Ultra-Reliable Package Printer Brings Sweet Success for Gladstone Candies During Peak Holiday Season


South Canaan, Pa., November 14, 2005 -- With the holidays upon us, children everywhere enjoy mouth-watering sweets in every color, shape, and size thanks to gourmet lollipop-makers like Gladstone Candies (Hummels Town, Pa). Sticky snowman-shaped suckers, black "coal" (i.e., old-fashioned rock candy), and giant red pops are favorites for kids of all ages. However, without reliable packaging equipment from industry leader Loveshaw® Corporation, the candymaker would not be able to maximize production during the season's high demand, which is critical considering the fact that Gladstone Candies earns 60% of its total annual sales revenue during peak season.

Gladstone Candies purchased the industry's first self-contained, two-line ink jet printer from Loveshaw, the leading manufacturer of packaging and coding systems. Loveshaw's MicroJet II prints directly onto corrugated boxes using a large character dot matrix system, saving time and resources. The MicroJet is constructed of heavy gauge steel rather than the more common but less durable plastic, and boasts the best repair record in the industry. In fact, Gladstone's MicroJet Printer has continued to run with only routine maintenance for more than 15 years.

"The MicroJet is an integral part of our productions -- especially during this peak season, which lasts from mid October through March," said Doug Gautsch, owner of Gladstone Candies, a leading supplier of candy products to Universal Studios, Hershey Park, and large candy distributors such as Warrell Corp. (Camp Hill, Pa). "Unlike some of our other production equipment, we've never had production-disrupting problems with this printer nor have we had to shut the factory down to repair it."

Today there are over 35,000 Loveshaw MicroJet Ink Jet Printers in the field. They print up to 200 feet per minute, replacing as many as 7 workers per shift in a packaging line. And, MicroJets print between 250,000 to millions of characters per liter of ink depending on the model. Loveshaw also offers the printer in stainless steel for damp environments.

"Before we purchased the Microjet II, we had to cut stencils out by hand and apply each label on the box manually. This, of course, was extremely time-consuming," continued Gautsch. "Now, with Loveshaw's printer, we're saving at least two hours a day and more during peak season. If our printers went down, we would have to use a computer to print out the labels and then stick them by hand to each box. This would dramatically disrupt production, costing us hundreds of dollars a day during the holidays."

For more information on Loveshaw's MicroJet Ink Jet Printer or other packaging products, please e-mail vburke@loveshaw.com or call 800-572-3434.

About Loveshaw Corporation
Since 1961, Loveshaw has led the conception and development of the best packaging and coding systems in the industry. Now part of ITW, Loveshaw continues to build on its American manufacturing tradition, creating innovative design solutions and robust steel machines to service a range of industries.

From case sealers and formers, to ink-jet printers and label application systems, Loveshaw has expanded its expertise across the whole range of coding and packaging needs. And from full-line systems, to individual and custom products, Loveshaw's products and services combine dependability, safety, durability, and comfort in an unmatched package.

Loveshaw products have longer life spans, and deliver higher investment returns than their competitors. Built of a range of steel gauges that match the harsh environments where they're used, Loveshaw stainless steel machines are equally at home on the decks of Alaskan fishing vessels, and in the corrosive atmosphere of Mexico's Tabasco plants.

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