Twelve months after a mounting room overhaul is the right time to look at the data and tell the truth about what worked. This converter let us share their 12-month report with their permission.
The starting state
Static shelving installed 14 years prior. Approximately 380 sleeves in inventory, growing about 6% annually. Two CI presses, 24/5 operation, three mounters covering all shifts. Documented sleeve damage cost: $112,000 in the year before the project. Average changeover time: 29 minutes.
The change
SleevePodz mobile carriage system sized for 600 sleeves (current inventory plus 5 years of growth). Co-located mounting station. Defined cart staging zones. Total project cost: $108,000 installed.
Month 12 results
- Sleeve damage cost: $14,000 (87% reduction)
- Average changeover time: 21 minutes (28% reduction)
- Floor space reclaimed: 480 sq ft
- Mounting room labor unchanged (same three mounters)
- Reported operator satisfaction: significantly higher (qualitative)
The financial summary
Damage savings: $98,000
Press time gained from changeover reduction: ~155 hours/year × $1,800/hr = $279,000
Floor space reclaimed: 480 × $110 = $52,800
Total measurable annual benefit: ~$430,000
Payback on $108,000 project: roughly 3 months.
What did not improve
Mounter headcount stayed the same. The reclaimed time went into handling more job volume, not into reducing the team. From the customer's perspective, this was a feature, not a bug — they were planning to hire and avoided that.
The 12-month verdict
The customer is now planning to roll the same approach out at their second facility. That is the real test of whether something worked.
The Flexopodz Team
Purpose-built mounting room solutions for flexographic printing.