Left to right: Robert Niedermeier and Rob Garvey (TCY).
Serving their customers for more than 50 years, Valley Container has grown into a family of four companies with facilities located across the north-east and mid-west. The TCY NB5 FFG is the latest in their strategic investment plan and has been installed at the main manufacturing facility at the corporate headquarters.
Robert Niedermeier, Owner, says, “We were looking to invest in faster, more automated equipment solutions and during the research phase, we looked both inside and outside the U.S. at what companies like us were using. TCY was a machinery manufacturer that had been around for as long as we have, with a reputation around the world for manufacturing robust, reliable and good value machinery, and so we talked with them directly about what we needed from a capability standpoint.”
The final specification selected was an NB5 38” x 98” 3-color FFG in bottom print and top die-cut configuration, with several options including the RDSI inline ‘clever’ dwell & waste removal section.
All machines in the TCY N-series range come equipped with the on-board Smart Tech system and hardware including a standalone central computer setup unit plus touch screens on each machine unit. The Smart Tech software suite comes with a raft of features that allows for simple order uploads, easy operator machine sets, clear order flow management, 100% accurate job recall with preset machine settings and register positions, plus pin-point error reporting and maintenance reminders.
In the case of Valley Container, and as with many box plants, the work mix can often require pushing the machine to its design limits or to cover work that may more usually run on other lines, so TCY have worked with Valley to provide some custom functions making it easier to set up and extremely versatile when those demands arise.
Niedermeier continues, “Alongside the regular printed brown boxes, we also have customers in industries such as food and beverage that take more complex die-cut folded boxes, which we can now look forward to producing accurately, at higher speeds and without waste tracking through into the bundles at the counter ejector. Equally, we can run much smaller, mini-style boxes, or trays unfolded through the whole machine quickly. Equally, we can produce larger printed sheets for conversion elsewhere, or larger die cuts also unfolded and collated quickly. This clearly improves production efficiency, flexibility and customer satisfaction.”
Following an extensive installation and machine commissioning over the 2025 Christmas period, Valley is now in full production, with TCY technicians and after-sales service team only a WhatsApp message or video call away for back up and knowledge transfer where required.
TCY says this real-time support function is favored by customers around the world because it is so simple and quick to resolve most situations. The machine is fitted with ethernet remote support function which is essential for deeper diagnostics and machine adjustments as production loads and requirements may demand.
With the new N-Series FFG, Valley Container can expect increased functionality, greater production feedback, faster set-ups and less operator skill required to run and maintain the machine efficiently.
TCY have been manufacturing flexo converting equipment for decades and are well known for manufacturing tough, reliable and easy to use machines that are installed all over the world. Supporting customers directly from its manufacturing facility in Taiwan and through satellite operations in Europe, the UK and the USA with local technicians, parts stock or consignment stock programs, TCY are well placed to solve and serve customers’ corrugated box production needs.
