Anthony Locicero, Associate Editor03.09.18
Hammer Packaging has come a long way since its beginnings as a regional supplier of labels to the fast-growing agricultural industry in western New York in 1912. Founded by Herman J. Meyering as Genesee Valley Lithographic Company, Walter Hammer took over the business in the mid-1940s, and the company’s name changed to Hammer Lithograph.
As the company continued to grow, Walter’s son, Ed, took the reigns as the company evolved by moving into new markets and expanding capabilities. In 1972, Hammer Lithograph moved to a new manufacturing facility called Metro Park, which made room for new equipment and increased manpower. The move was necessitated by sales growth in the food and beverage markets.
The company was at that location for 26 years, in which current president and CEO Jim Hammer – Ed’s son – took over.
It was during that time the company was renamed to Hammer Packaging. In July 1998, Hammer Packaging broke ground on a 90,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility on a 19-acre parcel of land adjacent to the Rochester Institute of Technology. Once again, a new facility provided more space for additional equipment and the growing workforce.
Hammer’s new proximity to the School of Print Media at RIT facilitated an educational exchange program for Hammer associates and also brought about a new partnership for research and development. The corporate headquarters were expanded in 2012, and the company continues to grow.
“Today, Hammer Packaging continues to thrive as an industry leader, consistently named one of the Top-100 privately-held companies in Rochester, and continually rising among the Top-400 printers in North America,” noted Kimberly Flynn, Hammer’s marketing communication manager. “With the right people, outstanding service and leading-edge technology, the Hammer team is more committed than ever to leading, not following, the packaging printing industry.”
Key Markets for Hammer Packaging
With its portfolio of equipment and technology, Hammer is able to serve most any market, including food and beverage; household products and chemicals; personal care and HBA; wine, spirits, and beers; horticulture and seed packets; and pet supplies.
“We are leaders in a variety of label types, including but not limited to, cut and stack, shrink sleeve, pressure sensitive, roll-fed, foam, in-mold labels, blow-mold labels, flexible packaging, and seed packets,” said Flynn.
Hammer employs four different printing processes: offset (sheetfed and roll-fed); web offset with Variable Sleeve Printing technology; flexographic; and digital, using an HP Indigo 6800.
“At Hammer Packaging, we like to think of ourselves more as an ‘engineering company’ that delivers labels. We have one of the best technical, engineering and innovation teams in the country, which allows us to partner with our customers on the most efficient, effective and unique packaging solutions to stay ahead of the market,” Flynn said. “Our customer’s goals become our goals, and we bring everything to the table in order to help them achieve success from idea to product maturity.
“We are leaders in the industry, not followers,” she continued. “We have the most diverse portfolio of equipment in the country, including the largest fleet of VSOP presses that offer an alternative to traditional and expensive gravure printing. Combined with our top tier R&D department, we have the technology and equipment to back up any of the innovative ideas that we bring to the table.”
According to Flynn, Hammer’s most interesting projects are also the most challenging.
“Any time that we can bring our engineering and innovation team to the table with our customer to solve a complex challenge, it results in a rewarding end product,” the marketing communications manager said.
Last year, the company won multiple awards for its Seven Teas labels, “because of their complexity and intricacy,” per Flynn.
“The owner of Seven Teas came to us with a design that is among the most intricate that we’ve ever produced,” she said. “Our team was able to construct the perfect formula for reproduction, which included metallized paper, a matte laminate finish, all produced on our digital HP6800 with near flawless registration.”
Hammer also received the Gold Ink award for the Hydrive Energy Water shrink sleeve label.
“In a market flooded with energy drinks, Hydrive and the Hammer team worked through the challenge of getting Hydrive to stand out on the shelf,” Flynn said. “We did a number of tests and involved the R&D department to finally come up with a recipe that included a pearlized ink in the white area at the top of their bottle. The result is a signature look for Hydrive.”
Selecting an Ink Supplier
According to Flynn, Hammer has several requirements it looks for from its ink supplier, including performance on press.
“We have one of the fastest offset presses in the world,” Flynn said. “The ink needs to run perfectly at high speeds.” There’s also batch-to-batch consistency; ink adhesion; versatility across multiple substrates; the ability to support required color management programs; the availability of specialty inks, including low-migration, screen inks, metallic inks, and others; and having color matching capabilities throughout the US. Schedule needs must also be met, Flynn noted.
Innovation is also essential in choosing an ink partner.
“We look for a partner that has the ability to innovate with us,” Flynn added. “We are an innovative company and need to work with suppliers that equally value the importance of being at the forefront of trends and technology.”
As the company continued to grow, Walter’s son, Ed, took the reigns as the company evolved by moving into new markets and expanding capabilities. In 1972, Hammer Lithograph moved to a new manufacturing facility called Metro Park, which made room for new equipment and increased manpower. The move was necessitated by sales growth in the food and beverage markets.
The company was at that location for 26 years, in which current president and CEO Jim Hammer – Ed’s son – took over.
It was during that time the company was renamed to Hammer Packaging. In July 1998, Hammer Packaging broke ground on a 90,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility on a 19-acre parcel of land adjacent to the Rochester Institute of Technology. Once again, a new facility provided more space for additional equipment and the growing workforce.
Hammer’s new proximity to the School of Print Media at RIT facilitated an educational exchange program for Hammer associates and also brought about a new partnership for research and development. The corporate headquarters were expanded in 2012, and the company continues to grow.
“Today, Hammer Packaging continues to thrive as an industry leader, consistently named one of the Top-100 privately-held companies in Rochester, and continually rising among the Top-400 printers in North America,” noted Kimberly Flynn, Hammer’s marketing communication manager. “With the right people, outstanding service and leading-edge technology, the Hammer team is more committed than ever to leading, not following, the packaging printing industry.”
Key Markets for Hammer Packaging
With its portfolio of equipment and technology, Hammer is able to serve most any market, including food and beverage; household products and chemicals; personal care and HBA; wine, spirits, and beers; horticulture and seed packets; and pet supplies.
“We are leaders in a variety of label types, including but not limited to, cut and stack, shrink sleeve, pressure sensitive, roll-fed, foam, in-mold labels, blow-mold labels, flexible packaging, and seed packets,” said Flynn.
Hammer employs four different printing processes: offset (sheetfed and roll-fed); web offset with Variable Sleeve Printing technology; flexographic; and digital, using an HP Indigo 6800.
“At Hammer Packaging, we like to think of ourselves more as an ‘engineering company’ that delivers labels. We have one of the best technical, engineering and innovation teams in the country, which allows us to partner with our customers on the most efficient, effective and unique packaging solutions to stay ahead of the market,” Flynn said. “Our customer’s goals become our goals, and we bring everything to the table in order to help them achieve success from idea to product maturity.
“We are leaders in the industry, not followers,” she continued. “We have the most diverse portfolio of equipment in the country, including the largest fleet of VSOP presses that offer an alternative to traditional and expensive gravure printing. Combined with our top tier R&D department, we have the technology and equipment to back up any of the innovative ideas that we bring to the table.”
According to Flynn, Hammer’s most interesting projects are also the most challenging.
“Any time that we can bring our engineering and innovation team to the table with our customer to solve a complex challenge, it results in a rewarding end product,” the marketing communications manager said.
Last year, the company won multiple awards for its Seven Teas labels, “because of their complexity and intricacy,” per Flynn.
“The owner of Seven Teas came to us with a design that is among the most intricate that we’ve ever produced,” she said. “Our team was able to construct the perfect formula for reproduction, which included metallized paper, a matte laminate finish, all produced on our digital HP6800 with near flawless registration.”
Hammer also received the Gold Ink award for the Hydrive Energy Water shrink sleeve label.
“In a market flooded with energy drinks, Hydrive and the Hammer team worked through the challenge of getting Hydrive to stand out on the shelf,” Flynn said. “We did a number of tests and involved the R&D department to finally come up with a recipe that included a pearlized ink in the white area at the top of their bottle. The result is a signature look for Hydrive.”
Selecting an Ink Supplier
According to Flynn, Hammer has several requirements it looks for from its ink supplier, including performance on press.
“We have one of the fastest offset presses in the world,” Flynn said. “The ink needs to run perfectly at high speeds.” There’s also batch-to-batch consistency; ink adhesion; versatility across multiple substrates; the ability to support required color management programs; the availability of specialty inks, including low-migration, screen inks, metallic inks, and others; and having color matching capabilities throughout the US. Schedule needs must also be met, Flynn noted.
Innovation is also essential in choosing an ink partner.
“We look for a partner that has the ability to innovate with us,” Flynn added. “We are an innovative company and need to work with suppliers that equally value the importance of being at the forefront of trends and technology.”