Maritime Paper Products Reduces Waste and Gains Productivity with EFI Escada Packaging Control System

Published: November 23, 2020

Maritime Paper Products announce it made a significant investment to drive productivity, reduce waste and improve its carbon footprint with the purchase of one of the corrugated manufacturing industry’s leading technology solutions, an EFI™ Escada Corrugator Control system from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. The new Escada system being installed at the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based board manufacturer gives Maritime Paper a competitive advantage with the ability to produce higher-quality graphics on superior combined board manufactured with Escada control systems technology.
 
“We convert a full range of corrugated products throughout our three manufacturing plants and the corrugator is the driver of our performance,” said Mark Doyle, Maritime Paper’s manager of capital projects and equipment. “We continuously review all opportunities to improve quality and up time and the EFI Escada system was on our radar for a long time. It has the best reporting system and the best closed-loop system.”
 
Increased automation with leading technology
 
Maritime Paper, a company that uses EFI’s CorrTrim® product for corrugation scheduling, focused its latest investment on core components of the EFI Escada Corrugator Control product line. Escada Profile is a recipe-based process control management system with closed loop warp control designed to produce the highest-quality boards at optimum speeds and with repetitive consistency. The other product purchased, Escada Syncro 7, is designed to manage the corrugator “wet end” control functions automatically to allow the dry end to achieve maximum output. Escada Syncro 7 manages automatic and synchronized splicing, bridge volume control and web breakages to ensure minimal machine downtime and waste. Syncro 7’s intelligent speed control functionality will also give Maritime Paper more tools to boost overall production throughput over time.
 
As a result of the investment in EFI Escada technology, Maritime Paper is poised to reduce its manual operations with increased automation. The system will be installed at Maritime Paper’s Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, operation, but it will also drive efficiencies at the company’s printing and converting facilities in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Moncton, New Brunswick.
 
Making Maritime Paper ‘a more sustainable organization’
 
“Our number-one goal is to reduce waste, not just in paper but in overall operational efficiency. We estimate our waste reduction with Escada will be more than 10%. With better process control we can increase speed and push up time on our corrugator and run a more sustainable operation with benefits that trickle down to every area of the company,” said Sheldon Gouthro, the company’s president and CEO.
 
“We produce over 150 board combinations. Each has a unique recipe requiring specific run speeds, so this technology will give us the best efficiency and quality of our combined board while making rapid, automatic adjustments without comprising the quality of our board,” Gouthro added. “The system develops and saves benchmarks for optimum production so they can be used every time the order is manufactured.”
 
Improving printing quality
 
With the growth in demand for packaging, driven by increased home deliveries across all sectors of the economy, achieving high-quality graphics is a competitive advantage that Maritime Paper is looking to exploit with its clients in the food and beverage industries.
 
“We print six colors and varnish on corrugated sheets. In order to achieve superior graphics, it all starts with the corrugator,” said Doyle. “The Escada system will not only calculate the best production factors, it will also calculate the best formula to produce substrates with fewer variations, less warp, and smoother finishes. That will allow us to produce the high level of graphics and superior printing our customers expect. It will definitely be an advantage for us.”
 
Gouthro and Doyle report a strong working relationship with EFI as a partner in helping the company further improve its operations. “This is a big investment for us,” said Gouthro. “EFI has shown an impressive level of professionalism and commitment to innovation. They have been very supportive of our processes and helpful on every level.”