Adaptation Is Key to Maintaining a Century Long Business Legacy

Norton Packaging is a 4th generation packaging manufacturer that knows quite a bit about keeping its competitive edge throughout all types of economic pressures. Started in 1901, Norton evolved from a tooling shop into a metal container manufacturer, before eventually creating its niche in the plastic bucket business.

Today, with 5-gallon pails making up 95% of its product line, Norton is faced with a new pressure – meeting the stringent pricing demands of big box stores. Staying competitive means making the most of every opportunity to minimize cost output. With energy consumption costs an increasing concern, the company looked to all-electric Powerline machines from Milacron to reduce these expenses – ultimately cutting their electricity bill by 35-40%.

A Pail is a Pail – The Difference is the Price

Norton Packaging operates two production facilities nationally, and supplies a diverse customer base with high-density polyethylene industrial pails. The containers Norton makes are used for a wide range of products for customers in a wide range of industries.

• Paint
• Petrochemical
• Adhesive
• Janitorial
• Agricultural
• Food packaging

Scott Norton, Co-President of Norton, speaks to the challenges of his business. “The biggest obstacle we face with producing a commodity product like pails is containing cost in a very competitive market.”

In recent years, the growing prevalence of big box stores has changed the dynamic of sales channels throughout the North American market. Known for not flexing in terms of price point, these stores put heavy pressure on Norton customers, who sell their products there, to reduce costs. That pressure is passed along through the supply chain, making for extremely competitive market in terms of pricing. Because of this, “the only real way we can distinguish ourselves from other bucket makers is in the consistency of our product quality.”

And that’s why Norton turned to Milacron all-electrics.

Powerlines Change the Game

“The bucket manufacturing process hasn’t changed much over the last 30 years. The biggest change we’ve seen – and a change that has proved invaluable to us and our customers – has been the introduction of all-electric machines.”

Milacron and Norton have had a long relationship. When Milacron first introduced the Powerlines, Norton recognized their potential and began replacing hydraulic machines with Powerlines. Today, Norton operates thirteen Milacron Powerline injection molding machines – ranging in size from 330 ton up to 1,100 ton – and has two more on order.

Powerlines provide unmatched consistency and repeatability in operations when compared to hydraulic machines. Designed and engineered to reduce complexity and use fewer components, the machines provide the longevity, durability and dependability Norton needs to provide customers with consistently high-quality containers.

The machines also make a dramatic impact on the company’s electrical costs, on average saving the company 35-40% compared with hydraulic machines. In addition to the benefit on the overall cost structure, the machines also reduce maintenance expenses.

Recently, Milacron rebranded its Powerline units and incorporated them into the PowerPAK line. PowerPAK all-electric machines provide the same functionality as Powerlines, but with enhanced features and benefits. PowerPAK offers processors a high level of flexibility with machine design and the lowest energy consumption in the packaging industry for thin-wall, high-speed consumer applications.

Why Milacron?

While Norton has shopped around with other machine manufacturers, they’ve always come back to Milacron.

“The Powerlines that we’ve bought over the years have only gotten better. Every new machine we purchase seems improved from a manufacturing, sustainability and reliability standpoint,” said Scott Norton. “It’s clear they listen to their customers and incorporate their feedback into new features on their machines.”

Norton has also come to rely on the service and industry expertise that Milacron provides.

“In the relationship we’ve built, Milacron is very responsive and helpful in any issues that come up,” said Norton. “They were especially supportive during the first couple of years when we were adjusting to using electric machines. And recently, especially in the past 3-4 years, we’ve seen significant improvement in their maintenance support. In our opinion, we’ve grown to value that almost as much as we value their machines.”

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