Finishing & Screen Printing
Heidelberg Technology Enables Allied Printing To Drive Growth
Tuesday 09. November 2010 - Allied Printing Co., Inc. in Ferndale, Mich. combines its expertise in a variety of core services with the best tools at its disposal to solve customers problems.
The companys practical approach to growing a successful business has paid off in terms of customer loyalty and market reach: In addition to offering printing, mailing, information management, warehousing and fulfillment, Allied regularly collaborates with clients to develop program services and “hybrid products” tailored to the scope of customer projects.
Allieds toolbox boasts a powerhouse pressroom lineup and a bindery stocked with Heidelberg equipment. The company operates a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 6-color press, a Speedmaster SM 74 6-color perfector, and a Heidelberg GTO 2-color perfector. The companys bindery, meanwhile, hosts a Stahl TH 82 continuous-feed folder, a pair of 45″ POLAR cutting systems, and a recently acquired Varimatrix 105 CS die cutter. Allieds pressroom also runs on Heidelberg Saphira consumables, rollers, chemicals, and binding supplies, and the company currently is negotiating a contract to purchase Saphira inks.
The purchase of a Varimatrix die cutter marks Allieds entry into the die cutting arena, Vice President of Operations Tony Pelc said. Although it had been getting expensive to farm out the work to a third party, the primary reason for bringing the capability in house was concern “for getting our products to the market more quickly,” Pelc explained. Allied currently runs the Varimatrix for one full shift per day, seven days a week, although the company expects that growing volumes and customer demand prompt the addition of a second shift.
“The Varimatrix is a great piece of equipment supplied by a top-flight manufacturer,” Pelc said. “It has enabled us to accomplish exactly what we intended in terms of accelerated turnaround and quicker time to market.”
Established in 1952, Allied Printing Co. migrated to offset in the 1970s and thence to database and information management in the 90s, while continuing to emphasize commercial sheetfed offset printing. Today, roughly 70 percent of Allieds printed work is offset, 30 percent digital, performed for clients involved in automotive financing, healthcare, retail, food products, medical supplies and education. The company currently employs a staff of 82 people.
The company acknowledges the critical importance of a supplier partner like Heidelberg, which delivers superior quality, along with value-added service and support.
“Heidelberg equipment is built to last and guaranteed to produce quality work,” he said. “I would never look elsewhere.”