Starting a company and building everything from the ground up is not for the faint of heart. "It's something I've wanted to do for years, but I still wake up at 3 a.m. and say, 'whoa!'," says Ralph Carpenter, president of Northeast Paper Service, Scarborough, Maine. "You've got to be comfortable taking risks to run your own start-up."
Incorporated in early 1998, Northeast Paper Service started production on July 1 of that year. The company provides converting and finishing services. "We complement the paper mills and enhance their products. We provide services that most mills don't have the capabilities for," explains Carpenter. "I recognized a real need for custom rewinding and packaging. Paper mills are often financially strapped in today's market, and they simply can't invest the capital, so Northeast Paper Service does the work for them."
Carpenter started cautiously by installing one piece of equipment as the centerpiece of his growing operation. He knew a quality slitting system would be the most crucial to his future success.
Not content with uneven cuts or dust, Carpenter opted for the reliability of Dienes. Quality and service are vital to the success of the fledgling Northeast Paper Service. "I chose the Dienes laser system because it is state of the art and can provide the quality of cut that allows us to perform the services we need to offer our customers," says Carpenter.
The Laser Positioning System was built onto a 76-in. Webco winder capable of running speeds of 3,000 fpm. Although installation went fairly smoothly, some minor problems cropped up during the initial run. If Carpenter had any fears about service, they were soon put to rest. Northeast's Dienes service representative was on vacation, but came in to smooth over one small problem. Carpenter says: "I was very impressed. To say that Dienes' service has been very responsive is an understatement."
The Laser Positioning System is mounted between the slitter's side frames. It is composed of a rigid, horizontal cross member equipped with front and rear linear guides, a combination digital linear scale and laser positioning carriage, and shear-cut knife. The laser system can accurately determine, within 0.015 in., precise locations and alignments for the top and bottom knives. The laser also examines the runout of the bottom knives without the operator having to remove them from the shaft.
A digital display unit attached to the laser positioning carriage guides the operator left or right with red direction arrows. The correct cutting edge position is indicated with a green light. Set-up times are typically less than 1 min./cut.
The Dienes knife holders have a quick-change cartridge that allows tool-free removal and replacement of used male knives, also without removing the holders from the mounting rail. The laser system can be used with any of the 200 high-precision Dienes knife designs, giving it the wide range of slitting capabilities Carpenter needed.
"We use the Laser Positioning System to cut all kinds of paper," says Carpenter. "We've used it to slit everything from the lightest weight papers to specialty papers to heavy-weight board. We've had absolutely no complaints about cut-edge quality or dusting."
Carpenter has also discovered an unexpected use for his Dienes system: as a sales tool. When he is courting a prospective client, he makes a point of showing them his slitting system. "They're immediately very impressed by what it can do for them," he says. "They see right off that the system is extremely operator friendly, so there won't be much, if any, scrap."
With such a successful launch under his belt, Carpenter already has plans for installing a second, larger winder. He claims he will demand Dienes slitting systems in all his future equipment purchases.
"I'm nothing but impressed with Dienes," concludes Carpenter. "Their equipment has done everything they promised me it would do, and their service has been above and beyond my expectations."
Carpenter started cautiously by installing one piece of equipment as the centerpiece of his growing operation. He knew a quality slitting system would be the most crucial to his future success.
Not content with uneven cuts or dust, Carpenter opted for the reliability of Dienes. Quality and service are vital to the success of the fledgling Northeast Paper Service. "I chose the Dienes laser system because it is state of the art and can provide the quality of cut that allows us to perform the services we need to offer our customers," says Carpenter.
The Laser Positioning System was built onto a 76-in. Webco winder capable of running speeds of 3,000 fpm. Although installation went fairly smoothly, some minor problems cropped up during the initial run. If Carpenter had any fears about service, they were soon put to rest. Northeast's Dienes service representative was on vacation, but came in to smooth over one small problem. Carpenter says: "I was very impressed. To say that Dienes' service has been very responsive is an understatement."
The Laser Positioning System is mounted between the slitter's side frames. It is composed of a rigid, horizontal cross member equipped with front and rear linear guides, a combination digital linear scale and laser positioning carriage, and shear-cut knife. The laser system can accurately determine, within 0.015 in., precise locations and alignments for the top and bottom knives. The laser also examines the runout of the bottom knives without the operator having to remove them from the shaft.
A digital display unit attached to the laser positioning carriage guides the operator left or right with red direction arrows. The correct cutting edge position is indicated with a green light. Set-up times are typically less than 1 min./cut.
The Dienes knife holders have a quick-change cartridge that allows tool-free removal and replacement of used male knives, also without removing the holders from the mounting rail. The laser system can be used with any of the 200 high-precision Dienes knife designs, giving it the wide range of slitting capabilities Carpenter needed.
"We use the Laser Positioning System to cut all kinds of paper," says Carpenter. "We've used it to slit everything from the lightest weight papers to specialty papers to heavy-weight board. We've had absolutely no complaints about cut-edge quality or dusting."
Carpenter has also discovered an unexpected use for his Dienes system: as a sales tool. When he is courting a prospective client, he makes a point of showing them his slitting system. "They're immediately very impressed by what it can do for them," he says. "They see right off that the system is extremely operator friendly, so there won't be much, if any, scrap."
With such a successful launch under his belt, Carpenter already has plans for installing a second, larger winder. He claims he will demand Dienes slitting systems in all his future equipment purchases.
"I'm nothing but impressed with Dienes," concludes Carpenter. "Their equipment has done everything they promised me it would do, and their service has been above and beyond my expectations."