PFFC - March 2009 - (Page 50) FILM CONVERTING Business Is Blooming Bloomer Plastics finds a niche by supplying and converting small orders of specialty films that provide tailored solutions for customers. By Edward Boyle, Contributing Editor B loomer, WI—population 3,500—is home to three industrial parks, a golf course, four parks, an ice rink, and a 100-acre lake with a brand new beach and beach house. It is—as the town’s website describes—the kind of place where “children can ride their bikes anywhere without fear.” Nestled in this homage to small-town America is a manufacturer of custom converted and embossed films that converters around the world turn to time and again—not for the quaint atmosphere but rather for the quality products. In fact, this year Bloomer Plastics supplied more than 32 million lb of film to customers as far away as Europe and Asia. While the company may not be one of the largest film sup- pliers in the world—heck, it’s not even the largest employer in Bloomer—it has grown and thrived for the past 37 years, seemingly for the same reason as the town for which it was named: It gives people something they just can’t seem to get anywhere else. Filling a Void Founded by Don West, a former engineer for a large film converter, Bloomer Plastics initially set out to service custom niche markets requiring embossed polyolefin films for industrial applications. Part of the reason for Bloomer Plastics’ success—in fact, the reason the company was founded—is both its ability and willingness to deliver relatively small-sized runs to some otherwise highvolume industries. At the time Bloomer Plastics was established, “If you didn’t do multiple truck loads, the big film suppliers weren’t doing business with you,” explains Neil Lundgren, president and general manager. “Since Don West started the business, we’ve taken the approach that we tailor our products to our customers’ needs, so we often do smaller-than-truckload size.” Bloomer’s versatility allows the company to complete multiple truckload orders but maintain a minimum order size of only 500 lbs. “A big part of that was our ability to come up with solutions for our customers that they weren’t able to get from the major film suppliers,” notes Lundgren, “and a part of that is the converting and laminating we do for them.” Unique Products Even today, every order Bloomer converts is custom, Energy-Saving Solution Bloomer Plastics’ management team prides itself on its customer service. Neil Lundgren, president and general manager, says one recent example of its problemsolving abilities was for a “tier one company” that was using an adhesive film in their production process. The customer previously purchased film from Bloomer and shipped the rolls to a converter that would then heat the film in an oven, apply the substrate, reheat it, and WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM 50 | MARCH 2009 http://WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM
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