Customers in Iberia will benefit from an expanded product and service offering through partnership with Tecnocut  

Kelkheim, March 29, 2023 – Effective 1st of April 2023, the new partnership with Tecnocut will strengthen Maxcess Europe, a global leader in innovative products and services for automated web handling applications, as a sales agent and solution provider for the Iberia sales region.  

“With Tecnocut, we found a strong partner which complements the service and support across the entire product life cycle,” said Alexander Haid, General Manager for Maxcess Europe. “This partnership supports the strategic expansion of Sales and Service activities in Southern Europe for our end-to-end automated web handling solutions. With our shared know-how and service, both Maxcess and Tecnocut offer tremendous value to the market.” 

Tecnocut, an expert in engineering solutions in the tag & label and converting industry, offers strong service and support in the Iberia region, complementing the Maxcess portfolio with its own R&D innovation, as well as a wide range of high-quality products and services for die cutting stations.  

“With 30 years of expertise in the label and converting industry and our 30 employees we are confident in our ability to offer high-quality and focused customer service locally, Said Sergio Estrada, CEO of Tecnocut. “We are excited to be a strategic partner of Maxcess, which gives us the opportunity to improve productions processes, enhance continuous improvement efforts and increase sustainable development initiatives for customers in Iberia. With our technical teams specialized in different areas, our combined teams and resources will cover all market needs for customers.”  

About Tecnocut: 

Tecnocut is focused on engineering solutions and smart machinery for the label and converting industry. With its 30 employees the goal of Tecnocut is to offer a comprehensive service, based on personalized advice and custom engineering. Tecnocut was founded in 1993 and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2023. Visit them online at www.tecnocut.com.

About Maxcess: 

Maxcess helps its customers maximize productivity through innovative products and services worldwide. By combining more than 400 years of global service and support across the storied product brands of RotoMetrics, Fife, Tidland, MAGPOWR, Webex, Valley Roller and Componex, Maxcess offers an unrivaled network of application experts and end-to-end web handling solutions to help you work better, faster and smarter. Visit them online at www.maxcess.com

Constantly pushing forward with the latest technology, Mark-Maker Company is one of the first in the US to install the ThermoFlexX Catena-W washout unit from XSYS. Already delivering higher plate quality and optimized processing times for the company, the new washer has fast become an integral part of the workflow and a hit with the operators.

Willstaett, Germany. 29 March 2023 – Mark-Maker Company is a successful medium-sized commercial platemaker and trade shop, which serves a wide variety of customers with high-quality flexo plates and cutting dies for the corrugated segment. Its daily challenges are the same that are faced throughout the packaging industry; customers demand faster turnaround so they can reduce time to market while having the same high expectations in terms of quality without wanting to pay more. The solution is to maximize the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) in the plate room by investing in platemaking equipment that delivers the best performance, highest productivity, and best quality.

Continuing partnership with XSYS

For President Aaron Pettijohn, there was no reason to start investigating solutions from other manufacturers when the company’s old washout unit at the Grand Rapid, Michigan-based facility had come to the end of its life. With an XSYS ThermoFlexX imager, a nyloflex® Xpress Thermal Processor, and Woodpecker surface screening technology already a part of the workflow, he knew there could be only one choice: the ThermoFlexX Catena-W washout unit.

“Mark-Maker has been partnering with XSYS – and previously as Flint Group – with great success since the early 1990s when our first 50 x 80” flexo sheet system went in and we’ve always used nyloflex® plates,” said Aaron. “The XSYS team gives us the best support and a service that is second to none, as well as providing us with superior products, so naturally we turned to them for advice.” He added, “It quickly became clear that the Catena-W would not only offer superior quality but also make a really big difference in terms of automated plate handling, a reduction in washout solution usage, and improvement in overall efficiency. And I’m pleased to say that it has more than lived up to expectations.”    

A company with decades of experience

Mark-Maker Company was formed in 1970 when Robert Stout, who was a graphic artist by trade, set up the business to provide hand-engraved and rubber printing plates to the printing industry. In 1979, Robert Pettijohn was brought in to help the small family business expand into steel rule cutting dies. He soon expanded the customer base, selling plates and dies to corrugated manufacturers.

On the plate side, Mark-Maker began making liquid photopolymer plates for flexo printing in the 1980s, and in the early 1990s, it added sheet plates with the installation of one of the first large format systems in the country. This was also around the time Pettijohn took over running the company as President, and his son, Aaron, joined the business. When Robert retired in 2018 after, 40 years in the company (25 of which he was at the helm), the reins were passed to Aaron.   

Today, the family-owned Company operates three sites in the US Midwest.  State of the art equipment is used to produce flexo plates and cutting dies at the main plant in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where 55 people are employed.  Its locations in Glendale Heights, Illinois and Neenah, Wisconsin produce cutting dies where another 35 people are employed.  The company uses the latest and highest quality equipment and technology to ensure products exceed the expectations of their customers.  “Investing in facilities, equipment, and people is the key to our continued success in this product segment,” states Aaron, “We must continuously look for improvements within our company to meet the quality and service expectations of our customers.”   

Improving quality and speed, reducing consumption

The ThermoFlexX Catena-W washout unit from XSYS operates with several features that guarantee plate quality and high throughput as well as minimal operator intervention. Its unique plate alignment technology avoids plate skew during transport, while the advanced plate queuing limits the distance between plates to 20 inches (50 cm) for maximum productivity. Furthermore, the system uses three hands-free, internal pin bars to transport plates through the process, making plate punching a thing of the past.

At Mark-Maker, the Catena-W works in unison with a ThermoFlexX 80 imager installed in 2017 and a nyloflex® Xpress Thermal Processor from 2019 to provide large flexo printing plates in sizes up to 50 x 80”. Pre-Press Manager, Jason Sikkema, was full of praise for the new Catena-W unit and the XSYS team, describing the integration as “seamless” and the improvement in plate quality as “perfect.”  

He also highlighted the savings the company has seen. “The small, precise measure that the machine uses for each plate has allowed us to reduce washout solution consumption by as much as 50% and the energy needed for the distillation system, so that is obviously a huge advantage in terms of lower costs and environmental impact. The machine itself also consumes less energy and there has been an improvement in our working environment thanks to the fully enclosed operation,” he said.

Another big selling point for Mark-Maker was the remote servicing capabilities of the washer, which speeds up the resolution of any issues, meaning the company can achieve maximum uptime. With Catena-W, the system has newest web service connectivity to monitor and report motor current, controllers, operating conditions, and working temperatures with logs for warnings and maintenance. “We save so much time with the constant monitoring and remote service. Issues can be resolved before they become a problem and there is a lot less waiting around for an engineer to come out,” stated Aaron.

Continued investment to stay ahead of the curve

With automation as the key driver in flexo plate production, the Catena-W washout unit has been built for seamless integration with other ThermoFlexX modules to form the fully automated Catena+ end-to-end platemaking line. This capability was another important decision-making aspect for Mark-Maker, as the company intends to extend its product offering and geographical reach

“We wanted a washer that would futureproof our investment, should we decide to build up to fully automated platemaking. The innovative Catena+ line is very enticing, and it would certainly fit well with our ambitious growth plans and our goal to always be ahead of the curve, so we can provide our customers with fast and reliable service of the best flexo plates in the market,” concluded Aaron when asked about the company’s future. 

Sales Director National Accounts for North America, Dan Rosen, who has worked with the company for a long time, commented, “The team at Mark-Maker has been at the forefront of flexo sheet platemaking developments since the early 1990s and continues to be among the very first to invest in every one of the XSYS product categories. That really shows the dedication they have to their customers and their vision when it comes to innovation.” 

ABOUT XSYS

Headquartered in Willstaett, Germany, XSYS operates globally and remains one of the largest suppliers offering both flexographic and letterpress prepress solutions, including plates, sleeves, processors, workflow solutions, and expert professional services, designed to help these industries move forward with increasing innovation, improved productivity and profitability, and a reduced environmental footprint.

In recognizing our endeavor to bring more brilliance into the packaging industry – into the lives of our customers and colleagues – XSYS has achieved a Silver Medal rating from EcoVadis for its sustainability. This distinction goes beyond our commitment to protecting the environment by also evaluating our dedication to social responsibility, diversity, and human rights.

The broad XSYS portfolio comprises some of the industry’s best-known brands of consumables (nyloflex® and nyloprint® plates), plate processing equipment (Xpress, ThermoFlexX, and Catena), surface screening software (Woodpecker), plate mounting (rotec®), and washout solvents (nylosolv®). Brilliant products and services for brilliant print results and business success.

Leading international manufacturer of surface treatment technology, Vetaphone, will be exhibiting at the upcoming FTA INFOFLEX ’23 event at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, OH on April 17th and 18th.

Visitors to Booth 817 will have the opportunity to discuss the latest in corona and plasma treatment technology with members of the sales and marketing team including CSO Kevin McKell and Sales Manager for the US, Ted Wolski.

In addition, Kevin McKell will give a presentation at the Innovation Center on Monday 17th.  Entitled ‘Corona or Plasma – which is best for your process?’, in which he will explain how in today’s complex and competitive marketplace it is more important than ever to understand technology and what it can do for you.  No longer just an ancillary process, surface treatment is key to production efficiency and his presentation will explain the difference between corona and plasma.

Middleton, Wisconsin – March 27, 2023 – NAStar Inc. is pleased to announce the promotion of John Short to Vice President in the company. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, John began his career with NAStar in field sales and evolved into marketing management. John was instrumental to bringing NAStar’s NewsNotes® high impact newspaper notes business to market and advanced to head up marketing and sales. John is also one of the inventors on NAStar’s multiple patents for Twofer® Shelf Tags, Twofer® Labels, and Twofer® Signage. He has worked with manufacturing for new product development.

“John brings his enthusiastic energy to our customers and our organization. His experience in utilizing company resources to provide customer solutions, along with his 20 years of experience dealing with the marketplace the NAStar way, has made John the excellent selection for this position.” advised Gary Weiner, President. NAStar Inc. is a manufacturer of self-adhesive print media for label conversion and thermal activated sticky receipt paper.  

Kennesaw, Ga. March 28, 2023 – McLean Packaging, a comprehensive provider of rigid set boxes, folding cartons, corrugated displays and thermoformed packaging solutions, recently installed a Speedmaster XL 106-10+LYYL from HEIDELBERG at its Moorestown, NJ folding carton manufacturing facility. The new XL 106, equipped with UV, Prinect Inpress Control 3, and FoilStar, is the second Speedmaster the company has installed in less than three years. 

“Better Than Any Machine We’ve Ever Had”

Installed in 2020 prior to the onset of COVID-19 in North America, McLean’s first XL 106 provided immense flexibility for customers searching for quick packaging solutions during the pandemic. “We were able to say ‘yes’ more often,” said Jeff Besnick, Vice President of Operations for McLean. “Thanks to the XL 106, our dependability and versatility gave us a bump in business – particularly in folding carton.” Its first HEIDELBERG press in nearly 50 years, McLean’s eight-color XL 106 has improved the productivity of the company’s Moorestown plant by nearly 20% since installation. Thanks to its new efficiencies, the company has increased its overall capacity – enabling it to better serve both existing and new customers. McLean credits this boost to the machine’s ability to consistently run and quickly changeover jobs regardless of substrate in addition to its near 100% uptime. According to McLean’s CEO Joe Fenkel, “From 60# text to 28 pt. board and even foils, it can run anything we want and run it better than any machine we’ve ever had.” 

McLean has also been impressed with the XL 106’s incredibly short makereadies when switching from eight-color jobs with many spot colors to standard four-color jobs. Thanks to Prinect Inpress Control, the industry’s leading inline spectrophotometer that measures, controls, and registers color on the fly at any speed, sheets can get up to color in as little as 60 sheets. “I had no prior experience with Inpress Control,” said the Operations Manager for McLean, “but after seeing the results, we wouldn’t even consider looking at another press without it.” In all, the advanced technology of the XL 106 has contributed to increased throughput, improved quality, and better consistency across each of McLean’s press runs.

Dependability, Consistency, and Service 

Due to the success of its first XL 106, McLean Packaging decided to replace a 2015 press of competitive technology with a new Speedmaster XL 106-10+LYYL equipped with both Prinect Inpress Control 3 and FoilStar. Installation of the 14-unit machine began in January at the company’s Moorestown production facility. McLean chose the 10-color configuration based on increasing demands from its customers for additional spot colors. According to Besnick, “Our sales group continuously comes in with requests for more and more brand colors. Each time we’ve purchased a press, we’ve decided to add an additional unit to better serve our customers.” Additionally, with FoilStar, McLean can not only add inline special effects on press but will also improve productivity by eliminating some of its offline foiling processes. Fenkel says, “the efficiency and reliability of FoilStar on our current press is such that we’re moving more and more inline. We expect to do so more with our new machine as well.”

The company also anticipates significant productivity increases thanks to the XL 106’s advanced technology and the flexibility of having two Speedmasters on the production floor. “We wanted the consistency of having the same manufacturer on production floor for scheduling and repeatability,” said Besnick. “When we need to shift the production schedule, we don’t have to remake plates, change consumables, or recalibrate color.” The press includes innovative features like autonomous Push-to-Stop technology, AutoPlate Pro, and a completely new operating philosophy, the Heidelberg User Experience, which together with the patented Intellistart 3 and other assistance systems, ensure short makeready times and the best possible support for press operators. Already familiar with some of these technologies from its current XL 106, McLean’s Business Development Manager said, “Since installation, our operators have gravitated towards the XL 106 because of its ease of use. They look forward to having two on the pressroom floor.”

To ensure its press is always running at peak performance, McLean Packaging utilizes HEIDELBERG’s Performance Advisor Technology (PAT). Available in the HEIDELBERG Assistant portal, PAT continuously analyzes print shop and machine data, and if necessary, automatically recommends solutions via artificial intelligence. “I log in and look for suggestions for any performance issues that HEIDELBERG is autonomously identifying for us. It’s convenient these are available whenever we want to access them,” said McLean’s Business Development Manager. While impressed with the technology HEIDELBERG has to offer, Besnick also said that McLean has “come to really appreciate the dependability, level of service, and consistency that we get with HEIDELBERG.”

About McLean Packaging

Established in 1961, McLean Packaging is a turnkey provider of packaging solutions for the beauty, personal care, confectionary and other sectors. Comprised of over 200 employees across three facilities totaling nearly 500,000 square feet, the company specializes in rigid set boxes, folding cartons, corrugated displays and thermoformed solutions. Unlike many packaging solutions suppliers, McLean’s continued investment in gluing, printing and other ancillary infrastructure allows it to create packages entirely within its own organization – a differentiator that yields efficiency, consistency and streamlined customer collaboration. McLean Packaging is headquartered in Moorestown, NJ, with additional production facilities in Pennsauken, NJ and Nazareth, PA. For more information, visit McLeanPackaging.com.

Optikett began business in 1989 and were one of the first printers in Germany to produce labels using offset printing, as flexographic machines were unable to produce the necessary quality that their customers demanded at that time. With around 4,500 square metres of production space and 100 employees, the company has built its reputation through continuous investment in the latest machinery and technological advancements in UV flexo, UV offset and digital printing.

Situated in the city of Vechta in the Lower Saxony region, Optikett print for many leading brands in Germany and in Europe. 80% of their labels go into the food sector, with the remainder supplied to the logistics, healthcare, pharmacy and home care industries.

The company has worked with GEW UV curing systems for more than 20 years. Daniel Ostendorf, Managing Director at Optikett, explains where the partnership began: “My father established the company and the first press he bought was the Gallus EM280 with a GEW curing system. The experience with the GEW system, the durability and the maintenance cost, showed us then that GEW was the right partner for us.”

The production team at Optikett now use GEW’s interchangeable, cassette-based ArcLED lampheads, which means they can switch individual print stations from mercury arc to LED curing and vice versa, with the changeover taking just a few minutes. They have GEW systems installed on five presses, including E4C mercury arc cassettes and 36 LED cassettes.

Working with ArcLED systems has been a part of the business plan at Optikett for several years, for two reasons. Firstly, it allows them to continue to use mercury arc for certain special colours and coatings that are more expensive or are not readily available in LED-curable form. Secondly, it means that they will be able to easily upgrade to full LED curing when those inks and coatings become freely available, simply by upgrading their lamphead cassettes from E4C to GEW’s water-cooled LeoLED cassettes. Ostendorf shares his thoughts on the upgrade process to date: “The installation of the GEW system went very smoothly and GEW needed one day to install the new LED cassettes, with installation and testing.”

Here he demonstrates their faith in the newer LED technology: “Now on all machines we have the LeoLED system and all of our new machines will be equipped with LED. For the main range of colours we use the LED lamps but for some special colours or varnishes, we also need the E4C cassette. Now we can change the cassettes when we need, and when the special colours and varnish can be available then we will switch to full LED on all presses.”

The interchanging of arc and LED cassettes requires a single hex key, and is the only change necessary to switch technologies on a print station; both arc and LED cassettes are compatible with GEW’s RHINO power control system, which instantly and automatically switches the supply to either DC power for LEDs, or high voltage AC power for arc lamps.

Optikett’s decision to switch to LED was driven by several factors, including an increasing focus on sustainability from leading brands. As Ostendorf explains: “The decision to invest in the GEW system was for safer production, to increase the productivity and for the low cost of maintenance… but today the energy cost also is a very important factor. It’s not only important for our customers to receive a product with a high quality, but also how sustainably we produce our labels.”

The company has taken advantage of an incentive scheme from the German government that financially assists energy-reduction initiatives such as their investment in LED technology. Combining this with the cost savings realised by LED, Ostendorf is confident of a relatively short ROI period: “We think that the return on investment of the five machines will take around three years. Also, the German government gives us a contribution for this investment because it’s a benefit for our environment.”

Ostendorf summaries his thoughts on LED: “There are other reasons why we choose LED systems… less maintenance, less down times, no ozone in the production and no mercury. Experience shows us that we can print faster with LED, and the drying of dark inks is better than with normal UV.” He concludes: “To invest in LED systems is one of our best decisions that we have made.”

About GEW

GEW designs and manufactures arc and UV LED curing systems for printing, coating and converting applications. The company is the leading manufacturer of UV systems for label and narrow web printing, with a world-class production facility at its UK headquarters, subsidiaries in the USA and Germany, and an extensive network of worldwide distributors. GEW also specialises in the design and installation of UV LED systems for sheetfed offset applications.

Dubai, UAE, March 23, 2023 – Taghleef Industries Group (Ti), a global leader in packaging and label films, is excited to announce their participation at Interpack 2023, the world’s leading trade fair for the packaging industry. The event will be held from May 4-10, 2023, in Düsseldorf, Germany, and Ti will be showcasing their latest innovations in sustainable and recyclable solutions for packaging and labels.

Taghleef Industries will promote Dynamic Cycle™, their innovative platform that reflects Ti’s commitment to sustainability. Through Dynamic Cycle™, Ti is working to reduce environmental footprints and provide sustainable products and solutions to its customers. By investing in sustainable solutions, Ti is leading the way in creating a more sustainable future for the packaging industry.

Under the umbrella of Dynamic Cycle™, Taghleef Industries will also highlight its reDESIGN™ success stories at the event, which illustrate how the company has helped customers switch to more sustainable packaging and label structures. Through these success stories, Ti aims to demonstrate how its innovative solutions can help companies reduce their environmental impact while also achieving their business goals. As a key player in the packaging industry, Taghleef will launch its Ti Talks Live sessions – high-level discussions with industry experts from the full value chain – covering key topics on the path to sustainable transformation. Attendees will hear from the experts on topics such as market trends, sustainable packaging design, materials innovation, and the circular economy.

“We are excited to be part of Interpack and to showcase our latest innovations in sustainable packaging and labels,” said Patrick Desies, CSMO of Taghleef Industries. “Our Ti Talks Live sessions will give attendees the opportunity to hear firsthand from industry partners about the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in sustainability.”

Visit Taghleef Industries at Interpack 2023, Hall 9, StandA21 to learn more about the latest innovations in sustainable packaging and attend the Ti Talks Live sessions which will be held at15:00 daily. Hear the speakers and panelists from leading companies and organizations including EUROPEN,

Flexible Packaging Initiative (FPI), EXPRA, CEFLEX, Go!PHA, European Bioplastics, NatureWorks, TotalEnergies Corbion, Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), RecyClass, Alliance to End Plastic Waste, and more.

Irvine, Calif., March 22, 2023 – Roland DGA Corporation, a leading provider of wide-format inkjet printers, printer/cutters, vinyl cutters, and other innovative digital imaging technologies, will be showcasing its latest products, including exciting new additions to the award-winning TrueVIS™ printer family, at ISA International Sign Expo 2023, April 12-14, in Las Vegas. Visitors to the Roland DGA booth (#1639) can also attend live vehicle wrap demonstrations the company will be conducting daily. Additionally, Roland DGA will be sponsoring the sign and graphics industry’s annual party, “ISA Rocks,” to take place on April 12, after day one of the Expo concludes.

Those at ISA Sign Expo 2023 will be among the first to see Roland DGA’s new, state-of-the-art TrueVIS inkjets – the LG Series UV printer/cutters, MG Series UV printer/cutters, and AP-640 Resin printer – which have joined the company’s best-selling VG3 and SG3 Eco-Sol printer/cutters in the TrueVIS product line. Roland DGA will also be demonstrating its new VersaSTUDIO BN-20D Direct-to-Film System – a complete, affordable DTF solution that makes customizing apparel with vibrant, detailed graphics easier than ever. Other popular Roland DGA devices, such as compact, powerful benchtop UV flatbed printers from the VersaUV Series – unbeatable for product customization and personalization applications – will be on display as well.

Roland DGA’s new LG Series and MG Series UV printer/cutters are built on the TrueVIS wide-format platform and offer outstanding image quality, versatility, and cost efficiency. Specially formulated wide-gamut EUV5 inks available in CMYK as well as new Orange and Red options, bring out the best in these advanced UV roll-to-roll printer/cutters to produce vivid, eye-catching prints. Gloss and White specialty inks are also available for incorporating unique dimensional and textural effects. The LG-300, LG-540, and LG-640 models are professional-level UV printer/cutters featuring two staggered printheads, significantly higher print speeds (up to 343 sqft/hr. in draft mode), new UV lamps for more efficient curing, and other advancements that maximize productivity and ease of use. The value-packed MG-300 and MG-640 printer/cutters, ideal for growing print providers or those just starting out, combine UV print quality and special effects capability with TrueVIS ease-of-use, efficiency, and reliability at an affordable price.

Booth visitors will also be impressed by the new TrueVIS AP-640 Resin printer, which offers the quick-drying and environmentally friendly qualities of resin ink, plus the image quality, usability, and dependability that only a TrueVIS can deliver. This powerful combination makes the AP-640 perfect for a wide variety of applications, including wall décor, indoor signs, retail displays, stickers and decals, banners, vehicle wraps, and more.

Those in the market for an apparel customization solution that’s not only complete and simple to use, but also offers unsurpassed Roland DG reliability, won’t want to miss the new VersaSTUDIO BN-20D Direct-to-Film System. It enables users to create stunning custom T-shirts, tote bags, aprons, and more in just four steps, with no weeding or masking required. Built around the solid performance and unmatched dependability of a powerful, compact BN-20D Direct-to-Film printer, the system consists of specially formulated S-PG inks in CMYK and White, S-F164 direct transfer film, and S-POWDER direct transfer powder (each sold separately).

“We are really looking forward to showing ISA Expo 2023 attendees how easy it is to transform their ideas into extraordinary results with our newest digital technologies,” said Roland DGA President Amado Lara. “Print professionals can see these incredible devices in action and get expert advice on which machines will best serve their specific business needs. We’re especially eager to introduce show-goers to our newly expanded TrueVIS lineup. Now, whatever your application requirements may be, the TrueVIS family offers the perfect solution for you and your operation.”

To learn more about the products Roland DGA will be displaying at ISA International Sign Expo 2023 as well as planned company activities, visit https://www.rolanddga.com/shows. For more information on Roland DGA Corporation, or the complete Roland DGA product line, visit https://www.rolanddga.com.

In the third of the series on people in our industry Nick Coombes speaks with Huifang Pan, who is Vetaphone’s Test Lab technician at the company’s HQ in Denmark

Tell us a little about your background

I come from a small village in the north of Guangdong province, China.  My parents were farmers that used traditional methods like planting crops by hand.  As the eldest of four girls, I started working in a factory in Shenzhen at an early age, and then spent time as a waitress in an hotel.  My sisters needed money for their education, which made me work harder to get a higher paid job to ensure I could supply the money.  It also pushed me hard to study English, which I taught myself.  I also took evening classes in computers after working at the hotel during the daytime.

How did your career develop?

After working at the hotel for about a year, I had a job offer as an Assistant at a Danish furniture company that had just opened a showroom in Dongguan.  They were very kind and paid for English classes to improve my skills.  Around the same time, a work colleague recommended that I read books on business and international trade.  This proved very useful, because after I left the furniture company, I became a personal assistant to someone who had just established his own business trading steel with Denmark.  During that time, I learned a lot about steel plate standards, machinery, and production, but I must say that’s not very much use these days!

Is this what brought you to live in Denmark?

I came to Denmark because my boss and his wife decided to move back to Denmark.  They knew my educational background and my family and knew that I needed more skills for my future career, so they invited me to come to Denmark and see if I could get a higher qualification for better job opportunities than I had had so far.  So, I arrived in Kolding and knocked on the door of IBA (a business academy) and was offered the chance to study international marketing and business. 

How did you come into contact with Vetaphone?

It was just before I started my Bachelor Degree at the IBA that one of my classmates called me and asked if I’d be interested in a job interview.  At the time, I was working part time job selling sausages from a van!  I knew it would be a great opportunity to start a proper job with a Danish company before I finished my education, and it so happened that my classmate was doing a project on Vetaphone, and knew they were looking for someone to help in the Asian markets – so she thought of me. 

What happened next?

I got in touch with Vetaphone to arrange the meeting and told them that I was about to start my top-up Degree studies, so I could only work part time.  I was excited but nervous and said that I knew the company was famous for its phone business – oh dear!  They kindly explained to me that Vetaphone had nothing to do with phones, and that it’s the world leader in corona and plasma surface treatment technology, which of course meant nothing to me at that time.  I’ve since found out that I’m not the only one to assume the company is involved in telephones!  But the outcome was that I was invited to a meeting with Jan Eisby, one the sons of the founder, and that began my journey with Vetaphone, initially as a student helping with material testing, and sales support for the Asian market.

What are you doing at Vetaphone now?

My job now, as Senior Lab Technician, revolves around the testing of plastic film and foil materials and substrates for their adhesive abilities with the liquid inks and lacquers that are applied.  Basically, what we do is called ‘proof of concept’.  Essentially, we find out if the substrate does what it needs to do in a commercial environment.  Our unique Test Lab facility in Kolding allows us to verify the desired dyne value for each material in terms of its requirements.  We measure the surface tension with a dyne pen or the contact angle, and sometimes the peel strength, depending on what’s needed.  When it comes to corona testing, it is more about ensuring we offer the right corona power solution and support our customers with their corona treatment process.  The customer sends us his/her materials and we corona treat them in our Test Lab and measure each power dosage. Then, we send them a detailed report of the test results so they can find the optimal corona treatment for their production lines.

Why is it important for customers to test materials?

As far as most converters are concerned, PE is PE, and PP is PP, and that’s that – until something goes wrong in their process, and they blame the corona treater!  One of the first things you learn from testing materials is that no two rolls of film are identical.  We often end up showing them that the same material from different suppliers needs a different power density to reach the dyne level needed for the next process.  All materials react differently – even when they are supposed to be the same, so we can only offer the right solution if we get to test the materials.

What kind of tests do you perform in the Lab?

There are basically two types: sheet tests and roll tests.  With sheet tests, we use smaller batches of material that allows us to provide our customers with quick answers.  We have been doing this for many years and it has helped us to gain valuable knowledge on different substrates.

With roll to roll, we test a full roll of the material with several different recipes that can be further tested on the customer’s own production equipment.  This is a recent addition to our Test Lab capability, and because we can run both corona and plasma tests, it allows us to become a much closer working partner with our customers.  I must say that this is still a new process to me, but more and more customers are interested in testing entire rolls, and join us in the Lab to watch the tests take place.  This is really exciting because I get to learn new ways of using the test equipment.

Is material testing different when it comes to using plasma?

Yes, it is.  When we carry out plasma testing as proof of concept, the customer sends us materials and we create what we call ‘the material curve’, which we send back to the customer with different recipes.  They evaluate the treated samples and find which recipe works the best in their process.  Because of its complexity and additional cost, we work much closer with our customer’s R&D department on plasma coating and testing.  It’s a very precise tool and is highly ‘tuneable’ to achieve the desired result.  As with corona, we are world leaders in plasma treatment and testing.

What is most fascinating part of your job?

Getting a result!  I feel most fulfilled when the tests we carry out help our customers.  The testing process itself must be methodical and accurate with no margin for error, so it requires a lot of concentration, which can be very tiring.  But it’s interesting to find out why and how the work I do provides the customers with the answers they need and why a particular substrate troubles the customer or needs high corona power.  It’s a bit like a doctor investigating the root cause of what is making a patient sick – it’s a process of elimination.

Why do you like working at Vetaphone?

I feel very much part of the family here.  You must remember, I’m a long way from home and living and working in a very different culture and environment to the one I knew when I was growing up.  I love the way we work as a team – it gives me a sense of pride in what I do, and a feeling of belonging, which is very comforting.  We all help each other and have the same goal – happy customers!