Bag producer Alpha Poly Packaging Solutions is adding a second flexographic printing press to support its expanding business.
The Brampton, Ontario, firm has ordered a Miraflex AM 8 flexographic press from Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corp. of Lincoln, R.I. The press is scheduled to arrive in December and be in operation several weeks afterward, according to Alpha Poly general manager Patrick Kerrigan.
"We maxed out our existing press," Kerrigan said in a telephone interview.
Alpha Poly is spending more than C$3 million (US$2.9 million) on expansion. In addition to the new printing press it is adding a new laminator from Nordmeccanica SpA of Piacenza, Italy, and a slitter from Deacro Industries Ltd. of Mississauga, Ontario. The investment includes the addition of a 20,000-square-foot warehouse, freeing up more of its 30,000-square feet for manufacturing and office renovation.
"We want to add value to the products and service we offer to help coordinate our customers' packaging under one roof," Kerrigan explained.
The new press is 52 inches wide and equipped with a Turboclean automatic wash-up system, Easy Set HD for automatic impression setting and 3D plate topography, and Easy Reg S for automatic register setting. W&H claims it can run up to 1,300 feet per minute.
Alpha Poly makes a range of food and industrial packaging. It buys polyethylene, PET and oriented polypropylene films for conversion. It processes up to 100,000 pounds of film per week. It was established in 1989 as a PE bag producer for waste management.
Kerrigan said the firm, owned by the Kerrigan family, employs about 50 and will add more when the expansion is done. He declined to provide sales figures. The company formerly was called Alpha Polybag but changed its name early this year to reflect its broader product portfolio.
