Nobelus, a thermal laminate and unsupported film supplier in the general commercial print and prime label industries, has seen increased growth in recent years and is expanding its slitting operations through the acquisition of AccuFilm’s equipment. Based out of Hebron, OH, USA, AccuFilm is a custom contract slitting facility that has long provided its customers with state-of-the-art slitting capabilities for a wide range of materials, in addition to other services.

After 30 years in contract slitting, AccuFilm’s founder and president, Bradley Smith, made plans to retire. His conversations with the leadership team at Nobelus revealed a synergistic opportunity. “As a vendor to Nobelus, we realized that their need for increased capacity aligned with the assets AccuFilm possessed and that this would be a good use of those assets and help facilitate my future plans,” says Smith. “I feel very comfortable with how the deal came together and appreciate Nobelus’ willingness to keep their word and be an excellent partner throughout the process.”

The acquisition has been finalized, and the equipment purchased will hereafter be used exclusively by Nobelus for in-house slitting of the company’s thermal laminates and unsupported films. Existing AccuFilm customers who do not currently purchase laminates through Nobelus will be referred to an associated slitting service. All slitters and supporting equipment will be relocated to Nobelus’ facilities in Tennessee and Illinois to increase production volumes. These additional assets will help decrease lead times and better support clients as the company accommodates a growing customer base and broader offerings in its laminate and unsupported film portfolio. 

Nobelus will be adding five large slitting lines to its production workflow, three of which are Ashe slitters. These units will grant a boost to the company’s slitting speed and accuracy, using some of the best equipment in the industry. An 80″ Dusenbery and 52″ Cameron slitter will also be integrated into Nobelus’ production lineup. Hoists, forklifts, roll offset units, and a variety of other support equipment included in the purchase will supplement slitting operations and enable Nobelus to fulfill more orders with greater efficiency. 

This increase in production capabilities comes at an opportune time as Nobelus has seen growth in an increasingly scarce labor market. With the company’s recent addition of a comprehensive unsupported film portfolio, demand is reaching an all-time high with an influx of new customers. Nobelus’ leadership team anticipates that output will at minimum double due to increased slitting capacity.

Customers should see orders shipped more quickly with shorter lead times, an outcome that reflects the company’s dedication to consistently improving the customer experience. 

“Given our strong growth and continued expansion plans, the AccuFilm acquisition makes perfect sense for our next steps in the specialty laminate and film market,” says Steve Truan, CEO of Nobelus. “We are building on a strong foundation of production know-how and the best equipment in the business, which Brad Smith and his team at AccuFilm have applied in the marketplace for many years.”

Truan is hopeful that production volumes will exceed projected metrics once all the new slitter units are integrated into existing workflows.