Opus Packaging began as a Michigan based, family owned box manufacturer with two locations. Throughout the years, they’ve grown to become a leading corrugated manufacturer, offering their customers full-service solutions including graphic packaging, packs and kits, interior dunnage, custom partitions and packaging supplies. The company continues to expand their footprint in the Midwest with acquisitions in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois.

As their customers’ demands increased, the company began looking for ways to meet these needs and expand into new markets, which led them to Kolbus.

“We were initially interested in the Kolbus Hycorr machines because they’re USA Made and manufactured in Kalamazoo, Michigan,” said Mike Seifert, VP of Manufacturing Services, Opus Packaging. “After visiting a few plants and seeing the machines running, we were sold on their solid construction and lack of vibration when running the machine. The graphics were high-quality and the pricing was competitive.”

In 2016, Opus Packaging installed a five-color Kolbus Hycorr 66 x 115 full servo rotary die cutter at their facility in New Bremen, Ohio. "The graphics on the Hycorr are such high-quality, that it’s allowed us to switch some of our work from litho label to direct print, which has been a great benefit to us and our customers," explained Seifert. After the success of their first Hycorr machine at the New Bremen facility, they looked to Kolbus for a second machine, as part of a nearly $3m investment to construct and equip a new facility in Indianapolis, IN.

Seifert explains that the machine in Indianapolis has opened new doors into e-commerce packaging, because of its inside print capabilities. “Our customers are seeking new ways to attract more business and often it entails colorful graphics on the outside of the box and one-color messages and advertising on the inside.

With the investment of the Kolbus Hycorr RDC, we can accomplish those orders efficiently and quickly all in a single pass.”

Kolbus Hycorr machines have a reputation for reliability and are known for their maintenance friendly design and ease of use with intuitive controls. “The RDC is fully automatic with touch screen controls,” Seifert says. “Our operators can perform all adjustments, such as registration and set-ups, using the HMI interface. It makes our younger generation of employees, who are computer savvy, very happy.”