New Year Marks 50 for CAC
Here in Pennsylvania leaves are turning beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red, still early enough in Fall season that lots of green is still in the mix. The air is crisp in the morning and evenings with the smell of blazing wood fires blended with backyard chefs getting in some last-minute burgers on the grill. This marks the start toward the finish line for 2024, which is a special year for CAC. Converter Accessory Corporation was launched by my father, Lawrence Damour, in 1974, 50 years ago. CAC has seen a lot of changes and tremendous challenges in 50 years; the passing of its’ founder, seven or eight recessions (one of them “the great recession”) and one pandemic, to name a few.
My dad
I have fond memories of going into the basement at our house in Succasunna, NJ to find my father at his drawing board, T-square in one hand, drafting pencil in the other. My father was an engineer and inventor. Starting out, he used out-of-the-box thinking while he designed unique, custom, unwind, rewind and one-of-a-kind web processing systems. Pouring creativity into his engineering and drafting tools to create equipment designs to solve problems unique to converters of paper, film, foil, textile and nonwoven webs. Eventually, my father patented CAC’s air shaft design and the company was born in 1974.
A few years after launching CAC, my father purchased a small office building in Succasunna, NJ. His vision; to supply the converting industry with unique web handling equipment. One by one, CAC has added unique products to its’ already highly successful COR-LOK air shaft and chuck core holding system. These products are designed, specifically, to solve web handling issues burdening converters of paper, film, foil, textile and nonwoven webs. Products like patented WrinkleSTOP anti-wrinkle roller, SimpLok shaft holders, all-electric web guide systems and ultrasound automatic, open loop tension controls. CAC no longer manufactures web guide systems or tension controls. However, incredibly successful WrinkleSTOP is the converting industry’s premier anti-wrinkle system and a mainstay of CAC’s web handling product line, today. SimpLok shaft holders continue as CAC’s popular, simple unwind, rewind and roller mounting system.
CAC's Patented WrinkleSTOP No-Bow Anti-Wrinkle Roller
In 1985 CAC broke ground on a brand-new facility in Blairstown, NJ to increase production capacity. We added FOX TrimAway division to CAC. FOX TrimAway systems provide pneumatic waste conveying specifically for edge trim, matrix and die cut pieces. Our COR-LOK line of core holders added mechanical chucks as an additional option for core holding in virtually any unwind or rewind application. During this period CAC developed its’ 6200 series and 6400 series pneumatic brakes.
In 1995 CAC left NJ and headed to our current facility in Wind Gap, PA. Here we continue to manufacture COR-LOK core holding systems, WrinkleSTOP and a full complement of anti-wrinkle systems, FOX TrimAway pneumatic waste conveying systems, pneumatic brakes and clutches and SimpLok shaft holders. Additionally, CAC has added ShaftLok safety chucks, AB350 adjustable bowed roller, air loaded Adjusta-Pull nip type anti-wrinkle system, idler roller systems with and without coatings and patterns, roller assemblies like nip rollers and dancer rollers, along with CAC’s Trim-AX heavy duty chopper and unique roll handling system. All told, CAC has over 75 web handling products at your disposal to make your life easier.
We see tremendous potential in 2024 with our focus primarily on automation and quality. We have automated and continue to automate every facet of our business from engineering and designing with the latest 3D CAD software to CNC machining center production to advanced web-based information delivery to streamlined customer fulfillment systems. Our goal is to save you, our customer, time and resources. Simply put, using CAC’s 50 years of knowhow, and implementing CAC technology into your converting process will increase your bottom line by saving you time and reducing or eliminating waste, especially when it comes to web handling.
