CHARTER FILMS: BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER
Charter Films was formed in Superior, Wisconsin, by three entrepreneurs that combined have over 45 years of experience in the film extrusion industry. Although Charter Films may be considered a new company to the field, their skills and know-how have made this company a major player in the world of plastic film suppliers.
Charter specializes in mono and co-extruded films which are produced for printing and laminating, banners, surface protection and thermoformable applications. Industries that use these products include food, medical, cosmetic packaging; graphic arts/advertising; adhesive coaters, extruded sheet stock and automotive applications.
Unique to Charter is their aggression to keep up with new, state-of-the-art technology. Since their inception, Charter has purchased and installed three single and multi-layer Varex blown film lines from Windmoeller & Hoelscher in less than two years. Charter’s first two installations included a 103-inch mono-layer and an 83-inch three-layer Varex blown film extrusion line from W&H. Both are equipped with Pillar’s latest “Universal” corona treaters for the purpose of printing and lamination from one to two sides.
According to Mark Tesmer, Charter’s V.P. of Sales & Marketing, “W&H has a superior product has provided us with service and support unmatched in the industry.” Based on that premise, Charter installed a third 63-inch three-layer Varex line that will be debuting at NPE 2000.
The new W&H line will occupy three of Pillar’s Universal corona treaters allowing Charter to treat up to four sides including “treating inside and outside of the bubble” which may generate a whole new breed of customers for Charter. Universal treaters, consisting of one 2-sided Universal covered roll and two single-side Universal covered roll stations, were specified by Charter because specifically for the purpose of four sided treatment. The Universals offered Charter ease of maintenance due to the interchangeable electrode assembly built into the design. This is especially important when the station is located in the tower. Universal stations allow Charter to clean their electrodes “off-line” which becomes a safety benefit as well.
“When we started our company we needed treating equipment that would provide us with a lot of flexibility and reliability”, explained Chris Trapp, V.P. & General Manager of Charter. “We needed a treater that could provide uniform treat at a wide range of dyne levels on many difficult types of polyethylene films.” Trapp goes on, “I have worked with Pillar over the last 15 years and I’ve found their (Pillar) treaters provide the best turn-down ratio which allows the widest range of treat levels. Pillar has always been a good company to work with. It was important to us to equip our extrusion lines with the ‘best treaters on the market’.” Trapp went on to say “these treaters were equipped with new P6000 power supplies”. Pillar’s P6000 series are the latest in IGBT technology, keeping Charter on top of the new equipment market.
Pillar is happy to be a continued part of Charter’s growth and success. As the first sentence of their mission statement explains, “CHARTER FILMS will seek to satisfy its customers by utilizing the most advanced equipment available in the world to supply uncompromising quality at an exceptional level of service.”
For more information on this article, please contact Charter Films toll-free 1-877-411-FILM (3456) or Pillar Technologies toll-free at 1-888-PILLAR-6 (745-5276). You can also visit Charter Films web site at www.charterfilms.com or Pillar at www.pillartech.com.