Out in Front

At Hammer Packaging, a core philosophy has been to reinvest 10 percent of annual sales back into “new technology” the following year. “My philosophy has always been to lead the industry - not follow it,” Hammer said.

Based on its experience with the Speedmaster CX 102, Hammer Packaging will be watching future developments from Heidelberg closely. Said Iovoli, “As Heidelberg continues to refine and improve its technology, we’re looking to increase the number of our Heidelberg presses that will help us produce more high-quality labels faster and more cost-effectively for our customers.”

Roughly 70 percent of Hammer’s capacity supports the production of litho-based labels for the food and beverage industry, with web offset and flexo-printed labels accounting for the rest. The company is also world's largest producer of premium seed packets. Customers include Gatorade, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and many other well-known brands. The $100 million company employs more than 400 people at three plants in the Rochester area.