A Quality Standard

Published: October 31, 2005, By Edited by Nsenga Byrd Thompson, Associate Editor

Offset Printing

Valdese Packaging & Label has expanded from a small, family-run startup to a 50-employee, full-service operation. Having achieved a steady annual growth during the past 12 years, the North Carolina-based company believes a newly installed Mitsubishi Diamond 1000LS sheet-fed press is the key to a new round of growth.

“The past year’s print volume was phenomenal,” describes Darren Little, president. “We ran around the clock, so it was inevitable that we would have to increase our production capacity. Our customers look for only the highest quality packaging. We wanted a press that would enhance production, ensure additional quality, and enable us not only to attract new clientele but to satisfy the current and expanding needs of our existing customers.”

Quick Turnarounds, More Volume
Established in 1993, Valdese Packaging & Label specializes in textile packaging, pressure-sensitive labels, and consumer boxes for the retail, food, and pharmaceutical industries. A modern, well-equipped graphics department provides both design work and prepress capabilities. In addition, all binding and finishing processes are performed in-house. To service more than 400 customers, Valdese Packaging & Label utilizes sheet-fed and narrow web flexographic equipment. The Diamond 1000LS—a six-color, 28-in. model equipped with an aqueous coater—is the company’s second Mitsubishi press. A similarly configured Model 1F-15 was installed in 2001, and the company maintains that press has provided exceptional quality and efficiency.

Little says this new installation continues a dedicated effort by Valdese to provide quality, speed, and efficiency. “We chose the Mitsubishi press for a number of reasons. I don’t recognize a more highly automated press on the market. The automation and dependability of the press ensure that turnaround times for jobs can happen very fast.”

He continues, “Our goal is to exceed our customers’ expectations. We will be able to makeready a six-color job in just under 30 minutes. The central console allows an operator to set up one job and store the specifications while another job is running. Quicker turnaround equals more volume and allows us to extend our customer partnerships.

Print quality of the new press is “outstanding,” according to Little. “Being able to deliver quality like that opens up new opportunities for us.”

Valdese previously operated from two locations in Valdese, NC, but the company is in the process of bringing all of its production and administrative functions under one roof in a 40,000-sq-ft facility. The second facility will house raw materials, printed stock, and distribution. Little also expects to hire ten more employees in the near future.

CONVERTER INFO:
Valdese Packaging & Label
302 St. Germain Ave. SE
Valdese, NC 28690
828/879-7772

SUPPLIER INFO:
Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses—mlpusa.com