Lithec USA Announces Successful Integration of LithoFlash Inline at Great Little Box Company

Lithec USA's LithoFlash Inline | Credit: Lithec USA

Lithec, a provider of inline color control and inspection systems for the graphic communications industry, installed LithoFlash at Great Little Box Company’s British Columbia plant in October 2024. In just a few months since the installation on their eight-color Koenig & Bauer Rapida 105 press, the packaging printer has already saved valuable makeready time and product while ensuring color consistency.

Established over 40 years ago, family owned and operated Great Little Box Company (GLBC) has grown into one of Canada’s most recognized and award-winning label and packaging manufacturers. GLBC specializes in corrugated boxes, folding cartons, labels, flexible packaging, and protective packaging, offering a comprehensive range of products. The company occupies a 360,000-square-foot headquarters in Richmond with additional facilities in Kelowna, Victoria, and Edmonton as well as one US location in Everett, Washington.

The Richmond plant features two KBA sheetfed offset presses, the Rapida 105 and 106 models. With the LithoFlash’s automation, color quality and consistency are increased, achieving one of GLBC’s goals for their Rapida 105. “Before we bought the LithoFlash, we had just received our G7 Master Facility certification, and we were committed to keeping up that process control standard,” explains Rob King, Folding Carton Press Manager at GLBC. “Our President Brad Tindall said, ‘Well, if we're looking for quality, why don't we check out LithoFlash?’ So, after doing the research, Brad decided: ‘Let's get it in here.’”

Lithec LithoFlash eliminates the need to manually measure color bars at the press console by reading color bars and automatically making ink-key adjustments as sheets leave the last printing unit, running live. This technology significantly reduces setup times, minimizes material waste, and ensures that each print meets exacting color standards without the need for manual intervention.

For GLBC, the improvements in efficiency have been measurable. After receiving KBA quality reports each month, the figures have proven a reduction in make ready for the plant since the installation of the LithoFlash in October. Previously, GLBC reported an average 10% of make ready waste. “Since we got the LithoFlash, it’s gone down to 9% in November and went down to 7.5% in December,” says King. “I'm looking forward to seeing that trend just keep continuing.”

Once installed, the system quickly won over the press operators. “The operators love it,” King noted. “They notice they’re having faster make readies and less waste. LithoFlash is user-friendly; it’s intuitive. Between the amount of training that our pressman got initially and the amount of support that they still get from Lithec, the operators have picked it up quickly. Anytime we have questions—daytime, weekend, whenever—their representatives are on the ball. The customer support has been great.”

King also praised the surprisingly smooth installation process. “We had just about two and a half shifts of downtime for install. Lithec started training our pressmen even sooner than what we had thought.” Lithec’s installation created minimal delays with the press back to production that same afternoon.

“Some of our operators had their doubts at the beginning,” admits King. “But now they're saying it's a game changer for them. All our pressmen have worked on both the KBA 105 with Lithoflash and on the 106 with Qualitronics. Now that they've had exposure to both, they think that the LithoFlash is easier to use.”

“Great Little Box Company has set a remarkable standard in packaging production,” states Clyde Tillman, President of Lithec USA. “We are thrilled to see how quickly they have embraced and benefited from LithoFlash. Their commitment to efficiency, quality, and innovation is truly inspiring, and it’s been a pleasure partnering with them to enhance their operations. We look forward to supporting their continued success.”

Source: Lithec

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