To celebrate TPC’s fast growth and latest awards, Koenig & Bauer’s German and U.S. executives visited the TPC headquarters in Chattanooga, TN. (Left to right) Kurt Schmissrauter, TPC vice president; Ken Kozol, TPC general manager; Dr. Stephen Kimmich, Koenig & Bauer AG CFO; Dr. Andreas Plesske, Koenig & Bauer AG CEO; Joseph A. Schmissrauter III, TPC president; Kilian Renschler, Koenig & Bauer US/CA president and CEO; Hilda Murray, TPC executive vice president; Sam Creel, Koenig & Bauer sales manager; and Gerrit Zwergel, Koenig & Bauer US/CA senior vice president of finance and CFO

Sales have rapidly grown by more than 50% since the Rapida installation while gaining massive improvements in efficiency and costs

• The new Rapida running 24/7 is essential in serving TPC’s luxury packaging industry clients
• The new Rapida 105 PRO’s in-line perfector has saved in excess of one million impressions
• Prestigious PPC 2021 award for its Box-in-a-Box produced on the Rapida is one of eight packaging awards routinely captured each year
• Only world-class packaging provider in the world to offer large format inline foil, offline hot stamp, and digital foil under one roof

“If you can imagine it, we can build it” is the motto at TPC Printing & Packaging, the nation’s leader in packaging innovation. After nearly 100 years in business, the family-owned third generation Chattanooga, Tennessee packaging printer continues to unveil notable advances and new capabilities for its customers. With that motto front-of-mind, the firm’s owners turned to Koenig & Bauer, their long-time press manufacturer partner, to build a new Rapida 105 PRO perfector press that would dazzle its high-end customers, combine decorative effects such as coatings, foils, and other special enhancements for its creatives, and produce eye-catching packaging for the luxury market it serves.

The new press, which arrived in mid-2020, has certainly achieved its multi-prong purpose. Its main goal was to reach new levels of quality and output while reducing turnaround time and increasing efficiency. The Rapida 105 PRO is also tasked to increase the firm’s sustainability and environmental initiatives.

In a one-year period, TPC documented that it was able to save in excess of one million impressions by running in-line perfecting rather than a separate back print machine pass. Due to the inline cold foil system on the new Rapida 105 PRO, TPC has reduced its offline conventional hot foil stamping presses from running 24 hours/day to only running one shift per day.

“These are massive improvements to efficiency and cost,” says Joseph A. Schmissrauter III, president of TPC Packaging, “not to mention the elimination of many stamping dies. The new press is running 24/7 alongside our other Koenig & Bauer Rapida eight-color press that is running 16/7. Our press operators are clamoring to get on the press due to the new integration features right from the console. Sales at TPC have grown by more than 50% since we installed the new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 105 PRO. It has eliminated a lot of machine hours on related equipment.”

Schmissrauter describes the new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 105 PRO 10-color as a dream machine. “We are now running most of our cosmetic packaging that requires full coverage inside printing through the new press utilizing the perfector between units two and three and still having the ability to print eight-colors plus coating on the top side,” he says. “Similarly, a lot of our work that was produced using MPE or traditional hot foil stamping is now being done in-line using the cold foil system on the new press.”

While TPC can supply its creative customers with an infinite number of design ideas, it is also being asked for more sustainable and environmental options for materials and processes. Sustainability and environmentally friendly trends are huge initiatives in the luxury packaging marketplace, says Schmissrauter. Its inline cold foil unit, which is used on about 50% of the work going through the new Rapida, is significantly more environmentally friendly. The foil application process is very similar to digital foil in that the plastic ‘carrier’ is not transferred in the process. Its customers are basically getting a ‘foil transfer’ type process.

Recently, the firm garnered another prestigious award for its Box-in-a-Box multifaceted nesting design at the Paperboard Packaging Council’s 2021 meeting. The unique self-promotion product, printed on the new Rapida 105 PRO, features 12 structures within one compact package and showcases a variety of decoration techniques including silk screen printing, film lamination, digital foils/polymers, Ecoshine foil, in-line cold foil, holographic effects, cast and cure film, and a fully embellished cover wrap. It displays TPC’s excellent converting capacities through its use of haptic technology and specialized treatments.

One of TPC’s biggest draws is its unwavering support for its customers. As a result of Covid and the travel restrictions that accompanied the pandemic in 2020, TPC mounted a new color correct 5G high resolution camera on the delivery of the new Rapida press to provide a unique remote ‘virtual approval’ process. TPC can connect with their clients using easily available apps like ZOOM or Microsoft Teams. The camera has pan and zoom features that can dig down into very small areas of the press sheet for evaluation by the client. TPC can then make subtle color and/or registration moves that can easily be seen using their system. Their customers can be anywhere in the world and can see real time footage of their jobs and conduct a press approval in the safety and comfort of their offices.

“Koenig & Bauer builds the best printing presses in the world and its presses are manufactured at the highest level of engineering and craftsmanship,” says Schmissrauter. “Our new press has enabled us to continue to grow and produce exceptional packages for our luxury clientele. It is an integral component of our production process.”

www.tpcpackaging.com