As a custom folding carton manufacturer, Abox Packaging located in Kaufman TX has been on the fast track to success because of the company’s dedication to quality and service. As owner Keith Thompson says, “No one is allowed to say no, only “Here’s what we can do”.” And with the addition of a Maxson MDH Sheeter, Abox Packaging can do even more faster and better.
In 2003, Keith and Stephanie Thompson bought Abox Paperboard – a thirty five year old carton company with 52 employees that served the Texas market place. Three years later, sales have more than doubled and employment has doubled as the company has emphasized building relationships with its clients and seeking a diversified customer base.
With 15,000 square foot sales and service facilities in both Houston and San Antonio to complement the Kaufman operations 75,000 square foot operations and 55,000 square foot warehouse, Abox offers inventory management programs that include local finished storage in key geographic locations. Abox serves a wide range of customers – office supplies, beverage, medical, cosmetic and hardware companies. As Thompson points out, “This diversification avoids reliance on a particular industry and keeps us busy year round.” Using this strategy, Abox has begun to expand beyond the Lone Star State into the American Southwest.
To fuel this growth and maintain its competitive edge, Abox Packaging has been investing in state of the art equipment that lends itself to the high quality, short run work market. An example of the type of business that requires modern machinery is an expanding product line that involves the use of metallized polyester board and UV coatings.
Already outfitted with a seven color sheet fed printing press, a foil hot stamp unit, three die cutters, and six folder gluers the Thompsons invested in another new 40” six color press. That’s when Production Manager Mike Stacy stepped in. “We had an older Maxson stationary bed knife sheeter and an even older, slower sheeter that were having trouble keeping up with the existing press production and other converting needs. At times we were running three shifts a day, up to seven days a week and struggling to meet our demand.”, recalls Stacy. Added Thompson, “We knew that the new press’ high speed output and registration control demanded consistently square sheets and more of them.”
Recognizing the need to enhance the sheeter operation, Thompson and Stacy were guided by their board suppliers to invest in dual knife rotary cutter technology to insure a clean cross cut. After attending a trade show to learn about the current technology, they investigated various sheeters on the market and secured three proposals. Although not the least expensive, Abox Packaging management selected the Maxson MDH Sheeter – a high speed dual rotary knife sheeter outfitted with two shaftless roll stands, a decurler that could treat a wide range of board grades, a slitter rig that permitted two piles to be produced simultaneously and the ability to continue to run while changing skids. “The Maxson proposal was not the least expensive, but it was $150,000 less than another offering that was similar”, recounted Thompson. “Also”, said Stacy, “we had enjoyed good service on the existing Maxson sheeter. Absolutely awesome service. And the sheeter is made here in the United States.”
The MDH Sheeter arrived prior to the new press and replaced the oldest, obsolete sheeter. According to Stacy, “The installation was faster than expected. By the third day we were putting a pallet on the sheeter. Since the sheeter is so user friendly, training was very smooth. Maxson field technicians were good trainers and will becoming back to provide additional instruction once the Operators get comfortable with the machine.”
With the new sheeter in operation, production to serve the press room has risen dramatically. Says Thompson, “The sheeter allows us to do two pile work which immediately doubles the output we were used to. The dual position roll stand allows us to load one roll stand while running the other. And the key factor is its “friendliness” – the MDH Sheeter is so easy to change over.” “It is so much quieter and faster than what we had”, adds Stacy, “Between the differential in speed and sheeting double wide rolls the Maxson MDH yields six times the production of the older sheeter. As a result we’ve gone from two shifts plus overtime to an extended single shift in the sheeting department with the other sheeter dedicated primarily to converting for unprinted stock.”
An added bonus is the ability of the Maxson MDH Sheeter to run metallized polycoated board and holographic film laminates without scarring the surface. Until the new technology was installed, this high value added material was converted elsewhere. Being able to sheet this emerging product line in house reduced costs and improved turnaround time.
The sheeter has fit into Abox Packaging’s growth plans well. Thompson cites the past when carton deliveries in the Dallas/Fort Worth area could be 5 – 6 weeks from date of order. “Nowadays we are providing a quality product in 3 -4 days. With this nice compact, quiet sheeter we are able to secure board in the job market during times of tight supply and finish it on the machine.”
Sums up the company’s owner, “The Maxson Sheeter has done all that we expected and then some.” This is a fitting complement for a custom folding box manufacturer that always strives to exceed Customer expectations.
