The most common question we hear is some version of "how long until it pays for itself?" The answer depends on your operation, but the math is straightforward once you have the inputs.
The inputs you need
- Current sleeve inventory and growth rate
- Current annual damage cost
- Current changeover time and number of changeovers per year
- Press hourly value (revenue, not cost)
- Mounter labor cost fully loaded
- Facility cost per square foot
Without these, payback math is guessing.
A representative example
Mid-size converter, 500 sleeves, 4 mounters, 8 CI presses, $2,000 average press hour value, $30/hour fully loaded mounter labor, $120/sq ft facility cost, $180,000 annual damage cost, average changeover 32 minutes.
SleevePodz system cost (sized for 30% growth headroom): roughly $135,000 installed.
Annual savings
- Damage reduction (assume 80%): $144,000
- Changeover time reduction (assume 25% × press hour value): $200,000
- Floor space reclaimed (800 sq ft × $120): $96,000
- Search time labor savings: $40,000
Total annual savings: ~$480,000
Payback
$135,000 ÷ $480,000 = ~3.4 months on the conservative numbers.
The honest version
Real-world payback varies based on how accurate your starting numbers are and how aggressive your improvement assumptions are. We have seen 4-month paybacks and we have seen 18-month paybacks. We have not seen a project with these inputs fail to pay back inside 2 years.
If your math shows a payback longer than 24 months, the assumptions are probably wrong.
The Flexopodz Team
Purpose-built mounting room solutions for flexographic printing.