Tekra, New Berlin, WI – Tekra has made several investments recently, including building upgrades, warehouse expansion, machine enhancements, and additional machinery with increased capabilities.
A leader in distribution and manufacturing of films and coatings, Tekra has been at their New Berlin, WI location for over 85 years. “With growth comes change and in order to grow and change, capital investment is necessary, and our parent company, Mativ, has been supportive in helping to get us where we need to be,” states Robert Klinck, General Manager.
New Warehouse
In addition to a new roof and new HVAC at the New Berlin Facility, they have expanded to an additional warehouse a few miles away. This warehouse adds approximately 80,000 SQFT of space to their overall footprint. “This new warehouse is a massive upgrade for Tekra. It frees up space, and allows us to house more products, as well as be significantly more efficient in our converting department at the New Berlin facility,” states Hugh Miller, Plant Manager.
“This allows for better sight lines, staging and material handling, all of which allows us to operate more safely, efficiently, and lean,” continues Miller.
New Equipment
Tekra has also installed a new state-of-the-art slitter. This slitter offers a wider range of tolerances and is slated to slit multiple times faster than current machinery. “This is a huge upgrade for our converting department, it’s opening doors to new markets and going to allow us to be more efficient and precise with our existing business as well as opening possibilities of new substrates. We are all really excited about it,” states Rebecca Fuhrman, Manager of Market Development at Tekra. The speed and possibilities are the two most important features for this piece of equipment, according to Hugh Miller, as he states, “This machine is an order of magnitude improvement in terms of speed, and we are just getting started on testing the substrates, gauges, and tolerances this machine can offer. We know we have our core markets and customers covered with a more effective and updated piece of equipment, but we are just scratching the surface with new capabilities – bring us your ideas!”
One of the newest abilities the Deacro is bringing to Tekra is an ability to slit mask. They have recently finished the testing on several of their main-stay masking products and are proud to offer the following mask products, slit to size, to the market: Nitto Denko Blue 5057A, Nitto Denko Clear 5058A, Torray 7332, 6116, TK8000, Marnot® Matte Mask. To learn more about their protective masking products visit their website.
Aside from new converting equipment, Tekra has made capital investment in an in-line inspection system for their coating system. This is expected to be installed, tested and fully operational by the end of quarter three. “This will make our coating operation even better by giving us more visibility in-line so we can troubleshoot, inspect, and map as we are coating film. This will ensure a higher quality and more consistent product,” States Dan Blair, Head of Coating and Engineering at Tekra.
To learn more about Tekra’s recent investments and any further plans to invest, expand and grow in the market, contact a Tekra representative at: (800) 448-3572.
