The merchant installed the new machine (pictured) at its factory in Melbourne. Managing director Simon Doggett told ProPrint that the purchase followed the introduction of a range of “packaging-specific” products.

“We made a strategic decision to enter the packaging arena in a more serious way, and we decided that to do that we need to invest in the right equipment,” he said.

“We had a sheeter, but it didn’t offer us the efficiencies that the new machines out there now offer. It didn’t have the twin-knife and it wasn’t a true board sheeter.”

The new machine has eliminated the post-sheeting process. KW Doggett had been forced to return to guillotining after sheeting to trim and clean up its output.

Simon Doggett also pointed to Paperlinx’s closure of its Burnie and Wesley Vale pulp mills as another factor in the decision to upgrade its sheeting capabilities.

“After the closure of the mills in Tasmania and the production of offset stocks being moved up to the Maryvale mill, there was a heavy reliance on distributors to take on a lot of in-house sheeting,” he said.

Along with the purchase of the SHM 1650 sheeter, the paper merchant has also moved a sheeter from its Brisbane factory to Sydney to cope with the increased demand for custom sheeting services.

KW Doggett purchased the machine through local distributor Graph-Pak, after inspecting the machine at Pemco’s headquarters in the US.

“This machine, by sheeting virtually everything from 45gsm newsprint to heavy coated bleach boards and composite boards, helps us offer a full spectrum to our client base,” Doggett said.

“It also doubles or even quadruples our throughput for some products, facilitates planning, and significantly lowers our converting costs while enhancing our already high quality standards.”

Click here for the latest headline from across the printing industry.

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter