Munich, Germany
14th – 16th March 2023
Stand 824
We are pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at ICE Europe again this year. At ICE Europe we will be exhibiting the latest version of our highly automated Universal X8 Slitter.
We will also have one of our popular Universal CCA Automatic Core Cutters on display.
Please contact us if you would like to book an appointment to meet us at the exhibition.
After over 50 years in the converting industry, Mike Wilkinson, known as Wilkie to many, has decided to retire. During his career he has worked for Chambon, Titan/Atlas, Comexi and Kampf until finally ending his career with Universal Converting Equipment.
Commenting on his time in the industry Wilkie said “I have seen the transformation of the packaging industry from paper/cellulose based materials to plastic materials and the rapid growth in packaging to preserve and protect food products. As Managing Director of Titan, I was responsible for the development of a small UK engineering company into one that could compete on a worldwide basis. Finally, at Universal I have seen the same happening. The Universal X8 machine is the best slitting machine I have seen with fantastic automation and it can achieve productivity levels that I am told other manufacturers cannot match. It has been a pleasure to end my career, in the slitting industry, with a company that is technically leading the market.”
Alan Jones, Director, Universal Converting Equipment, added “Mike Wilkinson joined our company at a time when most other people would be retiring. With Universal, he wanted to make a difference. He helped to open the door with Bryce Corporation in the USA, which led to Universal installing an automated slitting operation at their Searcy factory. This $8 million investment was the largest order received by Universal and it has been followed with an order for an additional two X8 slitter rewinders. Personally, I have enjoyed working with MIke and being able to tap into his wealth of knowledge and experience. Mike was taken ill at the recent K2022 exhibition but has thankfully recovered. At Universal, we all wish him the best for the future.”
Following a meeting at K 2022 in Dusseldorf, Bryce Corporation has ordered another two Universal X8 slitting machines from Universal Converting Equipment. The Universal X8 is a highly automated slitting machine. This new order follows on from a major installation of an $8 million Automated Slitting Operation at the Bryce, Searcy, AR, USA facility based on Universal X8 slitting machines.
Mike Wilkinson, Sales Executive of Universal Converting Equipment commented, “I have known The Bryce Corporation for over 40 years and have sold them a lot of equipment over that time. The Universal X8 is a unique machine in how technology has been used to overcome problems that have previously prevented higher productivity. It is great to stand and watch the machine producing set after set of finished rolls without an operator present. The Bryce Corporation has a tradition of investing in tomorrow’s technology to stay at the forefront in the flexible food packaging industry. This new order has followed the success of the recently installed automated slitting and roll handling system at Bryce.”
Sean Bowie, President, Bryce Corporation said “The Bryce Corporation is committed to making long-term investment decisions to ensure they have the Best-in-Class processing equipment to cope with the increased demands from our customers. One of the greatest benefits of this system is the reduced amount of manual lifting required by our value stream team members. We have also recently announced the start of building a new factory in Searcy that will employ an additional 142 people. The novel ideas from Universal Converting Equipment fit with our desire to look for next-generation solutions rather than buying the status quo.
This new order follows the recent installation of an Automated Slitting Operation at the Searcy, AR, USA location of Bryce Corporation. Bryce is a major US supplier of flexible food packaging with the capability to serve both the long-run and short-run production orders. Bryce’s previous slitting operation did not meet the needs of their growing markets. They needed machines with automatic set up to allow job changes in a few minutes together with minimal stop time on completion of a set of finished rolls. Most importantly, the slitting machines had to produce high-quality rolls consistently with minimal operator lifting and intervention.
Universal Converting Equipment is a UK-based manufacturer of slitting and rewinding machines. It was established over 25 years ago and has been developing automation systems for slitting machines from the start. The Universal X8 slitting machine is the culmination of that development. Commenting on the X8 development, Alan Jones, Director said “Efficiency is achieved through attention to detail. We keep looking for processes that can be automated to ensure high quality, consistent operation. For example, all our machines include automatic knife positioning of rotary shear knives and razor blades. We have added automatic control of depth and sideloading of shear knives with micrometer feedback to show the operator the exact position and allow adjustment of both critical parameters whilst the machine is running. Optimum knife setting equals high-quality slits and long blade life. All the functions relating to unloading finished rolls and restarting the machines are automated, so the machine runs without an operator at the rewind. The Universal X8 has been a huge development process. Bryce understood the concepts and the thinking behind the systems on the X8 machine and was prepared to invest in machines that did not conform to the old industry standard. They have seen the results of this installation and followed on with a new order for a further two machines.”
The installation and commissioning of the $8 million Automated Slitting Operation have been overseen by Andy Pratt, Vice President of Manufacturing at Bryce plus his team of Engineers. Andy Pratt commented, “We had some very challenging requirements for our new slitting facility involving major improvements in safety, efficiency, and quality. Universal listened and proposed a solution which was different to other suppliers. All the processes relating to unloading, labelling, bagging and palletizing the finished rolls, along with reloading and positioning the cores and restarting the machine are completely automated with this system. We are excited by the efficiency figures being achieved. The ongoing support from Universal has been excellent during the commissioning phase and since we have been in operation.”
Bryce Corporation continues to grow with the investment in the latest slitting and roll handling technology at their Searcy, AR, USA location. Bryce is a major US supplier of flexible food packaging with the capability to serve both the long run and short run production orders. Bryce’s previous slitting operation did not meet the needs of their growing markets. They needed machines with automatic set up to allow job changes in a few minutes together with minimal stop time on completion of a set of finished rolls. Most importantly, the slitting machines had to produce high quality rolls consistently with minimal operator lifting and intervention.
Bryce has recently contracted Universal Converting Equipment to supply multiple automatic Universal X8 slitting machines with automatic unloading, labelling, roll handling, roll bagging through to robotic palletizing. Universal Converting Equipment is responsible for the supply of the equipment and also the control system for the complete system including data transfer to and from the Bryce ERP system.
Universal Converting Equipment is a UK-based manufacturer of slitting and rewinding machines. It was established over 25 years ago and has been developing automation systems for slitting machines from the start. The Universal X8 slitting machine is the culmination of that development. Commenting on the X8 development, Alan Jones, Director said “Efficiency is achieved through attention to detail. We keep looking for processes that can be automated to ensure high quality, consistent operation. For example, all our machines include automatic knife positioning of rotary shear knives and razor blades. We have added automatic control of depth and sideloading of shear knives with micrometer feedback to show the operator the exact position and allow adjustment of both critical parameters whilst the machine is running. Optimum knife setting equals high quality slits and long blade life. All the functions relating to unloading finished rolls and restarting the machines are automated, so the machine runs without an operator at the rewind. The Universal X8 has been a huge development process. Bryce understood the concepts and the thinking behind the systems on the X8 machine and was prepared to invest in machines that did not conform to the old industry standard. They can now see the results.”
Sean Bowie, President, Bryce Corporation said “The Bryce Corporation is committed to making long term investment decisions to ensure they have the Best-in-Class processing equipment to cope with the increased demands from our customers. One of the greatest benefits of this system is the reduced amount of manual lifting required by our value stream team members. We have also recently announced the start of building a new factory in Searcy that will employ an additional 142 people. The novel ideas from Universal Converting Equipment fitted with our desire to look for next generation solutions rather than buying the status quo.
The installation and commissioning have been overseen by Andy Pratt, Vice President of Manufacturing at Bryce plus his team of Engineers. Andy Pratt commented, “We had some very challenging requirements for our new slitting facility involving major improvements in safety, efficiency, and quality. Universal listened and proposed a solution which was different to other suppliers. All the processes relating to unloading, labelling, bagging and palletizing the finished rolls, along with reloading and positioning the cores and restarting the machine are completely automated with this system. We are excited by the efficiency figures being achieved. The ongoing support from Universal has been excellent during the commissioning phase and since we have been in operation.”
Universal Converting Equipment manufactures most of its mechanical components in its own machine shop. This ensures the continuity of supply of component parts and allows the rapid development of new designs.
As the business has grown, there has been a need to expand the capacity and Universal has recently installed another large format CNC mill. This mill can machine large side frames for machines and multiple smaller components. It shares the same programming software as many of our other machine tools meaning that within a week of its arrival, it was in full production. It has the capability to run without supervision allowing products to be manufactured overnight.
Commenting on the investment, Dave Ward, Director of Universal Converting Equipment said “This is the latest investment in our state of the art machine shop. We were very pleased that we were able to bring the new mill into production without disrupting our existing production. Having control of our own component part manufacturing has helped us service our customers effectively at times of supply chain disruption. We have also expanded the size of the machine shop to allow further growth in the future.
Universal has recently purchased an additional building close to its production operation. The building is currently undergoing refurbishment and decoration. The building will be equipped with the latest machinery from Universal and will be a dedicated demonstration facility for customers to see how this technology will deliver real benefits to their businesses.
Commenting on the investment, Alan Jones, Director of Universal Converting Equipment said “We have invested heavily in developing class leading slitting and winding machines. Many of the developments have never been seen before by our customers. This new facility will create the best environment to demonstrate this exciting new technology away from the production halls. Although we can explain to customers the benefits of our automation and control systems, demonstrating it by running the customer’s material with them watching is far more powerful.”
