not contaminate the Earth’s oceans and waterways has to be a priority for our industry.”
Portco has traditionally been a wide web print house. With the proliferation of SKUs among brand owners and the demand for smaller minimum order quantities and quicker turn times, it has invested in mid web technology.
In addition, consumers’ and brand owners’ demand for more sustainable packaging options is high and continuing to grow. To address this, Portco recently launched a series of products known as the EarthGuard line. These products are designed to meet the needs of its customers utilizing films that are recyclable, have post-consumer recycled content or can be composted. “Regardless of what our customers’ sustainable journey looks like, we are developing structures that answer their needs,” comments Castillo.
And since Portco manufactures flexible packaging for the food industry, the company was deemed essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reports retail food sales have been “off the charts” during the pandemic and, as a result, Portco experienced a solid increase in demand.
Technology & Automation
Beside the purchase of a Uteco Onyx 808 53-in. flexographic press, collaborative automation and QA systems that integrate vision capabilities are the company’s current focuses.
“Our company values heavily focus on employee safety and product quality,” says Ben Smith, plant manager/continuous improvement leader. “There are fantastic automation tools that align with our needs in these areas that are readily available on the market. Also, when shopping for manufacturing equipment, we are focused on purchasing machinery equipped with the latest technology to assist our operators in their work and to ensure the highest-quality product.”
The role of automation in Portco’s facility allows its people to focus on critical tasks and have control of the process while lowering the workload through inspection systems and collaboration. “Because of this, more work is being done per labor hour, which improves both quality and throughput,” notes Smith. “While automation is important, there are still processes that can benefit from low- or no-cost continuous improvement means. We are very invested in the continuous improvement philosophy.”
In fact, Portco has invested in ERP systems that focus more on business intelligence rather than artificial intelligence. “We do see this on the horizon as systems integration in our industry becomes more mature,” adds Smith.
The company says the latest advances in workflows have allowed it the opportunity to capitalize on full electronic transfer of information in its process. While some of the company’s processes still rely on paper forms and documents, this will soon be a practice that is no longer needed. This is good for efficiency and important for environmental responsibility, says Smith.
“Advancements in enterprise information systems allow us to benefit from better and more accurate data analytics,” notes Smith. “Together, with machine connectivity, we have better data at our fingertips to predict run-ability aspects of product and better foresee outcome of production from design through to trial and production.”