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November 19, 2007

RotoMetrics: A 50 Year History of Leading the Die Industry

St. Louis, MO – In 1957, if you’d asked most people to name an amazing new innovation, they probably would have pointed skyward and said “Sputnik” — referring to the first satellite launched into outer space by the Russians. But back here on earth in the Midwestern United States, another lesser-known innovation also occurred in 1957. That was the year Richard R. Rosemann, the founder of Roto-Die, later to become RotoMetrics®, began designing and manufacturing simple rotary dies in St. Louis, Missouri, for the earliest flexographic press manufacturers. In the 50 years that followed, those first innovative Roto-Die tools would also — in their own way, like the first satellite — have a lasting impact on the daily life of people all over the world. They’d also help to create a global industry where one had not existed before. As we’ve taken a look back during our 50th Anniversary year, RotoMetrics is proud to say that we not only helped to create an industry, but have always remained at its forefront by helping our industry grow, prosper and thrive. From offering hardened blades and chrome-plated dies in the 1960s, to adding fully hardened tool steel dies, print cylinders and other rotary tools to our product line in the 1970s, RotoMetrics products defined rotary tooling during the industry’s early years, and they continue to do so today. From the late ’70s through the early ’80s, RotoMetrics was the first manufacturer of rotary tooling to automate their processes by adding CNC machining capabilities, which ultimately replaced the pantograph for die manufacturing. With the later addition of EDM manufacturing techniques and other technologies, RotoMetrics effectively ushered in a new era of automation, and set a new industry standard for delivery times. RotoMetrics also led the way toward industry globalization in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. With the opening of RotoMetrics International in the U.K. in 1989, RotoMetrics became the first manufacturer of rotary tooling to open an international office. Locations in other countries followed, leading to the global presence RotoMetrics enjoys today, with offices and representatives in Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and India. After 50 years in business, what does the future hold for RotoMetrics? Continued innovation and leadership. We’re embracing the challenges of today, like working with evolving filmic materials and increasingly thinner liners and face stocks. We’re also planning for the challenges of tomorrow, such as RFID labels, laser die-cutting, as well as developing and embracing new manufacturing, order management and delivery technologies. And as we have since 1957, we’ll also be keeping an eye out for unforeseen opportunities that may take our industry in directions we can only imagine today. RotoMetrics, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a worldwide leader in precision rotary tooling for the printing and converting industries. The company operates several facilities in the United States, as well as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.