During 2020, Montreal, Canada-based SupremeX, a manufacturer of business envelopes, labels and packaging with sales throughout North America, relied heavily on the speed and extra capacity from its new fully-automated UV-equipped 41”, seven-color Koenig & Bauer Rapida 105 PRO. As demand from its customers involved in e-commerce rapidly accelerated during the pandemic, SupremeX saw a sharp increase in demand for packaging materials to deliver these goods.
“Organic growth came primarily from new e-commerce packaging customer relationships we have been developing over the past several months,” said Stewart Emerson, President and CEO. “Our main growth driver in 2020 was our packaging and specialty products segment. Growth came primarily from new subscription-based e-commerce packaging customer relationships that we’ve been developing and nurturing.”
“Having our new Rapida 105 PRO gave us 40% extra efficiency and throughput and helped us to deliver these orders,” says Islem Yezza, Vice President and General Manager at SupremeX Folding Carton. “We have increased our output exponentially each month with the new press; we are a growing company.”
N-flute corrugated, which SupremeX uses for many of its food and cosmetic industry customers, saw a five-times higher use, says Yezza. The company was able to expand its N-flute printing to at least 500,000 sheets on the new Rapida 105 PRO, producing half-a-million N-flute cartons each month.
“Our team at SupremeX is the best in the industry,” says Rob Young, who joined SupremeX as President of its packaging division. “We recently received an AA accreditation for its BRCGS packaging certification for food safety and were awarded the EcoVadis Silver CSR medal, both of which are a testament to our quality and process. Our team has worked extremely well with the Koenig & Bauer team and their local Canadian service team offers a complete program of expert training, production support, and applications.”
“These customers are large e-tailers, with whom we work to optimize their packaging by designing and developing solutions that enable them to significantly save on shipping costs, while providing a more dynamic opening experience that better allows them to showcase their brand,” Emerson says.
The pandemic has resulted in a permanent switch and strengthened e-commerce demand, says Yezza and it will continue to be a key driver for SupremeX’s business. The company is continuing to grow its packaging platform through equipment investments, which is accelerating its competitiveness and growth in the high-growth folding carton market.
“Ever since it was installed, our Rapida 105 PRO has contributed to our growth and enhanced our capabilities, quality, competitiveness and added much-needed capacity. It turned out to be exactly what we needed during this unforeseen pandemic and has operated as a top-notch best of breed press,” Emerson concludes.
Left to right: The team at SupremeX includes Yanick Dumais and Jacques Michaud, next to the company’s new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 105 PRO.
