After a decade of sustained growth, Premier Packaging, a subsidiary of DSS, Inc., recently relocated its plant of 30 years in Victor, NY, USA, to a brand new 105,000 square-foot facility in West Henrietta, NY. The company, looking to optimize growth and diversify its customer base, also recently installed a new hybrid Speedmaster XL 106-7+L (equipped for both UV and conventional production), in addition to a refurbished Speedmaster CD 102-5 – both from Heidelberg.

The newest generation Speedmaster, Premier Packaging’s XL 106 was purchased with Heidelberg’s Subscription Smart plan, which includes Prinect Production Manager, Saphira Consumables, and extensive performance and consulting services – all ensuring the press consistently runs at peak performance.

Founded in 1989, Premier Packaging offers a full-range of services including package design, prototyping, manufacturing, inventory management, and securing its customers’ brand’s reputation and authenticity. The company, while maintaining continued expansion through the years, has been fulfilling printing needs with a 40” aqueous press that was purchased used eight years ago. To meet the demands of the market, Premier is now positioned to provide a fully scalable service that is both agile and responsive to their customer needs, big or small.

Premier Packaging recently installed a new seven-color Speedmaster XL 106 with UV capabilities, which will enable the company to print with a wider gamut for “higher end graphics” and on a new range of materials with more diverse coating and special effects. Currently, the company expects to produce about 10% of its work with UV and has a near term goal to transition to using UV more than 50% of the time.

The new XL 106 features autonomous Push-to-Stop technology, AutoPlate Pro, and a completely new operating philosophy, the Heidelberg User Experience, which together with the patented Intellistart 3 and other assistance systems, ensure short make-ready times and the best possible support for press operators.  

“One of things that attracted us to the XL is that we felt we could get up to color quicker and with less waste, enabling us to better service our customers,” says Bruce Stratton, vice president of operations.

Additionally, the new press’ advanced technology has attracted new and experienced talent to Premier Packaging – crucial in today’s tough labor market. “Everyone has been excited to have the new equipment here,” adds Stratton. “We just hired two new employees that were enticed to work for us just because they wanted to work on the XL.”

To fully leverage the technological capabilities of the XL 106, Premier Packaging decided to purchase its newest investment using Heidelberg’s Subscription Smart plan. With Subscription Smart, the company pays a fixed monthly rate for an agreed “pay-per-outcome” print volume. The rate also includes Heidelberg’s full Prinect Production Manager workflow, Saphira Consumables, and access to Heidelberg’s performance and consulting services.

“After running the numbers of owning a press, looking at the maintenance and the service side and also the cost of consumables, Subscription Smart was the best option for us,” states Stratton. “This partnership takes the worry off of us and allows us to get the best value and support for this press.”

Still early in production, Heidelberg experts will soon work together with Premier Packaging’s team to analyze the company’s KPIs, processes, and benchmark data to provide insights about areas for potential improvement – ensuring the company is always producing at maximum productivity. From there, the company plans on maximizing transparency of its production data for its full team – from scheduling to prepress to press. “We’re looking forward to having the tools to measure ourselves and identify opportunities for success,” notes Stratton. “With a good partner, and with this plan, we have what we need to support us each and every day.”

“We are grateful to expand our business and add valuable team members during this transitionary period. We have appreciated working alongside the team at Heidelberg to create a successful outcome and pave the way for our future growth,” adds Jeff Knisley, VP, sales and marketing.

In addition to running Heidelberg products on the new XL 106, Premier Packaging also decided to switch to all Saphira Consumables for its other press purchase, a used Speedmaster CD 102 from Heidelberg Remarketed. While a 2008 model, the CD 102 was fully refurbished by Heidelberg using Original Heidelberg Parts to ensure high quality and a long machine life. The company expects to utilize the CD 102 as its “workhorse” for the many long runs it performs for its existing customers.