Most people are acquainted with the paper tubes used as carriers of paper towels, bathroom tissue, and gift wrapping. But there are other paper tube and core applications you might not know about. Furniture frames, automotive filters, yarn packaging, paint rollers, and even rocket launcher tubes are just some of the specialty products converted by Yazoo Mills, New Oxford, PA.
Earlier this year, Yazoo Mills received a production boost by installing 3 identical one-color,
free-standing Bell-Mark flexographic printers
on the front end of 3 separate Paco spiral tube winders.
The purchase has upgraded Yazoo Mills printing capability
dramatically, reports Earl Noel, Jr. president. "These
units do an excellent job of inexpensive printing
right on the paperboard." Before the upgrade
to Bell-Mark's printers, the company preprinted labels
or liners. Yazoo Mills now prints directly on the
top ply of either the inner or outer tube, with a
5" wide continuous repeat of a customer's identification,
logo, color stripe, etc. Multicolor jobs are serviced
outside its manufacturing facility.
Yazoo Mills is a leading independent manufacturer
of paper tubes and cores whose niche lies in the quick
service, small quantity, quality end of the business.
"There are no minimum orders, which is quite
unusual in this business," says Noel. "Our
forte is that we guarantee the product will be shipped
within 48 hours." In addition, says Noel, Yazoo
Mills has a computerized management system with proprietary
software to keep track of repeat orders, among other
things.
Noel believes Bell-Mark's machine is "the best
in-line printer for our applications on the market.
It really lends itself to the uncomplicated approach
that we have. With some of the other machines, the
paper is pulled by the plate, resulting in a lot of
plate wear." He goes on to explain that Bell-Mark's
"S-Wrap" unit drives the machine; the paper
web passes around the circumference of 2 rolls, creating
an "S" shape.
Yazoo Mills uses only recycled paperboard in the manufacture
of its cores and tubes. As a service to its customers,
the company shreds, bales, and sends the cores back
to the paper mills to complete a closed loop recycling
effort. Because of the hardness of cores, a lot of
recycled paper mills will not take them. Yazoo Mills
keeps the cycle going by shredding the material first
with a custom built Blower Application Company shredder.
Cores and tube sizes range from 3/4" up to almost
2' in diameter. Lengths are generally from 1/4"
up to 45', but they can be longer. Core walls can
be manufactured up to 1" thick, and dozens of
finishes, colors, and surface treatments are available.
Yazoo
Mills has a long and prosperous history. Founded in
1902 in Yazoo City, MS, the company moved to Brooklyn,
NY in 1928 and eventually settled in Hanover, PA in
1936. In 1981, Yazoo moved to New Oxford, PA and expanded
that plant in 1984. Company literature proclaims,
"If it's round and made of paper, we can manufacture
it." With the Bell-Mark units, Yazoo Mills could
add, "and we can print it."
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