Acucote Installs Martin Automatic Splicer

Published: October 27, 2011

GRAHAM, NC | Custom coating and laminating converter ACUCOTE has recently installed a Martin Automatic ECPF splicer and reportedly is well on course for an 18-month payback on the investment.

The company, which was founded in 1987 to supply commodity work, has more recently specialized in providing custom applications that do not fit other suppliers’ stock lists. Working a triple-shift pattern for five or six days a week, Acucote claims its lines run best nonstop, because this removes the need for manual splicing that can be unreliable and always wastes time and substrate.

According to Paul Sanborn, VP of manufacturing at Acucote, “We tried to develop our own solution for an unwinder, but it didn’t give us the desired results and ended up being very problematical.” Acucote knew of Martin Automatic’s reputation in web handling and approached the company for a nonstop splicer, initially without giving the manufacturer a full brief.

Sanborn says, “The first splicer and infeed we bought 14 years ago was a fine piece of equipment but didn’t perform quite as we expected because we hadn’t been completely honest with the brief.” Acucote learned its lesson, according to Sanborn, and now gives a full brief to the Martin team. “The questions they ask are the reasons their equipment is so well-engineered,” he added.

Working with Martin engineers and technical sales, Acucote equipped their adhesive coating lines with Martin splicers for both the wet and dry unwinds, and with Martin automatic transfer rewinders. As part of its mission to provide technically complex, high value self-adhesive products, the company runs a wide variety of substrates, including paper, paperboard, film, and fabric. With many jobs averaging only about 5,000 ft, frequent material changes are necessary.

“When we are adding adhesive to this range of substrates, changing jobs from one to the next can be challenging, but the Martin splicers and rewinders have no problem accommodating the diversity of substrates and handling roll changes without stopping,” he stated.

With the installation of the new ECPF splicer, Sanborn confirmed that Acucote is now a completely “Martin Automatic house,” with all full-web unwinding and rewinding equipment supplied by the Rockford-based manufacturer.