Finishing & Screen Printing
Fox Group Takes On Specialized Folding and Gluing Work with Flexibly Configured Equipment from Heidelberg
Tuesday 29. January 2013 - The Fox Group (Quakertown, PA) is able to perform more complicated folding and gluing work for its packaging customers since adding a high-performance Diana X 115 folder-gluer from Heidelberg. On the commercial side, the company recently also made outsourcing a thing of the past by installing a versatile Stahlfolder TH-66 with in-line Ti-52 miniature folder.
Fox Group, which has earned a reputation for pushing the technological envelope for the benefit of its customers, made the decision to purchase the Diana X 115 after a trip to the Heidelberg factory in Germany, where its operators were impressed with the speed, productivity, automation, and flexibility of the machine design.
“We had specific jobs in mind for the Diana and our operators really wanted a Heidelberg,” said Huck Brooks, chief operating officer. “Now that we have the longest and most open configuration of the Diana in the U.S., and can do more complicated gluing than before, we can offer new services to our existing customers and effectively court new business,” he said.
Focus on Packaging for Growth
The company’s 90-foot Diana is generously configured with feeder and blank alignment module, prefolder, blank turning module with alignment station, collapsible box module, two automatic lockbottom modules, folding station, transfer station, compression and delivery section, and a Tunkers auto-pack station. The equipment enables Fox to handle a variety of trade and promotional materials including cartons, POP and display work to support the company’s growing packaging business. The Diana’s length and open modular structure also create plenty of room to accommodate additional features like labelers, inserters, and an inkjetting device, as well as Kleen-Stick and tear-strip applications. Products range from pharmaceutical and cosmetic packaging to tipped-on and bundled catalogs, and more. “It all blends together,” Brooks said.
Thanks in part to a pre-installation meeting with Heidelberg, “Installation and training went off without a hitch,” Brooks said. “The Diana definitely is performing as advertised. We’re perfectly positioned to make the most of the profit potential inherent in the packaging side of our business.”
Fancy Folding in A Unique Configuration
The company’s decision to offer more intricate commercial folding in-house also led it straight to Heidelberg and to the installation of a Stahlfolder TH-66 folder with in-line Ti-52 for miniature folding last summer. The company uses the Ti-52 exclusively for lightweight pharmaceutical and Patient Information inserts. Said Brooks,
“The in-line configuration gives us considerable format flexibility. It was a learning curve for sure, but the results have been well worth the effort. In addition to becoming a convenient one-stop shop for our customers, we’ll realize around $100k in outsourcing costs in the first year. I see us duplicating the folder setup at some point to accommodate growth in job volume.”
For the present, the company runs both machines two shifts per day, 5-7 days per week, with capacity to spare. Additional Heidelberg equipment includes three 30″ Stahlfolders, four POLAR cutters with Autopak capability, and a Stitchmaster ST 400 6-pocket saddlestitcher with multiple cover feeders.
A leader in quality packaging and finishing services for more than 40 years, Fox Group balances its business between packaging (60 percent) and commercial/trade binding services (40 percent). The company operates three plantsa total of 120,000 square feet in Quakertown, and serves customers located within a 200- to 300-mile radius of Philadelphia.