Tavo Packaging Taps New Koenig & Bauer Press

Tasked with producing an array of cartons for some of the most recognizable names in the quick-serve restaurant, food, and food service markets, Tavo Packaging found itself needing to supercharge its pressroom and add capacity for its national and international brands. Its solution was to partner with Koenig & Bauer (Booth N2443) and invest in a new Rapida 145 large-format press at its eastern Pennsylvania facility.

David Taylor, CEO and VP of sales at Tavo Packaging, along with his brother Jeff Taylor, president and VP of operations, precisely timed its press installation. Twin issues prompted Tavo to seek additional capacity. First, Americans had accelerated their eat-at-home habits during the pandemic, forcing food suppliers to package more of their goods. Secondly, the nation’s regulatory policies moved further toward the use of even more environmentally friendly products, which include folding cartons.

“I constantly ask how we can respond to our customers better and faster,” says David Taylor. “Our guiding philosophy is high quality and providing the highest level of service. What we’ve found in our first-ever Koenig & Bauer press is exceptional machinery that matches our desire to improve our capacity footprint and achieve higher throughput through the plant. This press is providing us with faster run speeds, and positions us to increase our capacity levels for additional growth.”

Since its installation, the new Rapida has ushered the company into an even more advanced level of sustainability and environmentally-friendly services. Protecting the environment has been one of Tavo’s key philosophies. The firm emphasizes its use of recyclable, sustainable materials sourced from credible paper and tree farms. Operating the new Rapida in this environment allows Tavo to turn jobs faster with less waste, making it better for the company, as well as the planet.

Taylor has always been a firm believer in leveraging new technology to drive profitability. One of the most impressive features on the new Rapida press is the QualiTronic ColorControl system. This is Tavo’s first automatic on-press color control system. “It is a very important component on the new press,” he says. “Our clients demand exact matches of their brand colors, especially logos. We often print short run jobs in which our customers need frequent print changes due to seasonality or package rebranding. Brand continuity is very important to them and to us. The QualiTronic is automatically maintaining color and providing us with large savings due to less waste.” 

Tavo has found itself on a growth trajectory ever since it was founded in 1978 by Hal Taylor, David and Jeff’s father. By 1996, the firm was experiencing such high growth that it found it needed to move to a larger 11-acre facility in Fairless Hills, PA, outside of Philadelphia, where it expanded from 26,000 sqft to 175,000 sqft. Today, the firm operates three flexo web presses, as well as the new large-format Rapida sheetfed press. While its flexo presses are busy producing long run work, Taylor has been pulling jobs from its flexo presses and putting them on the Rapida. 

“We’re proud to be operating this superior technologically-advanced large-format press,” says Taylor. “We have been showing it off to our customers as it has become a significant part of our production arsenal.”