Wow, we have officially wrapped up 2014, and what a year it has been!
Last January, we talked about change. How important it is to keep changing. Never staying stagnant. We sure showed everyone that change; big
change should be embraced and celebrated as an exciting way to move
forward.
January and February saw us in training – A
LOT! KBA training in Germany for the press
operators, Esko and Agfa training for our new pre-media work flow and
platesetter. We also dug the hole in the
plant floor in preparation for the new printing press.
Now, some may wonder why we have been
talking so much about a new printing press.
For us, this type of purchase doesn’t happen often. And when it does, it’s a big deal! What made this an even bigger deal was all
the new features that this press has been able to offer us and our
customers.
2013 also saw some major renovations; the
biggest and most exciting was our new lounge area. A special space created for customers and
employees to hang out while at IPB. We
use this space to host our events, info sessions, vendor presentations and customer
press proofs. The space also features a
few museum pieces that detail the company’s history.
March and April brought the delivery of
lots of new equipment. The KBA began to
arrive in March (it was delivered in over 20 crates – not little ones, large
ones, VERY LARGE!) and we immediately began installation. The Agfa platesetter was installed and became
operational. Esko pre-media work flow was
also installed. This allowed us to work with
artwork files onsite directly with the customer. A new chapter for IPB!
Sales and Marketing teams were busy at
trade-shows. Showing potential customers
everything that IPB has to offer! We
spent a great deal of time seeing what was happening – new and cool ideas in
the packaging industry. Always staying
on top of the latest trends!
May and June found us prepping for 2 big
events. For our first ever, we hosted
our local Ingersoll Chamber of Commerce Business After 5. Local business owners came and toured our
facility and got to see first hand just what we do at IPB! For our second event, we held a customer VIP day. Customers were invited to tour the facility
and see what we have been up to, and meet the staff! Eric Frank from KBA came to speak about
trends in the packaging industry and relationships between supplier and
customer. This made for a very eventful
June! It was exciting to see how many
people came to visit us.
July and August was ‘All systems
a-go’. All of the training that we had
gone through in the last few months were coming together in the pre-media,
pre-press and printing departments. The
summer always brings IPB family BBQ’s and fundraising events for our team.
We were excited to welcome new and
returning customers throughout the summer months. New challenges were set and are now being
met! All thanks to the great first six
months of the year!
September and October were much of the
same. But now we were turning some of
our attention to the other Departments.
Diecutting departments were trained on learning new knicking methods,
quicker makereadies and more consistent cut and creaselines that will make our
packaging work better on the auto-fill equipment! Learning about new technology and what is
coming out in the next year.
The Ingersoll Chamber of Commerce awarded
Ingersoll Paper Box with Industry of the Year for 2014. Very exciting to be recognized as a team in
our own community for our achievements.
November and into December we decided to
try a fundraiser. While promoting the amazing
new techonology we have in house, we made gift boxes for the holiday
season. We sold them locally with all
proceeds going towards to local charities.
Ones that are near and dear to our hearts. The Lunch Bunch serves hot lunches to
children at schools. The Inter-Church
Relief program runs the Hamper program during the Christmas season. And through
out the rest of the year provides food, clothing and financial assistance were
and when needed.
The gift boxes came in 2 sizes, and 4
different print looks, along with gift tags.
Sold throughout the month of December, we raised well over $3,000.
With the New Year upon us, we are happy
with all of our past accomplishments. And I
can honestly say I am so proud of the IPB team.
We made many changes and coming out the other side, we look back and can
see now that all these changes were necessary to move forward for a better future.
If you are interested in a tour and want to see what
we have been up to this past year - Contact your IPB Sales Representative. Hope to
see you soon.
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