Flex Pack, Green Drive Davis-Standard Business Surge
FULTON, N.Y.—With a major rebound in business activity that started in early 2010, Davis-Standard’s Converting Systems Group has seen exceptionally strong orders for new equipment. More than 50 new lines have been ordered since March of last year with all core product lines contributing to the growth, including extrusion coating, liquid coating, cast film, and blown film. While many of the installations are scheduled for Asia, business has also improved considerably in North America, South America, and the Middle East. Davis-Standard Converting Systems is well positioned to handle the increase in demand with three manufacturing locations and strong strategic partnerships with key suppliers.
According to Mark Panozzo, president of Davis-Standard Converting Systems, this surge is the result of healthy markets served by customers and a commitment to strategic initiatives during the economic downturn.
“There have been several factors that have positively impacted our business. During the recession, we did a good job of retaining our experienced workforce and our core competencies. We continued our investments in technology while also maintaining financial strength, which has allowed us to respond to customer needs following the recession,” explained Panozzo. “In addition to strong growth in packaging markets, we have experienced tremendous growth in green market applications. With several projects in our order backlog involving photovoltaic, lithium-ion battery, and bio-resin applications, it’s an exciting time to be in the converting equipment business.”
Converting Systems’ recent innovations include nano-layer technology on cast film lines, a cast stretch film winder with the fastest cycle time in the industry, a scrapless winder that virtually eliminates the film scrap typical during winder indexing, and a high-efficiency dryer for priming applications. Davis-Standard has also entered into agreements with key component suppliers to provide best-in-class technology to support its customers. This includes coreless roll technology from NO.EL® srl; the Triple Lip Air Ring to improve cooling from K Design GmbH; and zero splice unwinding systems from MTorres. All technology is geared toward efficiency, reduced energy, and limited scrap.
