Butler Highlights Pre-Applied Zipper Film Splicing Capabilities

March 23, 2016|News & Headlines

Butler SP1 Image small Cost-effective reclosable packaging with specialty film and automatic splicing

Middleborough, MA – Butler Automatic, the inventor and global leader of automatic splicing solutions, announces that it manufactures splicers capable of handling pre-applied zipper film. Together with efficient automatic splicing, this specialty film offers companies a cost-effective way to introduce reclosable packaging into their packaging line, without a large capital investment or long lead time.

“We have seen a huge amount of growth in reclosable plastic packaging recently, and we see pre-applied zipper film as one of the areas with the greatest growth potential, due to its convenience,” said Dan Donahue, President of Donahue-Corry Associates, Inc., a Massachusetts-based company specializing in flexible packaging. “Whereas switching from a traditional packaging line to a line that includes the addition of a reclosable feature requires new, costly machinery and time to get that equipment up and running, beginning to package using pre-applied zipper film requires only a few adjustments to existing equipment.”

Due to the bulky zippers incorporated as part of the roll, pre-applied zipper film rolls have fewer package imprints per roll than regular flexible roll stock. This results in more frequent roll changes and, when roll changes are manual, a significant amount of downtime. Adding an automatic splicer into the packaging line eliminates this downtime, improving line efficiency and profitability.

“When rolls are being changed, say, once every 20 minutes, as may be the case with pre-applied zipper film, downtime adds up – over an hour and a half of production time is lost in a single 8-hour shift on a single line,” said Chris Graff, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Butler Automatic. “With our automatic splicers, that downtime is eliminated and customers are able to take full advantage of the added value of reclosable features in their packaging.”

The Butler splicers have been designed specifically for use with pre-applied zipper film, with features that ensure that splices are made a safe distance from the zipper and that maximize the accuracy of web tracking. These features reduce the likelihood of downtime due to catastrophic film failures, thereby improving line throughput even further.

Butler About Butler
Butler Automatic is the inventor of automatic splicing and the largest global manufacturer of automatic web splicing equipment for food, pharmaceutical, printing and CGP markets. As such, Butler Automatic is uniquely suited to increase uptime and production efficiency in a wide range of packaging applications. With more than 17,000 installations around the world, Butler Automatic is the global leader in automatic splicing solutions. For more information call 508-923-0544 or visit www.butlerautomatic.com.