The striking Martin corporate headquarters
Martin Automatic is celebrating 50 years of global leadership in web automation.
Established in 1968 by the late John Martin, and now owned by his son Jordan, all design, manufacturing and production happens at headquarters in Rockford, Illinois. The striking building is the largest steel structure the company has ever made.
In its 50 years, the company has patented many of its inventions, including the inertia compensated dancer roller, the basis for tension control across the company’s wide range of splicing and web handling equipment.
Earlier this year Martin created an extra 20% production capacity by streamlining its shop floor to cope with increased demand for some of its larger machine types.
Currently, business is split approximately 25% each between narrow web, non-woven, board, and other specials. The company serves a broad range of markets, from labels, laminates and boxes, to non-wovens like disposable hygienics, and roofing shingles and furniture.
VP Sales & Marketing, Gavin Rittmeyer, said, ‘We believe true sophistication in technology is accomplishing the required task with the fewest number of parts. And to that end, we intentionally approach each design with these values in mind.’
The company has installed and maintained more than 7500 unwind, rewind and tension control machines across 56 countries in its history. Today, around half of all machines sold are based on standard models, with the remainder being purpose designed and manufactured to order.
