Australian converters undertake Lean manufacturing program

Two leading Australian label converters, Labelcraft, located in New South Wales, and Victoria-based Labelhouse, are participating in a Lean manufacturing program being undertaken by the Printing Industries Association of Australia in a push to improve industry competitiveness.

The companies have signed on for the competitive manufacturing program which Printing Industries has branded ‘Lean & Green’, given its focus on production and operating efficiencies and Sustainable Green Print (SGP) which incorporates the elements of environmental waste management.

Last year, the Australian label industry’s association, Latma, organized specialist Lean manufacturing workshops.  The association’s president, Frank Gavrilos, has welcomed the Printing Industry initiative and indicated that Latma will encourage its members to participate in this latest undertaking.

Citing examples of waste in the workplace, the Printing Industry’s Ian Walz said that although a job may take several days to be completed, it may only be worked on for five or six hours. ‘The rest of the time it is waiting for machine space and being moved in and out of storage,’ he said.

Gavrilos confirmed that some of the 2010 workshop participants had seen remarkable improvements in efficiency and reductions in wastage. ‘The labeling industry in Australia is hell-bent on improving its efficiencies and these courses are today seen as mandatory for aware modern managements,’ he said.