AdCal installs Vetaphone corona technology for quality assurance

AdCal specializes in narrow web coating, laminating and slitting of web materials for label, tape, fabric, industrial and specialty applications. Established in 2002 by Adam Stearns and Brian Miller, AdCal developed its niche business supplying markets as diverse as labels for healthcare and electronics, to special products for the oil industry and aircraft manufacturer, Boeing.

AdCal specializes in single and tandem coating with lamination using gravure (direct, reverse or offset), flexo and Mayer Rod techniques, offering contract, custom, pilot and toll services on web widths from 6-30in, as well as printing in up to five colors. Every product coated in-house is also slit on the premises, and the company’s 12 employees work a single-shift, five-day week. This fits with the company’s ethos that extra capacity should come from technology rather than more hours.

The company has previously invested in a 30in coating line to convert larger orders, and this opened a range of new opportunities. However, it was a more recent installation of a custom laminator from South Shore Controls that lead to the investment in Vetaphone corona technology. Designed and built specifically for prototyping and testing of small scale short runs, the new machine is suited to testing products that can subsequently be scaled up for small batch production. Still being commissioned, the laminator will typically run 5,000 feet a day across a 7in web width.

‘We knew that corona treatment would allow us to expand our product range by increasing the number of substrates we could process, especially with water based adhesives,’ explained Stearns.

Vetaphone technology guarantees a pinhole-free end product across a range of pre-tested substrates, which was key to AdCal’s investment decision.

On choosing Vetaphone, Miller added: ‘The design is way ahead of anything else and the open design makes access for cleaning and maintenance so simple. We also like the stainless steel backing roller because it eliminates any risk of web contamination, which is vital when you’re trying to run controlled tests.’

Looking ahead, the company is planning to add to its capacity with a wider web machine capable of 30ft/min.