The sorry state of affairs: Chapter 19
Lack of innovation in the converting industry:If we look at the history of auto-mobile development from its' inception to the present day, we see remarkable changes. Same applies to aviation and just about every other industry except the converting and paper mill industry.
The reasons for this sad state of affairs are pretty obvious. In its heyday, the paper mills were making money hand-over-fist. Very little attention was paid to the actual machinery. Research and development were relegated to the back burner and the mills went about with their business. Lack of competition was the primary culprit.
By the 70's, cracks started to appear in this invincible paper-mill juggernaut. Rivers, lakes and ground-water contamination, air pollution and high energy costs finally stirred this beast from its slumber. By the 80's mills were closing left right and center. As usual, when things go bad, you suddenly see a frenzy of mergers and consolidations take place. Transfusing new blood into a disease ridden patient..never saves any lives. It's a total waste of good blood.
The only hope of saving this "sick" patient is to do radical surgery. Get rid of the diseased parts, replace broken bones with new titanium joints and above all "fire" the old doctor. "Do not pour new wine into old skins"..
This lack of innovation extended to the paper converting machinery manufacturers. There weren't that many manufacturers to begin with. All kinds of half baked ill conceived designs were let loose on the poor public. Some designs were so bad that they should have been used as boat anchors rather than for converting paper.
By the late 90's most of these machinery manufacturers were history. New players had jumped into the market place, but they too were having a rough time making a go. The basic design remained the same.
Imagine, if you will, if the auto mobile had not changed since the 40's. What kind of contraptions would we be driving? Sure, we could still be able to get from point A to point B, but it would take twice as long. The thought of all these clunkers clogging our highways is a nightmare. Unfortunately, our converting machines are still stuck in the dark ages.
Let's continue with our automobile example and explore this concept a little more. The race car driver is the one who puts his life on the line everytime he gets behind the wheel of a race car. He tells the engineers and pit crew about all the problems with the car. It's this feed back from the driver that allows the manufacturing team to make the necessary design changes. If, on the other hand, this driver says that every other car on the race track is faster than the one he is driving, folks we have a problem. If all the other cars are Chevys and he is driving a Ford, then he ( the driver) wants a different, faster engine or a Chevy. You can take the best driver in the USA and give him a lousy car, folks, he isn't going to win any races.
The race car seat is designed so that driver is comfortable. In addition, when seated his ( the driver's) feet should reach the pedals. Obvious. Isn't it?
If spark plugs need changing, the mechanic should be able to get at the plugs, easily and quickly. Obvious? No?
If a tire has to be replaced, it should be easy as pie. Obvious? No?
If the car needs fuel....one should be able to fuel it as fast as one can. Self evident? No?
What if new brake pads are needed?
These above mentioned points are self evident. You don't need a rocket scientist to figure them out.
Back to converting machines. Converting machines are designed by guys who have never run one in their entire lives!!! Are you getting the drift?
We will explore this further in future posts.
