A Westrock plant in North Carolina converted from dry blanket cleaning cloth to Baldwin’s PREPAC. The company reported savings of more than $100,000 in savings, increased productivity and improved sustainability.
Baldwin’s PREPAC “pre-impregnated” cloth rolls provide high ink and lint absorption capacity, so printers can achieve blanket-cleaning results that are 100 percent accurate and efficient with every ABC (automatic blanket cleaner) wash, according to the manufacturer.
By replacing the dry cloth/solvent-dispensing wash system, for all ink applications, PREPAC reportedly allows fast make readies.
The conversion proved to deliver a faster wash, lowest start-up waste, less cloth consumption and cloth roll changes, longer blanket life and increased productivity.
In September 2021, Westrock evaluated the metrics of the conversion. Within a year, Westrock calculated $100,000 in blanket savings, and an additional $13,000 in wash savings. Blanket and impression cylinder cleaning times were also reduced by more than 50 percent.
WestRock is reportedly the second-largest packaging company in the United States and is one of the largest suppliers of packaging in the world. Founded in 2015 following the merger of MeadWestvaco and RockTenn, Westrock currently has more than 50,000 team members, in more than 300 locations, in 30 countries around the world.
