Kenton Gedwed, Sales Director, CSI

Premium Beauty News - Your company’s strong point is its almost total integration?

Kenton Gedwed - We do want to emphasize on the fact that our company is a leading plastic injection manufacturer providing end-to-end packaging services. We are not a wholesaler or broker we are a factory-direct supplier. Our customers appreciate one-stop shopping from tooling and production to in-house decorating from our single-source facility in Southern California. Our full-service capabilities include on-site tooling / mould design, design / engineering, rapid product prototyping, standard and recycled resin, and in-house decorating / assembly. We provide hot stamp foil banding on closures, offset Printing, silk Screening.

Since 1978, we are a US Based manufacturer and distributor of innovative packaging solutions for the Beauty and Personal Care Industries. We make single and double wall jars and closures, but also custom cosmetic components and we are a national leader in mechanical pencils and nail closure design and manufacturing.

Premium Beauty News - You require minimum quantities? And one of your assets remains the design and manufacture of moulds...

Kenton Gedwed - We accept 25,000 pieces Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ), but we are always willing to be flexible with the MOQ in certain instances for a customer. You are right! Great tools make great products. Our mould design and build experience in the US and worldwide sets the industry standard for the highest quality injection moulds.

Premium Beauty News - You have invested a lot in silk screen printing.

Kenton Gedwed - That’s right! It is one of the most popular decorating options. You are familiar with the technique of course. This process involves starting off with camera ready artwork, creating a film positive, (a photo image of the artwork), burning the image onto a photo-sensitive specified screen mesh and then pressing the ink through a screen with a squeegee , allowing the color to be applied only where desired. Each color is applied separately using a new screen to give a crisp design. The advantages of this printing process are the following:

 Direct-to-surface printing.
 UV curable inks.
 Can decorate 360-degrees of the container surface.
 High-speed production.
 Multi-color capabilities..

But we also master offset printing and hot stamping.

In offset printing the image of the design is transferred to plates rather than a screen. Each plate is individually engraved for every colour used; the ink is then transferred to a rubber "blanket." Blankets are attached to a rotating wheel, and each blanket contains one colour. Whereas in screen printing a separate pass is required for each colour, in offset printing, the entire process is done in a single pass. The advantages are:

 Precise replication of even delicate designs and artwork when artwork has halftone printing demands.
 Up to 2 pass application.
 Direct-to-surface printing.

Hot stamping is the technique of applying metallic accents to a closure through the use of heat, pressure and dies. The die is embossed with the image to be transferred to the surface of the container. The embossed die is then heated, pressing the foil onto the container. This method can be used to roll a 360-degree foil stripe around a closure. Main advantages of this printing technique:

 Does not require post-curing or treatment.
 Can be applied in stock gold or silver color.
 Custom colors are also available upon request.
 Offers precise design placement.

Eventually, multi-process decorating which, as the name implies, combines a number of techniques — offset printing and hot stamping. Advantages of multi-process decorating:

 Offers a high degree of customization.
 Ideal for high-end items or to create a strong brand message.
 Provides strong product standout on store shelves.

Premium Beauty News - What are your main markets? And what will your next investments be?

Kenton Gedwed - We serve some of the world’s largest and most respected cosmetics, hair care, nail care, spa, bath & body, wellness, OTC, natural, and organic brands. We have developed many “firsts” in stock and custom packaging.

Today, we are one of the leading U.S. manufacturers of cosmetic pencils, double-wall jars, caps, liners, dispensing caps, specialty closures, sealing discs and other products in traditional plastics and acrylics, and manufactures more than 200 million parts annually. As for investments, we strive to constantly improve our fleet of machines dedicated to injection (three new machines these past months), decoration and mould making.