Label & Narrow Web Breaking News

SMAG to market Aquaflex equipment in Europe

Steve Katz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:31:00 -0500

After its “velvet divorce” from GIDUE, and having installed 26 of the Italian manufacturer’s presses in France, SMAG has now announced a new partnership with Aquaflex, a manufacturer of flexographic presses for labels and flexible packaging.

In 2004, Aquaflex was acquired by F.L. Smithe, the world’s leading manufacturer of envelope-making machinery. Aquaflex today employs 250, split between its plant in Duncansville, PA, USA, and an engineering office in Montreal, QC, Canada. The US plant is fully integrated with in-house metalworking, sheeting, electricals, paint shop and assembly.

Commenting on the new partnership, Stuart Roberts, VP of F.L. Smithe, says, “After acquiring Aquaflex, we concentrated our marketing on North and South America. We didn’t want to take on the European market without having a competent partner able to operate Europe-wide. When we learned that SMAG was ending its agreement with GIDUE, it was a golden opportunity and we jumped at it. SMAG has good European coverage, but for a start we will be concentrating on France and Italy. We plan to launch this operation in a big way with a stock of parts and a demo press installed at SMAG’s plant by October 2008. A wide product range well established and highly competitive on the American market, plus a favorable dollar/euro exchange rate, will mean we can move into this market quickly.”

Stéphane Rateau, CEO of SRAMAG-SMAG, comments, “This is really an exceptional opportunity. With Aquaflex we have an experienced partner making fully servo driven machinery for both label and flexible packaging sectors, with web widths from 250mm to 1,047mm (10” to 42”). SMAG will concentrate its marketing on the ELS series, for flexo printing/converting labels and flexible packaging in web widths from 200mm to 420mm (8” to 16”), and the FPC series for flexo printing/converting flexible packaging in widths from 500mm to 1,067 mm (20” to 42”).”

Mühlbauer unveils fast RFID inlay machine

Steve Katz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:24:00 -0500

Mühlbauer Technology Group, headquartered in Roding, Germany, says it has developed “the world’s fastest and highly flexible RFID inlay production line: TAL 20000.”

A successor to the TAL 10000, the 20000 “provides a quantum jump” in flip chip assembly technology for RFID inlays. The company says that assembly and test speeds have doubled to 20,000 inlays per hour.

The TAL 20000 can work with chips ranging from 0.3 x 0.3mm to 3.0 x 3.0mm, and all types of available antenna technologies – for labels, tickets, baggage tags, contactless cards, and so forth. “Furthermore,” the company announced, “the TAL 20000 platform is ready to cover future applications for multi-component labels, e.g., battery assisted tags, just by adding an additional component feeder. With a web width of up to 610mm the TAL 20000 fits to the standard formats of the card industry to introduce flip chip inlays into the contactless card market.”

FINAT plans to take the lead as world label association

Steve Katz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:22:00 -0500

FINAT, the Europe based self-adhesive label industry trade association, says it plans “to become the global authority for the sector and will work to encourage national associations to support that development.”

Celebrating its 50th anniversary at its Paris congress, the organization asked its members how they wanted it to develop in the next 50 years. The emphatic choice, according to FINAT President Jan Frederik Vink, was that the association should take the lead in the continued development of the industry worldwide.

Vink said the board wanted the clear views of its members as it shapes the organization in preparing for the future.

“We need a compass to choose the right direction,” says Vink. “Where do we want to be in the next 50 years? It is important that we get the right input.”

Faced with a choice of developing its activities into all forms of labeling, the packed congress hall voted to continue to “do what we do well” and develop its global expertise in the service of self-adhesive manufacturers. Members also decided that FINAT should be the driving force to help the industry cope with the growing environmental challenges that the future holds.

FINAT began in Europe 50 years ago, but its members now come from the world over. The strongest growth in the association’s membership reportedly is among converters from Turkey and India.

Prices of packaging materials continue to rise

Steve Katz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:20:00 -0500

Prices for materials used in packaging continue to rise. Among the most recent announcements of price increases are those from Sun Chemical, the world’s largest ink manufacturer, Valéron and Michelman. The increases are the result, they say, of rising energy, transportation and raw materials costs.

Sun Chemical North America, based in Parsippany, NJ, USA, will implement energy and material surcharges on inks effective July 14. A 10-cents-per-pound surcharge will be applied to news inks, directory inks, cold-set, heat-set, publication gravure, solvent packaging, and energy curing inks. Water based packaging inks will be subjected to a 6-cents-per-pound surcharge. The surcharges, the company notes, are in addition to any recently announced price increases.

“The unrelenting cost increases related to freight, raw materials, and the energy used to produce our products require the immediate implementation of this surcharge,” says Greg Lawson, vice president, sales. “We remain committed to providing our customers with the best color and performance value in these most challenging times.”

Valéron Strength Films, Houston, TX, USA, raised prices of its film substrates 5 percent on July 1, and has announced that on August 1 the price will rise another 4 percent. The company cites “increasing raw material, energy and transportation costs” as the reason for the increase.

Michelman, Cincinnati, OH, USA, says it will implement price increases ranging from 15 to 25 percent on coatings and additives across all product categories in the Americas region effective July 14.

Michelman CFO Alan Blake says, “Increases in the cost of our raw materials, our energy costs, and our transportation costs have been dramatic this year. The increases have been rapid and, as yet, unrelenting. While these price increases are unfortunate, our entire organization is committed to continually improving our products and services. We will also continue to provide those products and services at competitive prices.”

Michelman manufactures barrier, functional, and decorative coatings for flexible film packaging, paperboard, and corrugated boxes; and additives and modifiers for many industries, including coatings, inks, composites, and construction products.

ETIs converting technology secures patent in Europe

Steve Katz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:19:00 -0500

ETI Converting, Boucherville, QC, Canada, has received a patent covering 27 European countries for its “method and apparatus for manufacturing pressure sensitive adhesive labelstocks with printing under adhesive and product produced thereby.” ETI manufactures presses that allow converters to create their own pressure sensitive laminates from component materials.

The company, which received a US patent in 2005, says that it has sold more than 60 machines worldwide.

ETI’s Cohesio and Labeline machines permit operators to manufacture their own pressure sensitive labelstock by marrying liner material, silicone, adhesive and facestock inline. The presses can be equipped with print stations for flexo, gravure or offset, and can also feature foil application and diecutting stations. The company says that the process can save the converter between 30 and 70 percent in raw materials costs.

A city acts to keep CCL Label from relocating

Steve Katz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:19:00 -0500

A report from North Carolina, USA, says that CCL Label plans to move from its leased building in Charlotte into a building that it will own. According to the Charlotte Business Journal, the label converter is looking at new sites in several locations, including South Carolina.

While CCL has offered no public comment on its plans, the report says that the city of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County are offering close to $600,000 in incentive grants to keep the company in or around Charlotte. CCL Label, an international operation with headquarters in Canada, currently has 135 employees in a leased plant in Charlotte.

According to the Journal, CCL wants to buy its own building where it will invest up to $20 million in an expansion that will add 10 jobs. A $20 million investment by CCL, the city estimates, could result in a total direct economic impact of $997,000 per year to the Charlotte economy.

Meanwhile, in the US city of Memphis, TN, CCL is demolishing its former downtown plant a 74,000 square foot building on three parcels of land. The company says that security and utilities costs at the site prompted the demolition.

“With the general market, there is no reason to sit on the building and pay those expenses,” CCL general manager Guy Kiraly says. CCL Label moved into an $18 million, 120,000 square foot facility in a Memphis business park last year.

CCL plans $25 million expansion in Asia

Steve Katz — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:10:00 -0500

CCL Industries has announced that it will invest US$25 million over 2008 and 2009 to expand its CCL Label operations in Asia. The company began doing business in Asia five years ago with its 2003 investment in Bangkok, Thailand, which has subsequently undergone two expansions. In 2006 and 2007, CCL invested in additional operations in Guangzhou and Hefei in China. At the current pace, sales in Asia will reach approximately US$40 million in 2008, says Geoffrey Martin, president and CEO.

The company announced that it will build four new greenfield plants and also expand some of its existing facilities in the region. A second new plant in Bangkok will produce beverage and battery label products for Southeast Asia and Australia. CCL will enter Vietnam with a new facility in Ho Chi Minh City, focused on personal care products. A new startup in Pune, India, will focus on personal care and healthcare customers, and a new greenfield site in Tianjin will become the company’s first healthcare plant in China, as well as produce labels for personal care customers. Investments will also be made to expand the capability of the Hefei, China, plant to supply home and personal care products to global customers located in the Shanghai region. CCL’s sales and technical center in Japan will be expanded to become a pilot manufacturing facility for personal care labels.

“All of our existing operations in Asia are now solidly profitable and we have formed an excellent team of local managers who have ambition to grow,” says Martin. “Emerging market sales now represent approximately 17 percent of our label business, but we would like to see that grow to 30 percent in the next three to five years to be more closely aligned with the sales of our important global customers. This would require us to more than double the size of our existing presence in Asia. We believe the highly successful organic growth model that we have deployed in this region should be continued, at least for our core markets, and will provide increased benefits to our customers and shareholders.”

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, CCL Industries employs 5,400 people and operates 55 production facilities in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. CCL Label is the world’s largest converter of pressure sensitive and film materials and sells to global customers in the consumer packaging, healthcare, and consumer durable segments.

TLMI introduces industry trends report for members

Steve Katz — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:09:00 -0500

The Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute (TLMI) has begun publication of a quarterly report for its members titled The TLMI Index & Trend Report.

“These quarterly reports will include both quantitative and qualitative information,” says TLMI Chairman John Hickey. “A key goal is to link the quantitative roll stock data currently gathered by TLMI with broader economic events, and to interpret and highlight key trends that are important for the association’s members.”

Each issue will examine roll stock shipments, TLMI converter quarterly trends in sales and profits, economic conditions, industry and end-use trends, public company stock performance, and merger and acquisition activity. Converters’ outlook and confidence levels, as well as those of suppliers, will be examined, as will the outlook by end users.

The report is researched and written by J Zarwan Partners and LPC Inc. J Zarwan Partners is an independent consultancy that focuses on strategic marketing, business development, and industry trends. LPC is a printing and packaging industry consulting firm that offers market research, public relations, technical due diligence and M&A analysis, and new business development.

Gallus has new sales agency in Italy

Steve Katz — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:08:00 -0500

Franchini & C. S.r.l. in San Giuliano Milanese now has sole responsibility for sales and service of Gallus label printing presses in Italy. For 35 years, Gallus press systems in Italy were distributed by SO.MA.CA S.r.l. in Milan.

Franchini, which has more than 40 years’ experience in label printing, will be responsible for sales of Gallus equipment, technical customer support and supply of spare parts and accessories for Gallus presses.

The Gallus Group, based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is a manufacturer of narrow web presses and rotary screen equipment. Gallus and Heidelberg, the world’s largest printing equipment manufacturer, have been in partnership since 1999.

FLEXcons McDonough wins Lifetime Achievement Award

Steve Katz — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:06:00 -0500

Neil McDonough, president of FLEXcon, is the 2008 winner of the R. Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award. Judges for the Label Industry Global Awards selected McDonough for the honor at its judging session in Paris in June.

The president of FLEXcon, a global polymeric coater and provider of pressure sensitive films and adhesive products based in Spencer, MA, USA, has dedicated a quarter of a century to the label industry. Before becoming president in 1990, McDonough held a variety of positions in manufacturing, sales, and management, including director of marketing. FLEXcon was founded by his father, Myles.

Among the innovations he fostered as president was the no-label look for glass bottle labeling with Clearly Canadian in the 1990s – a concept that is now a staple of the labeling industry.

McDonough’s continuous contribution to the labeling industry is reflected in the company’s focus, which is to work closely with customers to develop customized pressure sensitive solutions. His industry involvement also includes participation in numerous Labelexpo shows, conferences and seminars, in TLMI (for which he chairs a committee) and in other organizations.

“I am thrilled and humbled to learn that I have been selected by the judging panel of the Label Industry Global Awards as the recipient of the R. Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award 2008,” McDonough says. “I am delighted to confirm my acceptance of this great honor.”

Mike Fairley, chairman of the judging panel, says: “Choosing the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award was a difficult choice this year, particularly because the judges were evaluating the profiles of nominees against a range of criteria. However, although all were worthy candidates, it was felt that Neil McDonough best exemplified the innovative, industry focused and global approach that has characterized the growth of pressure sensitive labels over many years. I would certainly like to congratulate him on this achievement.”

Schreiner MediPharm opens first US facility

Steve Katz — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:21:00 -0500

Schreiner MediPharm, a Germany-based pharmaceutical label converter, recently opened its first US production facility, Schreiner MediPharm, L.P., just outside of New York City, in Blauvelt, NY.

The 50,000 square-foot facility features a variety of screen and flexo printing technologies and will be ISO-certified as soon as possible. The company will supply a product line that includes specialty peel-off labels, combination hanger labels, brand protection and RFID solutions, expanded content labels as well as functional syringe labels.

Gene Dul, president of Schreiner MediPharm, L.P., said: "It is with great pride that Schreiner MediPharm opens its new Blauvelt, New York, production facility. We are happy to offer Schreiner’s award-winning manufacturing expertise, labeling innovations and beginning-to-end customer support to the North American healthcare industry directly from an American location."

Sun Chemical Performance Pigments to increase global pigment prices

Steve Katz — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:07:00 -0500

Due to a spike in raw material, energy and transportation costs, Sun Chemical Corporation’s Performance Pigments Division will increase global pigment prices on average by 10 to 30 percent effective July 1.

“The hyperinflation of oil and natural gas has led to dramatically higher energy, raw material and freight costs,” says Myron Petruch, president, Performance Pigments, Sun Chemical. “In addition, there have also been dramatic cost increases in intermediates and pigments out of China and other parts of Asia. Costs are escalating quicker and in higher amounts than at any time in the last 30 years.”

This price increase is in addition to the price increases announced in February 2008, and will affect pigments in all forms, including dry, preparations and flushes.

“There is no short-term relief in sight for these rising costs, however, we will continue to look for cost reduction and productivity gains to offset the rising costs of raw materials,” Petruch says.

Sun Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of Sun Chemical Group B.V., the Netherlands, and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, USA.

GEW launches IsoCure UV curing system

Steve Katz — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:06:00 -0500

With the launch of its IsoCure UV curing system for web offset applications, GEW, Surrey, England, has announced its intention to enter new market sectors of the printing and converting industries. Already a market leader in the narrow web sector, the company intends to diversify into the newsprint and commercial web offset markets as well as coating and silicone release with a UV system they say will bring unprecedented savings to users.

IsoCure is a versatile, fully water-cooled UV curing system designed for medium and wide format printing and coating applications in arc lengths from 50cm (20”) up to two meters (78.75”). It can be fitted to existing machines or OEM specified on central impression, in-line and sheet-fed presses, as well as laminators and bridge units over conveyers. A compact, reduced cross-section footprint facilitates installation.

“Typically, UV systems require large exhaust fans, ducting and manifolds to remove the ozone and heat generated by the UV lamps when curing. IsoCure seals the lamp in its own temperature-controlled microclimate in isolation from the plant or print room, eliminating the expenditure of ambient air for cooling and ozone extraction. Instead of being ducted to the outside of the building, ozone is safely destroyed within the lamp head. This gives unprecedented savings in UV system operating costs because expensive heated or air-conditioned factory air is no longer consumed. This also yields increased lamp life as airborne contaminants and dust particles are not sucked into the lamp head. Furthermore, since no ducting or exhaust fans are needed, IsoCure allows neater, more compact installation with significantly reduced noise levels,” said Malcolm Rae, managing director.

Rae adds, “IsoCure represents both an economic and ecological advancement to the marketplace with its design and runs on our electronic e-Brick power supply that provides additional benefits in cost reduction as well reducing the users carbon footprint.”

Flexo plate manufacturer offers free plates to technical trial participants

Steve Katz — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:03:00 -0500

Plate manufacturer PRPflexo, Indianapolis, IN, USA, is currently seeking flexo printers for additional trials of their new patent pending digital flexo plates. Participants will be asked to utilize the new plates, Digital ExSpect, on their presses to run existing work where comparisons are available. The company reports that initial results have indicated that the new Digital ExSpect plates outlast conventional digital plates by as much as 200 percent.

Prpflexo states that the Digital ExSpect plates run cleaner for longer, reduce set-up times and have less dot gain than other plates tested. In return for participation, printers will be provided the plates at no charge for a mutually agreed upon job. Documentation of the run data must be provided, with results of the testing to be documented in industry publications. Interested parties are asked to respond to Christopher Green at 317-690-3009 or by email at crjgreen@prpflexo.com.

3 Sigma makes 54 master roll widths available

Steve Katz — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:02:00 -0500

3 Sigma, Troy, OH, USA, has announced the availability of 54” master roll widths for standard circle coupon. This product is available from stock with 3 Sigma’s AT2000 adhesive and 40# liner. Other requirements, such as its PE3 permanent adhesive, will be offered on a made-to-order basis with custom product lead time of five days.

“We are very excited to offer our customers another option for their converting needs. 3 Sigma already has the most extensive line of coupon products in the industry, and we intend to continue that leadership position. We have been manufacturing the Universal Coupon product line for 15 years and earlier this year surpassed 100 billion square inches of production. Over that time, we have provided our various constructions to more than 350 converters worldwide,” says Terry Cudney, marketing manager.

3 Sigma’s Universal Coupon products are available in standard and tight Circle, wide or narrow wavy patterns to meet various application needs. In addition to the new 54”, Master Roll widths are available in 20”, 30” or 40”.