Printer News February 2011
PEOPLE
APPLETON, Wis.—Great Northern Corporation has appointed Marty Maher to the position of vice president, general manager of its Chippewa Falls facility. Maher comes from Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, where he most recently served as general manager and sales manager of its plant in Des Moines, Iowa.
DECATUR, Ill.—Huston Patterson Corp. recently named Joe Morelli as its client services manager for Northern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas.
PITTSBURGH, Pa.—The Label Printing Industries of America (LPIA) announced the selection of John "Jack" Turan, team leader for Rochester, N.Y.-based Hammer Packaging Corporation, as the 10th inductee into the LPIA Hall of Fame. The LPIA Hall of Fame honor is conferred to that converting executive who has reached an unsurpassed level of excellence and achievement in the industry.
Packaging That's Safe for Food and the Planet
MILWAUKEE—To meet the demand for environmentally responsible packaging, Precision Color Graphics (PCG), located in Franklin, Wis., claims to be the first company in the nation to introduce a line of pet food packaging that does not use petrochemicals. The bags have a paper exterior and biopolymer film lining made from corn.
"Our Ecoterah brand of patent-pending bags is appearing on store shelves now," says John Goeden, PCG president. "We're very excited to be the first to introduce compostable, earth-friendly pet food packaging to the market."
Tuffy's® Pet Foods, Inc. is PCG's first customer to use Ecoterah packaging. This Minnesota-based company has been manufacturing several brands of dog and cat foods for 45 years. Tuffy's chose Ecoterah packaging for its line of Natural Planet Organics™ dog foods.
"We felt this packaging was the right thing to do for the environment," says Jim Farrell, sales and marketing manager at Tuffy's Pet Foods. "But we also expect it will help boost sales. Customers who want organically grown dog food are the same type of customer who are attracted to earth-friendly packaging."
To produce Ecoterah packaging, PCG uses EarthFirst® PLA (polylactic acid) Film, an earth-friendly alternative to petrochemical-based films. This clear, compostable lining is a carbon-neutral biopolymer manufactured under the resin trade name of Ingeo™. PLA is FDA-compliant for food contact, and because it does not contain petrochemicals, Ecoterah is safe for recycling, composting, and landfills.
"I tell my customers that they won't have to sacrifice on their design or printing to use environmentally friendly packaging," Goeden adds. Ecoterah products are suitable for various printing processes and inks, including soy-based inks.
Repacorp Acquires Aladdin Label
TIPP CITY, Ohio—Repacorp, Inc. announced it has acquired the assets of Aladdin Label, Inc. in Waukesha, Wis. on Dec. 30, 2010.
Richard and Gayle Schwartz, founders and former owners of Aladdin Label, Inc., explained the reason they picked Repacorp: "We choose Repacorp to acquire our business because we liked the family atmosphere Repacorp brought to the table. Repacorp is also involved with new technologies like digital printing and RFID. By adding these new technologies to Aladdin, it would give Aladdin's employees and company new growth," points out Richard Schwartz. "Repacorp has had a presence in Wisconsin since 1999," added Gayle Schwartz. "We like that Repacorp will keep the majority of the employees in Wisconsin."
Aladdin Label, Inc. was founded in 1972 and evolved from a one-press operation to two plants with multiple presses and a full packaging line, totaling 50,000-plus square feet. "Aladdin's quality product attracted Repacorp to this acquisition," commented Rick Heinl, president of Repacorp, Inc. "Aladdin has a great customer base with no overlapping of Repacorp's customers, and Aladdin has many new product lines in which Repacorp is not currently involved."
Aladdin Label will continue to operate under its current name.
The Printing Plant Certified by Color-Logic
WEST CHESTER, Ohio—The Printing Plant, a narrow-web flexographic label printer in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been qualified as the first certified Color-Logic flexographic printer in the United States. Announcing the qualification, Color-Logic Director of Operations and eCommerce David Bowden commented: "The Printing Plant, a family-owned printer which opened its doors in 1979, has grown through the years by being among the first to implement new technologies and processes in the label market. Their certified qualification to utilize the Color-Logic Process Metallic Color Process continues that effort, to the benefit of their customers."
The Printing Plant provides prime labels, tags, food safety and security labels, data capture labels, temporary tattoos, educational stickers, and multi-panel coupons to a wide variety of industries across the United States and Canada. In additional to flexographic printing, The Printing Plant offers narrow- and wide-format digital and offset printing.
PaperWorks Industries Acquires Rosmar Packaging
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—PaperWorks Industries, Inc. announced that Sun Capital Partners has acquired Rosmar Packaging Corp., a well-regarded North American folding carton company. The newly acquired company will soon be integrated into PaperWorks, an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners.
Rosmar will be incorporated into the PaperWorks Packaging Group, bringing 750 employees and five facilities to PaperWorks. It produces products across the packaging value chain, including folding cartons, flexible packaging, litho-laminates, and blister cards, serving primarily the food, consumer goods, pharmaceutical, and beverage industries.
"We couldn't be more pleased to work with a company of Rosmar's standing," stated PaperWorks Industries CEO Thomas J. Garland. "From their two-decade commitment to sustainability, through their dedication to quality and customer service, Rosmar Packaging shares many of PaperWorks' core values. We look forward to bringing them into our enterprise and moving together towards even greater successes."
With five plants across Canada and the United States, the Rosmar Packaging acquisition will further expand the territory PaperWorks serves. "Rosmar's existing client base in Mexico will make us a truly North American company," Garland said. "On the whole, this merger will bring even greater value to our customers—increased capacity, significantly more product and process offerings, and greatly enhanced geographic reach."
Plastic Packaging Technologies Purchased by Mid Oaks Investments
KANSAS CITY, Kan.—Plastic Packaging Technologies, LLC (PPT), a manufacturer of flexible packaging, has been purchased by privately-held Mid Oaks Investments LLC, Buffalo Grove, Ill. for an undisclosed amount.
"Mid Oaks has enjoyed a successful 20-year investment track record in the food packaging industry. As a leading, vertically-integrated manufacturer of flexible packaging products for the food, pet food, specialty consumer, and health care industries, PPT is an ideal addition to our portfolio," said Wayne Kocourek, chairman and CEO, Mid Oaks.
PPT's current management team, led by David Staker, president and CEO, and Dan Staker, executive vice president, will continue leading the business under Mid Oak's ownership. "PPT prides itself on providing innovative, high-quality products using the best technology available. With Mid Oaks as our new owners, we will have additional resources at our disposal to help PPT grow to the next level," said Staker.
Glenroy Launches ExpressWeb
MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis.—Glenroy, Inc. announced the launch of ExpressWeb surface printable films. Formerly known as the Narrow Web Printer's Program, the ExpressWeb product line provides high-quality surface-printable packaging film available in two to four business days.
With the relaunch of the program as ExpressWeb, Glenroy has more than doubled the amount of film structures in the product line. The films are designed for applications ranging from beauty and personal care products to pharmaceuticals.
