For over 50 years, Cumberland Container has been a staple in the corrugated industry, providing high-quality products to its customers. Over the years, Cumberland has continued to expand its operations and cutting-edge machinery to support its growth and changing market demand.
With its success, growth, and longevity, Cumberland Container once again needed to invest in new equipment. Their mission is to provide quality products within spec and on time, therefore, any machine purchased by Cumberland had to be the cream of the crop.
“In 2017, we needed to replace our 50″ S&S FFG. We needed a machine that could combine high-quality print with speed and work as well on day 3,650 as it did on day one. We have a proven history of providing our customers with high-quality products, and any machine we purchase has to deliver on that,” said Mark Jared, CEO & Owner, Cumberland Container.
Randy Swallows, Sales Manager, added, “Our acquisition team spent ten months evaluating the flexo folder gluers in the market. In addition to evaluating the specs of each machine, our team did its due diligence and went on extensive site visits to see each machine in operation. At the end, the choice was clear. The Apstar HG2 1228 FFG came out on top.”
The Apstar stood out from the crowd because of a combination of features. For starters, Cumberland purchased one of the first machines in North America with inside/outside printing capabilities in one pass. As a company known to be cutting edge, Cumberland Container jumped at the chance to be one of the first container companies with this capability. Additionally, the Cumberland team was really impressed with the Apstar’s extensive standard features, including a licensed SUN® Lead-Edge Feeder, ceramic wheels in vacuum transfers, center slot moveable head, and versatile abilities. “The Apstar HG2’s features make it a stand-out machine. When you combine that with parts that can be sourced locally and are in stock in Merrillville, IN the Apstar quickly became the clear choice,” explained Andrew Miller, Operations Manager.
Cumberland’s new Apstar HG2 FFG was installed in May 2019. Just after the Apstar installation, the Cumberland team experienced some issues with the counter ejector program, but the Haire Service Team would intervene. “They are the A-team,” said Brian McCormick, Lead Maintenance. “They were extremely responsive and completely fixed the issue we had experienced. It’s so important to have support when you purchase a new machine.”
With the positive experience Cumberland has had with Haire Group and their service team, they purchased an Apstar 1632 RDC with 3-outside and 1-inside print capability.
Nearly three years after installation, Cumberland Container continues to applaud the Apstar HG2. “The Apstar has been a fantastic addition. It has performed exponentially better than our S&S FFG. Our purchase has paid dividends,” commented Tim Dunn, CFO. For Cumberland, the benefit of the Apstar speaks for itself. With the Apstar HG2, setup time averages decreased from 35 mins to 10 mins creating more production capacity. Printing accuracy increased dramatically and instantly; run time was minimized due to inside/outside printing eliminating multiple passes. Design Style Trays (DST’s)were moved off a Printer/Slotter to the Apstar FFG, not only decreasing setup time but also increasing production speed. Pieces per hour average increased by 270% within six months of installation.
In addition to the Cumberland Container install, over 150 Apstars have been installed across the US. With its impressive sales and many repeat customers, it’s safe to say that Cumberland Container is not the only one singing its praises.
