Case Study: Grafotronic Provides Slitter/Rewinder Solution for Wisconsin Company

Heath Lauterbach, Vice President of Operations at Lauterbach Group, with Grafotronic's HI3 Inspection Slitter/Rewinder. (Courtesy of Grafotronic)

Lauterbach Group Inc., based in Sussex, Wis., has invested in a Grafotronic HI3 Inspection Slitter/Rewinder system – its first machine from the Sweden-headquartered manufacturer.

The Grafotronic HI3 is a third-generation fully servo driven Inspection Slitter/Rewinder machine and features a max speed of 1,300 feet/minute. It allows for the addition of the most popular web inspection systems on the market and accurate fault placement onto an operator-friendly, wide viewing area for removal or replacement of defects. It is upgradable with a semi-automatic turret and Grafotronic's automatic slitting knives, making it one of the most productive and automated slitter-rewinders on the market.

Lauterbach Group is a Wisconsin printer and converter that specializes in pressure sensitive labels, shrink sleeve labels, flexible packaging pouches, and other non-adhesive printed products.

Lauterbach Group presents itself as a traditional company – even though the entire company is modernly run with a strong focus on being lean and automated. The company strives for continuous improvement by investing in automation, state-of-the-art equipment and their valued Group Members.

"We were not happy with our existing machinery, so we invested in the Grafotronic HI3. And I just have to say it's designed really well. It's built really well. We got rid of the old machines and kept only one for ultra-short runs – because we are so productive with the Grafotronic HI3," said Shane Lauterbach, President of Lauterbach Group. "We didn't have to buy another machine… even small run jobs are super-fast."

"It´s just a great piece of equipment. The tension system is awesome. The ease of use is fantastic. The interface is easy to work with," said Heath Lauterbach, Vice President of Operations, adding, "The Grafotronic service team is simply super responsive. Just the fact that you don't have to go through a call center is fantastic. To put it short: the service is rockstar good!"

Grafotronic Inc. is based in Lake Zurich, Ill., and has a team of 10 people. Grafotronic worldwide, founded in 2004, is headquartered in Sweden and operates a 50,000-square-foot factory in Warsaw, Poland. It has sales and service centers in Illinois, Italy, The Netherlands and Bangkok, Thailand.

For more information visit www.grafotronic-us.com.