Darren Irons
Global Product Manager, Webex; General Manager, Maxcess Aftermarket
Maxcess/Webex
(405) 755-1600
Timothy S. McGillis
VP of Sales
Badger Plug
31 years with the company
(920) 757-7300
Q: Briefly describe the positon your company has in rolls and/or roll handling.
Irons: Webex is a division of Maxcess International, which also includes Fife, Tidland, MAGPOWR and Valley Roller. Webex was founded in 1972 in Neenah, Wisconsin, and also has a location in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Maxcess also has multiple manufacturing locations in Europe and Asia to service our customers’ global needs. In addition to an extensive roll offering, Webex has a team of inside sales and engineers to assist customers on selecting the proper rolls for each application as well as aftermarket support and repair services.
McGillis: Badger Plug makes protective packaging solutions for safely shipping and storing roll products. Our roll protection products include a wide variety of wood, metal and plastic plugs that help prevent core and roll damage. Special Double Plugs are used for stacking and unitizing pallets of slit rolls. Our roll suspension products include the industry’s widest variety of plastic Pad Plugs, as well as endboard systems for protecting medium to large rolls in single or multi-roll configurations.
Q: What rolls or roll handling products does your company provide? Has your company released anything new recently or plan to in the near future?
McGillis: Protecting large rolls during shipping has become increasingly important to converters. Badger Plug’s endboards can be configured to suspend one or multiple large rolls. Constructed of industrial grade particle board, plywood and MDF up to 4 inches thick, endboards and heavy-duty sleeve plugs can protect some of the largest rolls. Special holes and notches can now be added to accept strapping and interlocking wood bracing that helps endboards from twisting or racking during shipment.
Irons: Maxcess recently released the ISR and CSR Tension Sensing Idler Rolls that was a joint development between Webex and MAGPOWR. These products deliver precise web tension measurement when installed in place of a standard idler roll. Webex supplies heat transfer rolls (chill rolls), copper chill rolls, vacuum rolls, live shaft idler rolls, dead shaft idler rolls, spreader rolls, bowed rolls, paper mill rolls, flaking mill rolls, carbon fiber rolls and ASME certified pressure vessels. In addition to a variety of roll core options, we can provide a wide range of roll coating and coverings as well an extensive level of grooving options. No roll order is too small or large for Webex.
Webex has also launched a service and repair segment of the business to refurbish customer rolls to an “as new” condition. Over time, a repair or refurbishment can extend the life of your roll. Some of the examples of what we offer are: precision roll grinding to your specified TIR, dynamic and static balancing of rolls, acid flushing (or soy flushing) of heat transfer rolls, repair or recertification of ASME certified pressure vessels, journal repair/replacement, bearing replacement, NDT (non-destructive testing), remove and replace roll shells, roll face coating options (i.e., chrome plating, hardcoat anodize, electroless nickel plating, ceramic and tungsten carbide coating, and rubber covering) and machine roll face refinishing (i.e., mirror superfinishing (0-1 Ra) capabilities, matte finishes, variety of grooving options, taper and crown profiles, etc.).
Webex has a couple of new products in development and is looking forward to the additional markets and applications these developments will open. We strive to fulfill the needs of the market with a variety of products and deliver on the good, better, best product offering strategy.
Q: What’s the best way (or the best ways) to protect rolls when they’re in transit from manufacturer to converter?
McGillis: Roll damage can occur during the rocky road to the final destination or with rough handling at any point. Using roll protection solutions is the start. Using the right product with the right strength or configuration is equally important. We consult our customers on the best protection solutions. In a few cases, trial applications are needed to ensure the right product is being used.
Irons: Depending on type of material, we will ship the roll with rust preventative oil. On aluminum or stainless steel, we provide a thick foam and corrugated cardboard wrapping. Finally, the rolls are packed in a certified roll shipping container. We make every effort to ensure that the customer receives the roll in the condition it was sent.
Q: What impact do rolls have in maintaining traction? What about with web handling?
Irons: Traction is critical on lighter tension applications. A trend we are seeing is many webs decreasing the tension and process lines running faster. When there is not enough web tension to drive the web with a standard roller, we can provide web coating and grooving to assist moving the web.
Q: What are some of the most common issues that you hear about regarding rolls and roll handling products? What is being done to resolve them?
Irons: A common issue we solve is addressing wrinkles in the web. To address this, we work with the customer to assist in ways to fix the wrinkling issue. Many times, it is not related to the roll. We have identified seven primary causes of wrinkling: poor machine alignment, poor roller geometry, poor web quality, excessive roll deflection, web expansion, unsupported web and improper web tension control.
McGillis: Red flags are almost always raised whenever roll products arrive damaged. In most cases, improper or inadequate roll protection products were used. We have many different ways to protect virtually any roll from damage during shipping. Our first role is to identify the right roll protection products for each customer. These products typically cost a pittance compared to the cost of the roll itself. Simply buying the least expensive roll protection products can end up costing everyone time and money. Investing in the right solution is better economics.
Q: Is there anything else you’d care to share about rolls and/or roll handling?
McGillis: The right roll protection product not only helps prevent roll damage, but can also reduce roll packaging time. For example, our E-Z Locator Single and Double Plugs not only help unitize slit rolls in a stack, they help feed the core onto the plug during stacking by hand or robotic package assembly. A pallet of well-unitized rolls of any configuration is also easier and safer to stretch wrap.
Irons: In a time where line speeds are increasing and the web material is decreasing, it is becoming more important to have a trusted supplier to ensure the precision roll you purchase delivers the performance needed for today’s demanding applications. As a part of Maxcess, in addition to precision rolls, we can also offer roll covering, web guiding, tension control, slitting and winding products for a one-stop-shop advantage.
