Packaging

VSOP: the ultimate press for the label market

Jim Hammer heads up a trend-setting printing company in the United States. He invested in the VSOP from Drent Goebel. What were his motives for changing over to offset and how does he assess the press in day-today production?

Tuesday 02. September 2008 - Jim Hammer heads up a trend-setting printing company in the United States. He invested in the VSOP from Drent Goebel. What were his motives for changing over to offset and how does he assess the press in day-today production?

Lead, don’t follow. That is the philosophy of Hammer packaging, a 400-man strong company based in the Rochester, NY area. The company specializes in film and paper labels including cut-and-stack, and pressure sensitive.

The company’s growth under current leader Jim Hammer has been impressive to say the least. He took charge of the company when it was a $ 1 million business and, last year, it reached the $ 100 million level.

Technology and innovation are key in the company’s growth and are a major part of Jim Hammer’s vision of industry leadership. A great example of this philosophy is the company’s investment in a Drent Goebel VSOP press with a 33-inch web width. This investment was made on the belief that Hammer’s customers would benefit from a lower cost alternative to gravure printing of shrink labels, while offering a higher quality option for flexo shrink applications.

Jim Hammer explains: “The technology this press offers is nothing short of spectacular.” He believes it fits well with the company’s strength in offset printing and can be counted on to expand Hammer’s range of products and services – one of the company’s key investment criteria.

A unique value-added alternative
“Our best opportunity to enter new markets that are traditionally serviced by rotogravure and central impression flexo is to offer a unique value-added alternative for which we have affinity,” he says.

“With the VSOP we are now offering offset printed shrink sleeves, ROSO labeling, and high-end roll-fed labeling. Ultimately, we see ourselves expanding into form, fill, and seal packaging as substrate technology grows to require fewer extrusions and more use of lamination.”

“With this kind of investment we aim to stay ahead of the pack, which is a big challenge in today’s packaging industry.”

Drent Goebel exhibits at booth 1611 during Labelexpo 2008.