Rick Bardowell's business practically guarantees no two days are alike. He owns Pure Air Filters, a Miami area private label manufacturer that sells custom air filtration systems nationally and internationally to wholesalers, distributors and brokers. Ninety percent are non-standard sizes requiring a device to make precise measurement cuts, and that's why he recently turned again to Colter & Peterson for a new 36" Prism® paper cutter.
In March, the Prism replaced a 30-year-old POLAR machine once serviced by Colter & Peterson, North America's premier independent distributor of paper cutters and paper handling equipment, and by Ed Lindsey, a Tampa technician first introduced to Bardowell through C&P.
"Colter & Peterson provides super service and we needed a new machine. We decided to upgrade instead of buying old equipment, so I spoke with Ed and he highly recommended the Prism," recalled Bardowell, a former hardware representative who began Pure Air Filters in 1989 and sold air filters until manufacturing his own products starting in 2004.
The robust Prism cutter is known for high performance, outstanding reliability and state-of-the-art electronics technology. High speed steel knives provide extended durability, all key factors in Bardowell's decision to purchase it.
"We use a special design of chipboard we get from a manufacturer in Tennessee, and have five standard sizes that we manipulate the cardboard frames and can make thousands of different sizes. We use the Prism to do this and reliability is a key factor because if the machine goes down, it can put us out of business. But it is very reassuring to know if we encounter a problem, C&P is right there to help us."
The client range is wide and extensive for Pure Air Filters, which provides clean air environments for homes, hotels, casinos and commercial buildings, as well as yachts, naval vessels and hospital surgical units. Bardowell said a recent order for a client wound up being installed at the Broward County Sheriff's office to help remove the smell of contraband from the Evidence room.
"These are window size filters, as small as 5" x 9" up to 60", and the Prism allows us to be very accurate in what we cut. That's important because almost every customer of ours has very specific requests on the size of these filters. Our measurements must be very precise, within 1/32 of an inch."
Bardowell's Prism also includes the Microcut® computer control system, a cost-effective solution that saves time. It provides automated capability to store cutting sequences so the back gauge automatically positions itself for each individual cut. Programs are uploaded from a network or with a USB device using CIP 3/4 files.
"We go through thousands of skids of filters each month and usually turn most jobs around in 3-5 days. Our typical order is anywhere from a dozen to a couple hundred, so turnaround time is very important to us since our business is so reliant on non-standard sizes. We feel secure in knowing this machine will keep us on track to deliver product to our customers."
