Alpha Poly Improves Press Capacity with Flexo Plate Demounter

After the purchase of a W&H press, leading packaging solutions provider Alpha Poly was poised to take advantage of increased demand for its packaging services. However, with two presses now running side by side, the company’s mounting department was having difficulty keeping up with press capacity.

Alpha Poly is a family-owned and operated business serving customers in Canada, USA, and international markets. Over the past 25 years, the company has grown to become a leading solutions provider in most of the popular flexible packaging categories including CPG, Food Service, Pet Care, and Packer-Processor industries.

“We needed to address a bottleneck in our mounting department and keep our skilled personnel doing what they do best – mounting flexo plates,” said Glenn Correa, Prepress Manager for Alpha Poly. After analyzing the situation, Glenn realized that a flexo plate demounter would automate the plate removal process saving time and freeing up highly-skilled personnel for more critical tasks. A demounter is a machine designed to efficiently remove plates and tape from sleeves and/or cylinders without damaging them – keeping re-usable flexo plates in good condition.

Alpha Poly began a detailed evaluation to find the best demounter to fit their requirements. A number of companies offering demounters were considered, both domestic and international. Performance was the key factor affecting the decision, and product support for the demounter was also a consideration. “We wanted to work with a company that was close and could provide the best service and parts, so we chose Anderson & Vreeland,” said Glenn. “Alpha Poly wants to align themselves with companies that are ‘tried and true’, so A&V was a good match,” he added.

It has only been three weeks since A&V installed the demounter and Alpha Poly is already seeing improved performance. “Installation went smoothly and was basically plug and play. Training was not a big factor since the demounter is so user-friendly. Basically, anyone can use the machine after removing several plates,” said Glenn.

Alpha Poly also expects the new demounter to save money by minimizing plate damage as a result of automating the plate removal process. If a flexo plate gets damaged, chances are it’s when the plate is removed from the sleeve after the printing process. Plate damage typically results from tearing the plate during the removal process or by creasing the Mylar backing when pulling the plate from the cylinder or sleeve. More plates are replaced due to damage during the removal process than by plates wearing out!

Alpha Poly has improved their plate mounting and flexo press efficiency with the help of Anderson & Vreeland. I would like to thank Glenn Correa and Alpha Poly for placing their trust in A&V as a business partner.