Centered between Topeka and Kansas City, Lawrence, KS is the home of the Lawrence Paper Company. For over 140 years Lawrence Paper has provided innovative design, packaging, and fulfilment solutions to meet customers’ needs from protective shippers to retail-ready packaging. In addition to high-end graphics, Lawrence, along with its subsidiary divisions American Packaging Corp. and Jayhawk Boxes, offers industrial packaging solutions featuring HAZMAT and ‘right-sizing’ design and specialty coatings that add moisture control, anti-abrasion, and anti-rust properties.
“We are an Independent corrugated paper manufacturer located in Lawrence, Kansas,” says Shane Old, Plant and Operations Manager. “We have a full-service box plant and fulfillment operation here in Lawrence. Our focus is on short orders and quick turnarounds for our customers. But we don’t limit ourselves to just short orders, we’re as comfortable running a 50,000- or 100,000-piece order as we are running 500- or 1000-pieces.
“We have high quality digital and flexographic printing capabilities. We provide high-speed precision die-cutting, folding and gluing. We have in-house design and packaging consulting services, and we offer complete fulfilment services here in our Lawrence plant, as well as at some of our other facilities. So, practically anything a customer or brand owner needs to get their product from the manufacturing floor to the shopping cart, we can provide.”
Lawrence Paper and their sister companies have been longtime customers and industry partners of the Geo. M. Martin Company. Over the years, Lawrence has installed numerous Geo. Martin stackers and other ancillary equipment. One of their most recent additions was a Geo. Martin SBX:Scrubber® rotary die-cut stacker that was part of a new die-cutter line installation.
Geo. M. Martin SBX:Scrubber Stacker.
“The first experience ‘I’ had with Geo. Martin was in 2007, but we had been a long-time Geo. Martin customer,” says Old. “We purchased a new Martin Stacker with the Fas-Set auto set-up layboy. It was a state-of-the-art stacker that gave us the ability to reduce set-up times and gave us more uptime hours.
“When we started the purchasing process for our latest rotary die cutter line, we developed a list of requirements. We run a lot of short orders, so efficiency was at the top of the list. We also run a wide variety of products, a wide range of shapes and sizes. So, versatility and the ability to adapt to mix changes was important as well. We needed a stacker we could rely on and would keep pace with the die-cutter.”
Fully automated Auto-Set Front-End.
Because Lawrence’s orders are mainly short runs and quick turn-around, fast accurate set-ups and user-friendly operator controls are very important. The SBX stacker is positioned behind a state-of-the-art, fully computerized BOBST DRO. To maximize the efficiency of setup, the configuration includes order sharing between the DRO and the SBX:Scrubber Stacker. Job recipes entered at the die cutter control are shared with the stacker, and job parameters from the stacker are shared with the Bundle Breaker, therefore, eliminating redundant data input and input errors, resulting in quicker set-ups.
“We chose the fully automatic set-up for our new SBX:Scrubber stacker,” says Old. “They provided a simple, yet effectively integrated communication system between the up and downstream components of our die cutter line, even though they were from other manufacturers. Their interface is very easy to use, and the set-up times are really short. Our crews are very pleased with the stacker because it was quick to learn and easy and safe to use. They really like the SmartView system because it saves them a lot of time and footsteps. They can just glance at the monitor and see if the board line is clear.”
Geo. Martin Safety Center with SmartView (BSS).
The Geo. Martin SmartViewtm BSS – board surveillance system, consists of four cameras positioned at strategic transition points through the stacker. These cameras record and provide real-time video feeds of the board flow to a high-definition big screen monitor. If it becomes necessary for troubleshooting a job, the video can be replayed. The system includes slow motion playback to clearly display and help determine the root cause of events such as jam ups. This eliminates guesswork and leads to increased uptime.
“The SBX was the perfect fit for our operation,” says Old. “Our operators were familiar with the Martin products, so training went quickly, and the crews quickly came up to speed with the additional training they received. Also, the product familiarity makes it easier for us to shift individuals or crews to other production lines if needed.”
Old concludes, “Geo. Martin has been an excellent partner for many years. They provide durable, reliable equipment. As a group they are innovative and easy to work with. Whether it’s service, parts, technical support, or sales when we call, they are responsive to our requests.”
