Buffalo, New York hardwood flooring manufacturer Norton-Smith Hardwoods keeps packaging costs down with upgrade to dust-busting Fusion strapping machine from Hazle Township, Pennsylvania-based Mosca

Audrey Dixon

HAZLE TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania , November 11, 2013 (press release) – Western New York hardwood flooring manufacturer keeps packaging costs down by upgrading to a Fusion Strapping Machine from Mosca. Strapping seals are secure enough to downgrade to lower cost strap.

Located in the outskirts of Salamanca, a picturesque city south of Buffalo, NY, Norton-Smith Hardwoods Corporation fills a niche market for weekend warriors and small home improvement specialists installing or replacing hardwood flooring. Founded in 1989, the family owned company manufactures 3,500 to 4,000 sq. ft. of custom ordered, engineered flooring daily with fourteen employees.

Engineered flooring is real wood flooring that is specifically designed to give homeowners greater stability at lower cost. It can even be used over radiant floor heating without warping and is often available in wider widths than traditional tongue and groove hardwood flooring. In Norton-Smith’s case, it is manufactured by applying a wear layer of high quality hardwood stained in different hues, over a high-quality, exterior grade plywood base that is milled into tongue and groove lengths.

As you might imagine, the manufacturing facility gets a bit dusty. Milling and trimming the flooring strips creates a significant amount of sawdust. So when it came to replacing a strapping machine that couldn’t manage the dust and debris, company owner and President Dan Smith eventually turned to Mosca after meeting with company representatives at the IWF Show in Atlanta. Mosca equipment is often viewed as a higher-end alternative to competitive models but Smith was growing frustrated with under-performing equipment that slowed down production. Total cost of ownership came into the decision making process.

According to Smith, “With all the trouble we had with other arch strapping machines, I had gone to IWF looking for alternatives for our packaging. All of the other machines I looked at were much slower, more costly, and would have required heavier strap. The Mosca team at IWF assured me that the Fusion model would hold up to our environment and they were willing to stand behind it. After one and a half years of operation the Fusion has exceeded my expectations and has helped keep our packaging costs down.”

The shop foreman, Rick Capron, says the bundler that the company purchased – a new Mosca Fusion with a track opening of 600mm x 500mm - has met the dust challenge ‘head’ on, so to speak. The Mosca Fusion, introduced to the market in 2012, is an entry level strapper capable of operating at cycle speeds of up to 50/minute. The Fusion is positioned price-wise with lesser quality competitive machines while featuring many of Mosca’s higher end components. The Fusion features a Mosca Standard 3 heat-seal strapping head known to stand up to dirt and debris, and that features precise strap tension control, energy saving direct drive motors, and wear-free DC drive brushless motor technology.

At the end of the production line, Norton-Smith straps fifty pound bundles of flooring that can be easily moved about by installers and delivery personnel. While the Fusion can be set to run 5mm, 8mm or 12mm PP strap, a fifty pound bundle of four boards is strapped five to seven times along the length with low cost 5mm strapping. While many flooring manufacturers use wider 9mm strap, Norton-Smith can downsize to 5mm PP due to the high quality seals provided by the Fusion. Stronger seals provide greater load stability.

Another plus, the Fusion offers ‘soft tension’ so Norton-Smith doesn’t have to worry about strap damaging board edges. Strap tension is controlled by a potentiometer and ranges from 0 to 50 pounds.

Machine operators push the bundles across the Fusion’s stainless steel tabletop and operate a foot pedal for cycle start. The bundler is kept in place with two lockable casters. At the end of its shift, they lift the hinged tabletop, blow out any dust that has accumulated, unlock the casters and wheel the machine off to the side until it is needed again. A simple plastic tarp covers the machine during periods of non-use.

EAM-Mosca offers a full line of automatic and operator-less strapping systems for a wide variety of industries. The company is headquartered in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, USA, and was founded in 1982. Manufacturing facilities are located in Hazle Township and Ontario, Canada. Sales and service offices are located throughout North America, along with distributors and contract service providers in Central and South America, and sales/services offices in Monterrey, Mexico. For additional information call 1-800-456-3420; write EAM-Mosca Corporation, 675 Jaycee Drive, Hazle Township, PA 18202 USA; visit the company web site at http://www.eammosca.com; or e-mail the company at info(at)eammosca(dot)com.

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