An innovative solution for packaging printers

Shipping delays for a Texas-based carton packaging company had the plant’s production in jeopardy. Scheduling a timely delivery was difficult due to national truck driver shortages.

The customer contacted tesa ahead of a potential shutdown when delivery dates continued to move further and further down the calendar. They use tesa® Twinlock self-adhesive plate mounting sleeves in their process. Their supply chain issues were impacting their tesa® Twinlock Activator inventory. The activator ensures there’s no dirt or dust on printing plates – preventing print
errors.

tesa® Twinlock

• Reusable, self-adhesive, and compressible sleeve that provides consistency in high quality printing
• High printing speeds, lasting print quality
• Lower running cost, carbon footprint reduction, and fast ROI

Due to storage limitations, the plant can only carry a minimal amount of Twinlock Activator on their floor at one time.
Shipping delays combined with inventory limitations created a challenge tesa was ready to tackle.

In 2021, tesa sales representative Keara Wingert got a call from her carton packaging customer.

The customer was going to run out of activator the following day. The soonest delivery date was three days later – potentially causing a two-day production shutdown.

Wingert decided to deliver the product herself. She called the warehouse where the activator was stored to coordinate a pickup time. Once confirmed, she recruited a friend to carry boxes and drove about 40 minutes to the site.

Wingert’s Jeep Cherokee was loaded with eight 50 lb boxes – four in the backseat and four in the trunk – with little room to spare. She drove her fully loaded personal vehicle 90 minutes to her customer’s plant.

This personal touch kept the plant in operation. Wingert values her customers and never wants them to shut down – especially over a gallon of solvent.

Wingert and her customer collaborated on a new process to combat future shipping delays and prevent emergency road trips. The customer now keeps excess activator in a material replenishment cabinet. This allows for safe storage at the facility and more leeway if more shipping delays are encountered.