News at Houchen Bindery Ltd.

January 24, 2006

Mekatronics,Inc.
ULTRABIND PLUS™

On January 24, 2006, Jack Bendror and Ken Lines of Port Washington, NY, came to our plant in Utica, NE, to install a new ULTRABIND™ PLUS. This machine replaces Houchen Bindery’s original ULTRABIND™, which was installed in 1994. While we were fine-tuning the machine, we were also visited by Fritz James and Lang Wightman of LBS. They were on site to see and test some new materials that LBS has had in development for this machine.

L-R: Fritz James, Ken Lines, Jack Bendror, Lang Wightman

The original ULTRABIND™, developed in 1991, has throughout the years performed well, and, like other machines from Mekatronics, will no doubt continue to do so for many more years. But, like any machine, it can wear out, and electronics can become obsolete. To avoid the inevitable, Houchen Bindery Ltd. decided to upgrade while the timing was in their control, and so too would be the expense. The ULTRABIND™ has become the prime means of processing Double Fan Adhesive bindings for libraries and their binders.

All of the machine functions are now controlled by an IPC (Industrial PC). Will this new IPC be obsolete in time? Like many other products at the cutting edge of technology for which the life cycle is short, the answer is yes. However, when it does become obsolete, we are informed that with this latest state-of-the-art control device, migration of the software to the new replacement will be more straightforward than with its predecessors.

Over a decade ago, the development of the ULTRABIND™ established the size range of books to be processed by the machine, The recommendation at that time was that the thickness of an adhesive bound book block should not exceed 2” . Consequently, the machine was introduced in 1991 with a bulk size capacity of 2-1/4”. Over the ensuing years, the demand to process bulky books increased. The high cost of labor to process thick book blocks on separate machines brought about the redesign of the ULTRABIND™. The range has been increased from the old maximum of 2-1/4” to 3-1/4”. In addition, the machine is also able to process thin book blocks ¼” in bulk instead of the old 3/8”. These changes allow Houchen Bindery to process thicker materials; however, just because the customers demand it, and the machine can produce it, still does not make the original specifications wrong in any way. Thick book blocks with heavy paper will not stand the strain of the weight of the paper against the adhesive for as long as a thinner book block.

The size range is only one of the many changes in design that make the ULTRABIND™ PLUS a much more capable, productive and safe machine. We look forward to many years of good service from it.

October 10, 2005

The president of Empire Bindery, John Estes, sold the assets of the company to Houchen Bindery Ltd. Located at 1400 Scott St , Wichita Falls TX , Empire had served many Texas and Oklahoma area customers. Houchen Bindery Ltd. obtained the binding records and will match the stamping work of Empire as closely as their newer computer-driven stamping machines will allow and begin serving the customer libraries with Houchen/Everett's vehicles. We look forward to meeting and serving you all.

Houchen Bindery Ltd. hosted our team members and a few of our customers to the football match-up between Iowa State and Nebraska. In a double overtime victory, Nebraska pulled off the heart-stopping win 27-20.

Our corporate tent area was visited by NU Athletic Director Steve Pederson before the game, where he shared his thoughts on the season with us. Great food, great game, great fun.

The annual celebration is also when the team members receive some extra incentives. Upon reaching their 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 year anniversary with the company, a US Savings bond is given corresponding with the years of service, $500, $1000, $1500, etc.