Charter Films: Bigger and Better Than Ever

Company Overview

Charter Films, located in Superior, Wisconsin, was formed by three entrepreneurs that have a combined over 45 years of experience within the film extrusion industry. Although Charter Films may be considered a new company in the field, their skills and know-how have made this company a major player in the world of plastic film suppliers. Charter specializes in mono and co-extruded films which are used for printing and laminating, banners, surface protection and thermoformable applications. These products are commonly used in food, medical, cosmetic packaging, graphic arts and advertising, adhesive coaters, extruded sheet stock, and automotive applications.

The Challenge

Unique to Charter is their aggression to keep up with new, state-of-the-art technology. Since their inception, Charter has purchased and installed three single and multi-layer Varex blown film lines from Windmoeller & Hoelscher in less than two years. The first two installations included a 103-inch mono-layer and an 83-inch three-layer Varex blown film extrusion line from W&H. According to Mark Tesmer, Charter’s V.P. of Sales & Marketing, “W&H’s superior products have provided us with service and support that is unmatched in the industry.” Because of this, Charter installed a third 63-inch three-layer Varex line.

“When we started our company, we needed treating equipment that would provide us with a lot of flexibility and reliability,” explained Chris Trapp, V.P. & General Manager of Charter. “We needed a treater that could provide a uniform treat at a wide range of dyne levels on many difficult types of polyethylene films."

The Solution & Benefits

For the purpose of printing and laminating from one to two sides, Charter’s new W&H line will include three of Pillar’s Universal Surface Treaters, each equipped with Pillar’s new P6000 Power Supply that features the latest in IGBT technology, keeping Charter on top of the new equipment market. This allows Charter to treat up to four sides including treating inside and outside of the bubble, which may generate a whole new breed of customers for Charter. The Charter team specified that they were looking for Universal Treaters consisting of one two-sided universal covered roll and two single-side universal covered roll stations for the purpose of four sided treatment. Pillar’s Universal Surface Treaters offer Charter ease of maintenance due to the interchangeable electrode assembly that is built into the design, which is important when the station is located in the tower. In addition to this, the treater stations also allow Charter to clean their electrodes “off-line” which becomes a safety benefit as well.

Trapp explains, “We have worked with Pillar over the last 15 years and we have found their surface treaters provide the best turn-down ratio in the industry which allows for the widest range of treat levels. Pillar has always been a good company to work with. It was important to us to equip our extrusion lines with the best treaters on the market.”