LAKE CITY, MN – October 15, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –

Pepin Manufacturing, Inc. has expanded its contract converting capacity with the recent installation of a Catbridge Model 729-32 duplex center surface slitter rewinder paired with a Model 685 shaftless floor pickup unwind stand. The equipment supports wider web processing and allows the company to process master rolls for both internal production and external contract converting work.

The Lake City, Minnesota manufacturer previously focused on narrower converting, rotary die-cutting, and flatbed die-cutting. The new line processes parent rolls up to 60 inches in diameter and 4,000 pounds. Finished rolls can be rewound to a 32-inch diameter at speeds up to 1,500 feet per minute. Minimum slit width is one-half inch. The machine handles score, shear, and razor slitting methods and offers center, center-surface, and center minimum-gap winding modes.

Materials that can be processed include films, foils, fabrics, PET, plastics, tapes, pressure-sensitive adhesives, and various laminations. Pepin Manufacturing states that the addition improves the efficiency of purchasing master rolls for existing medical device and specialty products while also making slitting and rewinding services available to outside customers.

Steve Yulga, Sales and Marketing Manager at Pepin Manufacturing, said, “The machine has been running primarily on internal projects at high utilization, and the outside contract work is ramping as planned.”

He added, “What the equipment was described as able to do and what it is doing have matched, which has made the transition straightforward for the production team.”

One early external job involved a customer whose bubble-wrap rolls had the inflation channel oriented incorrectly for their packaging process. Pepin Manufacturing used the new equipment to reverse the orientation across more than 800 rolls. The work was completed in one week. The job demonstrated the machine’s ability to handle large volumes of roll stock and correct orientation issues that would otherwise make the material unusable.

The unwind stand uses a shaftless floor-pickup design so operators can load parent rolls without inserting a shaft. This reduces changeover time and physical strain compared with shafted systems. Automatic taper tension control and the manufacturer’s CBM-1 control system are standard on the unit. Before the machine shipped, Pepin Manufacturing’s plant manager traveled to the builder’s New Jersey facility for factory acceptance testing. On-site operator training by a technician from the machine builder followed installation at the Minnesota plant. The training covered setup, operation, and routine adjustments so the floor team could run the equipment independently.

Pepin Manufacturing was founded in 1993 and operates an ISO 13485-certified and FDA-registered facility. The company also maintains an additional plant in Wabasha, Minnesota. Core converting work includes rotary and flatbed die-cutting, precision cutting, laminating, contract packaging, and custom electrode manufacturing under the Advantrode brand. The Lint Busters division produces lint rollers used in commercial dry-cleaning and other applications. The new wide-web line extends those capabilities to larger roll diameters and a broader set of materials, including those used in medical device components and industrial products.

Since becoming operational, the equipment has run at high utilization on internal projects. The ability to convert master rolls to production widths in-house supports existing medical and specialty work by reducing the need to send material out for intermediate processing. External contract work is increasing as customers bring films, filters, and industrial substrates that previously fell outside the company’s processing range. Pepin Manufacturing has also begun using the machine builder’s online job-time calculator as part of its estimating process for contract quotes.

The installation includes features such as automatic knife positioning for quicker setup and closed-loop tension control on both unwind and rewind. These elements help maintain consistent roll quality across different material types and slit widths. Plasma-coated idler rollers support pressure-sensitive adhesives, and a touch-roller system is available for films. Pepin Manufacturing continues to integrate the equipment into both its internal production schedule and its growing contract converting offerings.

Pepin Manufacturing, Inc. is a family-owned contract manufacturer founded in 1993. The company operates an ISO 13485-certified facility in Minnesota and produces converted components, electrodes, and finished goods for medical, industrial, aerospace, defense, cosmetic, and retail markets.

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For more information about Pepin Manufacturing, contact the company here:

Pepin Manufacturing
Todd Solberg
651-345-5655
customerservice@pepinmfg.com
1875 US-61 South, Lake City, MN 55041

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