3C! PACKAGING

3C! FINDS GROWTH IN CORE MARKET SEGMENT DIVERSIFYING INTO PHARMACEUTICAL PACKAGING COMPONENTS PROVIDES SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS U.S. COMPANY.

BY JACKIE SCHULTZ

Joe Elphick with his daughters Joey Elphick (left) and Jessy Elphick.

S-based 3C! Packaging, literature, labels and foils. Customers with the exception of folding cartons, formerly known as Colonial can also choose from a full menu of are new within the last five to 10 years. U Carton Co., is an independent support services, such as graphic and Explaining his vision for expansion, privately-owned pharmaceutical structural design, product launch Joe Elphick, founder and CEO, says packaging solutions company in packaging, anti-counterfeiting he intentionally opted not to follow Clayton, North Carolina. Products solutions and variable data and the traditional model of building include custom folding cartons, printed serialization. Many of the products, multiple plants around the country.

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Folding cartons are printed and diecut on 40-inch Koenig & Bauer Rapida 105 offset presses.

“In the pharmaceutical world you Printed literature is about 25-30 percent As one might imagine, the would have a plant in the Northeast, and labels are less than 10 percent. operation requires a significant Southeast, Chicago, etcetera, but I In 10 years annual sales have amount of state-of-the-art processes didn’t want to do that. It’s too hard more than doubled, increasing and machine technology to produce to manage. I wanted a better way to mid-$40 million. the broad range of end products. to grow this organization and then Folding cartons are printed it dawned on me. Since our folding 24/7 Operation on Koenig & Bauer Rapida 105 carton customers love us, let’s come Nearly 300 employees work at offset presses (a four- and seven- up with more things to sell them. the Clayton facility on CCC Drive. color). The Rapida’s were the We jumped into printed literature Operating 24/7, the manufacturing first in the U.S. to have Koenig & first and then about three or four area bustles with high-speed Bauer’s Qualitronic II inline sheet years ago we added labels.” performance and throughput. “Our inspection quality control systems. The additional product offerings DNA is quick turnaround time,” 3C! has three Koenig & Bauer provide diversification within the core Elphick says. A few years ago the Iberica blankers. The newest, an business and offer a one-stop shop CGMP (Current Good Manufacturing I-Press 106 K, was installed about to customers. “Now they can buy Practice regulations enforced by the three years ago. It is the latest the folding carton, the insert and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) generation of diecutters made by label from one vendor,” Elphick says. manufacturing facility was expanded Koenig & Bauer Iberica and features Folding cartons represent about to 120,000 sq ft and it is already many electronic advances making it 50-60 percent of the total business. outgrowing the added space. a premier solution for folding carton

3C! has three Koenig & Bauer Iberica blankers. The newest, an I-Press 106 K, was installed about three years ago.

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converters. The feeder is servo driven The installation almost 10 years however, most of the cutting dies for so carton converters can control ago of a four-color 17-inch Mark the Ibericas are purchased from an the timing on the fly, and it has both Andy flexo press provided an entrée outside source. “We used to make circumferential and lateral registration into the insert market. Today, inserts 100 percent of our dies but it just cameras that guarantee sheet to sheet (the directions that come inserted became too busy,” Elphick says. registration. This feature for the front with pharmaceutical packaging) Paper roll stock is sheeted and side-lay registration is called are printed on high-speed roll fed on a new Barry-Wehmiller OPMR (Optical Print Mark Register). offset Didde presses and then cut on MarquipWardUnited Apollo TSKM The I-Press offers many specialized Heidelberg Polar high-speed cutters, sheeter. The predominant folding features, including lateral displacement A new Vijuk patented MV-11 triple carton stock used in the plant is SBS. of the pile by a laser system to ensure knife folder for inserts/outserts Custom corrugated shipping perfect positioning. The touch screen can fold up to 350 panels. 3C! was containers are produced on a can control total movement of the one of the first installations. Packsize® On Demand Packaging® sheet. The operator can easily advance or delay the arrival of the sheet to the front lays, thus improving the register at high production speeds. The machine is capable of running at speeds up to 15,000 sheets per hour. Cartons are glued on Bobst Alpina II folder-gluers.

Beyond Cartons Expanding beyond folding cartons has required a major investment in new technology, processes and quality assurance. Labels are produced on eight- and 10-color Nilpeter 13-inch presses. The presses run all types of labels,

including paper, mylar and foil A new Vijuk patented MV-11 triple knife folder for inserts/outserts can fold up to 350 panels.

In-house capabilities provide Labels are produced on eight- and 10-color Nilpeter flexibility and fast turnaround. All of 13-inch presses. the inserts are packed in custom- made paperboard trays, which are produced in-house. “This comes back to speed,” Elphick says. “We were waiting three to four weeks for trays and they were expensive.” Printing plates for the roll fed

and sheet fed offset and flexo Solimar Ramos monitors all jobs. presses are also made in-house. The scheduler monitors jobs via machine, which is another new three computer screens, tracking investment and one more way orders and managing any last- to provide customers with minute changes. “We have to move fast turnaround of orders. things around a lot,” Elphick says. The business management software The Future is from ASI Computer Systems. Elphick started Colonial Carton 3C! has a cutting die room with in 1979. The company’s success Gerber diemaking equipment, has been despite a few major

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setbacks including a fire in 2005 to a new level,” he says, adding that amount of time he spends managing that destroyed the building and a lot of companies use ink jet the company, delegating to his most of the equipment. Membership printers for the codes, but management team. “I’ve got a really of the Independent Carton Group consumables are costly and the good management team. They are (ICG), along with the support of quality isn’t as good. “All customers very bright people. Growth excites several suppliers, including Koenig & have to do is order cartons or labels everybody. It is the team here that Bauer, Iberica and Bobst, helped the from us with our Clear Code on them. does it all. Our core value is teamwork.” company rebuild. Elphick has been There are no consumables.” Signs posted around the facility loyal to those suppliers ever since. Currently, Elphick is evaluating reinforce the corporate mission. They It has been an interesting journey digital technology for folding read: “Why do we exist? To build to watch Colonial Carton evolve cartons and is close to making an a great company & great people.” into 3C! Packaging. Elphick says he investment. While he is hesitant “This is our core purpose,” Elphick changed the name because “Colonial” to specify, he did say, “It’s going says. “The whole management had a perception of being old and to address the digital market and team lives and breathes this.” n traditional. Also, he wanted to take it might not be digital printing.” the word “carton” out of the name. Recently, Elphick’s daughters SERIALIZATION SOLUTION 3C! reflects the present-day product Joey and Jessy Elphick. have A recent noteworthy innovation offerings and the exclamation point joined 3C!. Joey is Vice President of is 3C!’s Clear Code, clear is about exceeding expectations in Operations and Jessy is an account laser imaging coding for the marketplace. “Customers who manager in the sales department. pharmaceutical serialization do business with us are surprised at “I’m very proud of them. That’s been that optimizes production line what we can do for them,” he says. one of the biggest changes here. They speeds and enhances visual Looking ahead, Elphick says his really added to the culture of quality. By employing a low biggest opportunity for growth is in the company,” he says. “When they or high wattage CO2, fiber, carton insert combinations where an came on board they said, ‘Dad, or Yag laser and proprietary insert and a label are applied to a it’s amazing what you’ve done all color change technology, 3C! carton. Another growth sector is Clear these years but it’s not the best is able to offer high-contrast Code for serialization (see sidebar company in the world to work for. imaging on a colorless coating. article). “It has really taken serialization You’ve got to be the best company “It’s a real game changer in serialization,” Elphick says. The Clayton, N.C. facility on CCC Drive was expanded to 120,000 sq ft and it is already outgrowing the added space.

The code is validated with in-house laser equipment located in a separate room. This eliminates the need for the traditional laser ablated black box, Elphick explains, adding that Clear Code provides superior clarity, in the world.” He says his daughters contrast and resolution of the introduced team building exercises, final image with a fully validated anniversary celebrations and process. The technology is other functions that have had a compatible with folding carton, positive affect on the employees. inserts, labels and Tyvek®. Elphick has since reduced the

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