Sempre-i cold glue application, CleanStart technology, advanced inspection and Monet software give J.S. McCarthy the confidence to increase production speeds without sacrificing quality.
As J.S. McCarthy in Augusta, ME, continues its strategic transition from commercial printing toward folding carton production, the company has made significant investments in technology designed to increase the productivity of its existing BOBST folder gluers.
Batch inverters, automated feeding and Bobst CartonPack 4 technologies were helping remove bottlenecks at the beginning and end of the production line. But as the company gained significantly higher production potential, one critical part of the process became a limiting factor: glue application and quality inspection. “We recognized that the current systems on those machines were not going to take the pace and the speed that these other upgrades were going to afford to us,” explained Ryan Smith, Production Manager at J.S. McCarthy.
Rather than allowing the glue system to become the bottleneck, J.S. McCarthy began researching alternatives. After evaluating multiple suppliers, the company selected W. H. Leary, and installed an Array system featuring Sempre-i cold glue valves, glue inspection, barcode verification and Monet operating software.
The Challenge: Increasing Speed Exposed the Limits of Existing Glue Technology
J.S. McCarthy operates three BOBST folder gluers and produces primarily straight-line and auto-bottom cartons. As folding carton production became an increasingly important part of the business, the company began modernizing the equipment surrounding its existing gluers.
One of the most significant improvements was the addition of a CartonPack system, which dramatically increased the production capability of one line. “The CartonPack 4 has allowed us to double our run speeds, and in some cases, achieve even faster production rates.” Higher production speeds have created several concerns. The previous glue valves relied on piston technology that J.S. McCarthy found increasingly problematic at faster operating speeds. As the piston cycled faster, heat could affect the adhesive and contribute to inconsistent application and misfires.
“We wanted to run them much, much faster than we did at the time, and we knew that just wasn’t possible with the technology that we had”, Smith explained. The previous system provided also only had linear glue inspection, verifying the beginning and end of the glue pattern. J.S. McCarthy wanted greater assurance that the entire application was correct, even as increased automation would reduce the amount of manual product handling. J.S. McCarthy needed a solution capable of keeping pace with its increasingly automated folder gluer operation while simultaneously improving quality assurance.
The Solution: Sempre-i Application and Advanced Inspection
Leary equipped the folder gluer with four Sempre-i cold glue valves, glue inspection and barcode verification. The Sempre-i technology gave J.S. McCarthy the high-speed adhesive application capability it needed to take advantage of the productivity improvements elsewhere on the line. Just as important was Leary’s approach to glue inspection, including glue volume control.
“We didn’t even know that the volume control was an option,” Smith said. “We quickly implemented it, and it’s been great.” That additional level of inspection became especially valuable as the company moved away from manual inspection. Smith added, “We previously relied heavily on manual inspection for quality control. With the addition of the Leary Glue System and CartonPack 4, we have significantly reduced the reliance on human inspection and now utilize automated inspection technology as intended to ensure consistent quality.” The results speak for themselves: since installing the CartonPack 4 with the Leary glue application, glue inspection with volume, and barcode verification system, J.S. McCarthy has had zero glue failures, customer complaints, or quality issues. Running faster no longer had to mean accepting greater quality risk.
CleanStart: A Simple Feature That Became a “Game Changer”
One of the most noticeable day-to-day improvements for J.S. McCarthy operators came from a deceptively simple piece of Sempre-i technology; CleanStart.
With the previous glue system, every production interruption meant additional maintenance. If an operator stopped the gluer for a 15-minute break, each valve would need to be purged before production could begin again. Across four glue valves, multiple shifts and three folder gluers, that process created both downtime and substantial adhesive waste. The adhesive being purged was collected in trays underneath the equipment, CleanStart changed that routine. “You could literally stop running a gluer on Friday, show up Monday morning, fire it up, and you don’t purge anything”, Smith explained.
Operators who initially questioned whether such a simple feature could make a meaningful difference quickly became advocates. “CleanStart looks so simple, but it’s a game changer, 100%,” Smith said. This translates into less wasted adhesive, less cleanup and fewer interruptions before production can resume. J.S. McCarthy is now tracking adhesive consumption to quantify the reduction in wasted glue.
Monet Software Makes Advanced Technology Easier to Use
Introducing a new operating platform did require an adjustment for experienced operators who had spent decades working with another system. Leary worked with the J.S. McCarthy team through the transition, including additional on-site support and operator training. “Once the operators became familiar with the new platform, they quickly learned that Leary’s Monet interface is much easier to navigate,” Smith said. Monet’s visual interface helps operators identify functions quickly, while built-in help features provide additional information directly from the touchscreen.
Building a Platform for Continued Folding Carton Growth
What began as a replacement for an aging glue and inspection system has become part of J.S. McCarthy’s broader strategy for growing its folding carton business. The company has continued investing in Leary systems across its BOBST folder gluers while preparing for additional automation and future equipment investments.
For J.S. McCarthy, the value of Leary extends beyond their gluing and quality solution, it has helped remove a production constraint that could have prevented the company from realizing the full benefit of its investments in feeding, packing and automation. J.S. McCarthy has purchased 2 additional systems for their existing folder gluers to continue to achieve their goal to run faster, automate more, and maintain confidence that every carton leaving the folder gluer meets its quality standards.
