Watershed Packaging installs Universal X6

Watershed Packaging has installed an X6 slitter from Universal Converting Equipment to facilitate quick turnarounds of orders of slit rolls.

Watershed Packaging has installed an X6 slitter from Universal Converting Equipment to facilitate quick turnarounds of orders of slit rolls

Watershed Packaging is a label and flexible packaging producer with three production sites, including a recently completed custom-built factory in Leeds. To meet its production requirements, the company needed a slitting machine with fast set-up times to slit material used within its converting operations. It chose the Universal X6 to meet this need, owing to its automatic shear knife set-up, ease of operation and closed loop tension control. 

Stephen Walker, managing director of Watershed Packaging, said: ‘Our business is built on service and quality. Being able to produce high quality slit rolls with a quick turnaround allows us to respond quickly to the needs of our customers. We had purchased a used machine but the quality and service was poor. The Universal X6 has been excellent since its installation.

‘We slit a lot of PET films which require shear slitting to obtain a good edge. The automatic shear knife setting system removes the need for our operators to handle knives and heavy shafts and is both very quick and very accurate. Job changes now take a few minutes. The recipe system ensures the operator always sets the machine correctly and closed loop tension control means all the rolls are wound at the correct tension. This raises the productivity of our converting operation as we always have good rolls.’

The Universal X6 is designed for processing flexible materials, and a typical specification includes digital web guiding, automatic knife setting (ComputaSlit), an additional tension zone through slitting, closed loop rewind tension control, constant geometry contact rollers, automatic core alignment (ComputaCore) and a running speed of 600m/min. The integrated drive and control system offers precision and repeatability with extensive diagnostics including dynamic circuit diagrams. A typical changeover, including setting 20 shear knives, can take less than two minutes.

‘Watershed Packaging is a forward-thinking company and decided to invest in technology which both reduces cost and improves product quality,’ said Alan Jones, Universal Converting Equipment managing director. ‘Many companies accept the downtime during set-up and the waste produced whilst the correct settings are found. Watershed wanted a better solution and we have proved the X6 slitter rewinder is the ideal machine. Load cell tension feedback, automatic knife positioning and core alignment dramatically reduce downtime and increases the time the machine is making money. By integrating the technology, we are able to offer a high performance machine at a very competitive price.’