Schaumburg, IL – Following a 49-year career in the industry, John Hrdlick has announced his retirement as President and CEO of INX International Ink Co., effective April 30, 2023. At that time, Bryce Kristo will be promoted and serve as the new President and CEO.

Hrdlick was elevated to his current title in April 2018 when Rick Clendenning retired. Kristo was promoted at the same time to Executive Vice President and has worked at INX since 1991. The two will work together the next several months to ensure a smooth transition.

“I am honored that SAKATA INX and INX have trusted me to serve as President and CEO, especially since I followed Rick Clendenning. He was a strong force and leader in our company and industry for so many years,” Hrdlick said.

“I could not have achieved what I did without the many dedicated co-workers that I’ve been blessed to work alongside. They are the core reason for the success of our company. I am confident with Bryce transitioning into my role and the changes we agreed to move forward with the past few years, INX is positioned for continued growth and success.”

Kristo became familiar with SAKATA INX while working in public accounting at KPMG. In his 31 years at INX, he has worked with and at the executive management level learning and impacting every facet of the company’s financial and operations culture to prepare him for this next challenge.

“The last 31 years have been a tremendous learning and growth experience,” Kristo said. “INX has given me the opportunity to contribute to the company’s success from its inception as a newly acquired entity of SAKATA INX, to the present. I have had the great pleasure to learn from many long-term co-workers about the business, and I look forward to applying that knowledge and helping others to lead the company into the future.”

About INX International Ink Co.
INX International Ink Co. is the third largest producer of inks in North America, with full-service subsidiaries in Europe and South America and is part of Sakata INX worldwide operations. We offer a complete line of ink and coating solutions technology for commercial, packaging and digital applications. As a leading global manufacturer of inkjet inks, we provide a full palette of digital ink systems, advanced technologies and integrated services. To stay in touch with the latest developments, follow INX on Facebook and Twitter and visit www.inxinternational.com

ID Images Continues to Add Prime Label Capabilities with 6th and 7th Add-On Transaction Since Being Acquired by Sole Source Capital in August 2021

Dallas, TX – Sole Source Capital LLC, an industrial-focused private equity firm, today announced that its portfolio company, ID Images (“IDI”), a premier provider of product identification solutions, has acquired Summit Labels and Precision Label in separate transactions. The acquisitions bring the total number of add-on investments for IDI to seven since becoming a Sole Source Capital portfolio company in August 2021, with the company’s most recent acquisition of Hickman Label announced just last month. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Jointly-owned Vancouver, Canada-based Summit Labels and Calgary, Canada-based Precision Labels are both manufacturers of prime labels for the food & beverage, industrial, and nutraceutical end markets. The companies’ Canadian facilities expand IDI’s presence across Canada while increasing its exposure to digital printing and prime label offerings. In addition, the companies’ design and marketing teams often collaborate with clients to help create branding strategies through custom labeling.

“The teams at Summit and Precision have done an outstanding job creating a best-in-class prime label business. We look forward to adding their strong digital and flexographic capabilities to the IDI platform,” said Dewey Turner, Partner, and President of Operations at Sole Source Capital.

“These acquisitions augment our prime labeling capabilities with high-quality digital and flexo expertise, expanding the IDI footprint throughout Canada,” said Jeff Fielkow, President and CEO of IDI. “Our new partners share our spirit of customer-centric focus and collaboration, offering customized label solutions to support our customers’ innovation and growth.

“We are pleased to announce the partnership with ID Images and Sole Source,” said Matt Sauder, President of Summit Labels and Precision Label. “There is a clear fit between the companies, and we expect this relationship to bring value to our employees, customers and stakeholders.”

About Sole Source Capital
Founded in 2016 by David Fredston, Sole Source Capital is a private equity firm that thematically invests in fragmented, high-growth industrial subsectors. Sole Source seeks founder-owned businesses or corporate carve-outs that will benefit from the team’s operating and M&A capabilities. The Firm has a strong operating heritage that enables it to execute a buy-and-build strategy with significant downside protection. The Firm is headquartered in Dallas, Texas with an additional office in Santa Monica, California. For more information, please visit www.solesourcecapital.com or contact investor.relations@solesourcecapital.com.

About ID Images
ID Images, a leading manufacturer of converted label products, specializes in providing label solutions from supply chain management to brand protection. The company serves a variety of end markets including food and beverage, transportation and logistics, consumer products and healthcare and has facilities in Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Oregon, California, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Canada. For more information, please visit www.idimages.com.

About Summit Labels
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Summit Labels is a manufacturer of prime labels for the food & beverage, grocery, cosmetic and nutraceutical end markets. The company collaborates with clients to help create branding strategies through custom labeling. For more information, please visit www.summitlabels.ca.

About Precision Label
Founded in 1992 and based in Calgary, Alberta, Precision Label produces prime labels for the food & beverage, nutraceutical, cosmetic, agricultural and retail end markets. For more information, please visit www.precisionlabelltd.com.

Certificate is world’s most recognized for quality management

Stow, OH – Mactac® is pleased to announce that the company’s Minneapolis manufacturing site has earned ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification.

The ISO 9001 certificate is the world’s most recognized international certification standard for a quality management system. It provides guidance for companies that aim to ensure products and services consistently meet quality requirements.

As an ISO 9001:2015 certified site, Mactac Minneapolis has a systematic quality management system in place and is committed to cost and waste reduction, continuous improvement, regulatory compliance and more. 

“At Mactac, we believe quality is key to a successful business and our sustainable quality culture is at the core of everything we do,” says Jennifer Zenar, Director of Quality, Mactac. “Our quality foundation begins and ends with our management systems. Receiving this certification is yet another affirmation to our customers, suppliers and partners that Mactac has trained, knowledgeable and experienced operators who take great pride and care in producing quality products.” 

Consistently meeting the needs and expectations of customers, the Mactac quality management system follows standardized policies and processes. It incorporates comprehensive review and measurement processes, a rigorous improvement process, robust corrective action processes when needed, and ongoing customer feedback.

The Mactac Minneapolis site, at 72,000 square-feet, is the latest Mactac facility to earn the recognition. Mactac also holds the ISO 9001:2015 certificate at its Columbus, Ind. and Scranton, Pa. sites.

For more information on the Mactac quality management system or the company’s commitment to high-quality products and services, call 866-622-8223, email mactac.americas@mactac.com or visit www.mactac.com.

FLEXcon® optiFLEX® THIN ecoFOCUS™ Supports Sustainability and Cost-Effectiveness

Spencer, MA – FLEXcon Company, Inc., an innovator in adhesive coating and laminating, today announced the expansion of its sustainable packaging line with FLEXcon® optiFLEX® THIN ecoFOCUS™. Designed with sustainability in mind, optiFLEX® THIN ecoFOCUS™ is a line of downgauged versions of the company’s other optiFLEX® ecoFOCUS™ products. The white and silver BOPP products and both PE products are the first thin products on the market to be recognized by the APR. Applications include food and beverage, personal care and cosmetics, and household chemical. By expanding their product portfolios with optiFLEX® THIN ecoFOCUS™, printers can offer their clients solutions that will help them achieve their sustainability goals without sacrificing performance.

Just like their heavier-gauged cousins, the BOPP films, designed for use on PET containers, utilize FLEXcon’s new V-52RE adhesive system which separates from the PET flake during the reclaim process, allowing for the collection of the rPET for use in new PET containers or other items such as clothing and shoes. The PE films, which utilize FLEXcon’s V-127RE adhesive, offer superior conformability, making them ideal for rigid, semi-squeeze and full-squeeze HDPE containers without concerns about label darting during use. They also offer a benefit over other film types for HDPE containers by pairing like polymers that more easily traverse the recycle stream, resulting in less waste.

“optiFLEX® THIN ecoFOCUS™ offers all the same benefits of our other optiFLEX® ecoFOCUS™ products while also providing more labels per the same diameter roll to yield fewer changeovers. This enables printers to gain productivity,” says Melissa David, product manager, FLEXcon. “The reduced total weight allows them to save on shipping costs while also reducing their carbon footprint by a reduction in total plastic usage.”

All products in the optiFLEX® THIN ecoFOCUS™ line are cross-platform printable, supporting a variety of print methods to help reduce SKUs. They are also compliant with FDA 175.105 for indirect food contact.

Wide web rolls are available from Quick-Ship inventory – clear and white BOPPs in 76” masters; clear and white PEs in 60” masters.

About FLEXcon
FLEXcon Company, Inc. is a global leader in coated and laminated films and adhesives used as functional components in manufactured goods and in graphics applications. A family-owned company for over 65 years, FLEXcon provides a collaborative, consultative approach to deliver unique solutions that help customers achieve better business results. FLEXcon is a trusted partner to a wide range of companies, from printers and fabricators to engineers and designers, developing products for existing and emerging markets. Headquartered in Spencer, MA, the company has operations throughout North America and Europe with distribution worldwide. For more information, visit www.FLEXcon.com follow FLEXcon on LinkedIn, or call +1-508-885-8200.

Responding to the demand to produce small and medium-sized e-commerce boxes efficiently, BOBST extends the production possibilities of its EXPERTFOLD 165 in collaboration with BOURQUIN.

The increase of digital commerce and the desire to create sustainable packaging – adapted to the size and purpose of the content – has seen growing demand for small and medium-sized e-commerce packaging. To meet market needs and increase production efficiency for one of its long-standing partners, BOBST has created a dedicated configuration for the EXPERTFOLD 165 folder-gluer. This adds another string to the bow of this already extremely versatile corrugated and litho-laminated board folder-gluer.

BOURQUIN SA, based in Couvet, Switzerland, is a successful supplier of packaging solutions across the e-commerce, pharmaceutical and chemical, medtech, wine, brewing, industrial, watchmaking and graphic sectors. The company already produces reusable boxes for the e-commerce market in two passes, on its MASTERFOLD 230 folder-gluer in line with the SPEEDPACK, and its ALPINA folder-gluer. A first pass to apply the opening strips and self-adhesive tapes, and a second pass to do the folding and gluing operations on the box.

However, faced with the increasing demand for e-commerce packaging, BOURQUIN was looking for a way to optimize the production of small and mid-sized boxes. “We regularly discuss production challenges with BOBST, and we therefore approached them to find a solution for our need,” said Luis Manuel Luis, Production Manager at BOURQUIN’s Couvet site.

Eager to rise to the challenge and respond to this new market requirement rapidly, the BOBST engineers integrated the POLYVACUUM and GYROBOX modules to the EXPERTFOLD 165 folder-gluer. The BOURQUIN production site in Couvet became a beta site for the new machine configuration. “We signed the contract for the EXPERTFOLD in March 2021 and the line was installed in our plant at the end of 2021,” Luis Manuel Luis commented. After a period of tests in collaboration with BOBST, the new folder-gluer line is now fully integrated in the BOURQUIN machine portfolio, providing the company with the productivity and flexibility needed to meet current and future market needs. According to Mr. Luis: “The new production line has significantly increased our productivity by up to 80%. User-friendly, efficient and delivering first-class quality boxes – our expectations have been fully met.”

Today, the EXPERTFOLD 165 e-commerce configuration has been officially introduced into the BOBST folder-gluer range. “BOURQUIN and BOBST have a long and successful partnership,” said Sacha Bourgeois, RD&E Director for Folder-gluers at BOBST. “We are happy to help our customers to face their production challenges and grateful to be able to work with them on site. This close collaboration with our partners is essential to make sure we deliver the best results and bring innovations to the market which make a real difference.”

About BOBST
We are one of the world’s leading suppliers of substrate processing, printing and converting equipment and services for the label, flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated board industries.

Founded in 1890 by Joseph Bobst in Lausanne, Switzerland, BOBST has a presence in more than 50 countries, runs 19 production facilities in 11 countries and employs more than 5800 people around the world. The firm recorded a consolidated turnover of CHF 1.563 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021.

www.bobst.com

GEW has announced the recent promotion of Vini Munzberg to the role of Sales Manager, Latin America. Based at GEW Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio, Munzberg will be responsible for all sales across the region, including Mexico. She will travel extensively and will have the support of an established network of GEW distributors throughout Central and South America.

Since joining GEW in 2016, Munzberg has used her bilingual skills to provide exceptional customer service and sales support to GEW’s Latin American customers and distributors. Her entire career has been within customer service and distributor management for Latin America.

Robert Rae, Managing Director of Sales at GEW, comments: “It is a pleasure to be able to give Vini this opportunity. She is well known to our Latin America customers, having spent five years in the GEW Inc. office selling spare parts and supporting customers and distributors with quotation requests. However, it became obvious Vini could do more and she thoroughly deserves this promotion to Sales Manager. Vini will travel extensively to Mexico where GEW sell direct to market and we look forward to meeting with customers face to face and promoting the benefits of GEW’s latest LED and ArcLED technologies. She will also manage our distribution partners across the South American continent and there will be renewed focus on improving our activity and services with customers through these channels.”

Rae concludes: “Vini has such a friendly and positive personality; I have no doubt she will endear herself to our customers in Mexico and Latin America from the first interaction. She is also highly responsive and has good knowledge of our products and services, so I can be sure that customers will see an improved service and increased presence in this important market.”

Munzberg has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in International Business from Southern New Hampshire University. She was recently named to SNHU’s Honor Roll, in recognition of learners who excel at the University.

Vini Munzberg, Sales Manager, Latin America
GEW Inc., Unit X, 11941 Abbey Road, North Royalton, Ohio 44133, USA
T: +1 440 237 4439 | E: vmunzberg@gewuv.com | W: gewuv.com

About GEW
GEW is the market-leading manufacturer of both UV Arc and LED systems for the labelling, narrow web and sheetfed printing industries. The company has world-class production facilities at its UK headquarters, subsidiaries in the USA & Germany, and an extensive network of worldwide distributors.

GEW specialises in the design and installation of UV LED systems, having introduced its latest UV LED product, AeroLED, in early 2022. Representing the next generation for UV LED curing, AeroLED eliminates the need for a chiller and offers refined simplicity to bring the technology within affordable reach for all. LeoLED, released in 2019, is GEW’s water-cooled solution, delivering maximum power and UV dose for more demanding applications. LeoLED and AeroLED are both compatible with GEW’s renowned ArcLED hybrid system.

www.gewuv.com

Epson has restructured its product management and sales teams to further support its label solutions, including its ColorWorks® on-demand, desktop color label printers, thermal label printers and SurePress® digital label presses. This transition includes several staffing changes throughout the Epson label team.

With the new team structure, Victor Gomez has moved from product management to the sales team as director of industrial label products, supporting the SurePress digital label press and ColorWorks sales teams. Sean Gunduz is expanding his director of product marketing role to include both point-of-sale devices and now the on-demand label printer portfolio as well.

Andy Scherz is now the team leader for the on-demand label printer product management team and has brought three new members onto his team:

• Mark Middendorf, go-to-market product manager: Middendorf will be the Epson brand ambassador, working with the sales team and partners to grow awareness around Epson’s on-demand label solutions. Throughout his 24 year career, he’s served as global senior product manager for IBM, and most recently Printronix, focusing on industrial print solutions.

• Stevi Sterns, color label product manager: Sterns joins the team from Epson’s consumer inkjet group where she served as product manager for the past five years. In her new role, Sterns will support the ColorWorks on-demand color label printer portfolio, providing input into the development of product roadmaps and managing relationships with partners and customers.

• Ian Livesay, thermal label product manager: Livesay joins as the thermal label product manager from Epson’s sales operation team where he served as business analyst. Livesay will support the growth of the thermal label printer portfolio, helping to drive this new area of Epson’s label printer business.

“Gomez, Sterns, Livesay, and Middendorf all bring a wealth of specialized expertise, invaluable knowledge and compelling perspective to the Epson label team,” said Sean Gunduz, director, Epson America, Inc. “The new product management and sales team structure will help to better support Epson’s market growth over the next few years.”

About Epson Label Printers

Epson offers many solutions to meet label printing needs across industries, including:

• ColorWorks: The ColorWorks desktop color label printers are designed for businesses that require the flexibility of on-demand, color label printing in-house, helping to increase productivity and eliminate the costs and waste associated with pre-printed labels. The ColorWorks line is used by a range of businesses for applications for color labels: GHS-compliant labels, healthcare, pharmacy, retail, food and beverage, industrial labels, and more.

• Thermal Label: As a point-of-sale market leader, Epson’s thermal label printers, including liner-free solutions, offer improved efficiency in the way businesses serve customers. To meet ever-growing demand for digital orders, including buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) and delivery, Epson’s thermal label printers can help businesses adapt to the changing workflows of today’s retail and hospitality environment.

• SurePress: The SurePress digital label press portfolio is engineered to meet the production, quality and service and support demands of label converters, specialty printers and vertical manufacturers.

For additional information on Epson’s label solutions, visit www.epson.com/labels.

Midlothian, TX – Ennis, Inc. (the “Company”), (NYSE EBF), today announced its acquisition of School Photo Marketing in Morganville, New Jersey. School Photo Marketing provides printing, yearbook publishing and marketing-related services to over 1,400 school and sports photographers servicing schools around the country.

Keith Walters, Chairman, President & CEO of the Company stated, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring School Photo Marketing, their employees, and their customers into the Ennis family. This addition brings with it many exciting possibilities to service this new channel with products produced through Ennis manufacturing operations.”

School Photo Marketing operates through a similar wholesale manufacturer-distributor-end user channel as Ennis currently operates. School Photo Marketing specializes in serving photo labs as well as school and sports photographers by expanding their reach and becoming an invaluable asset to their business. 

Upon closing, operations will continue to operate as School Photo Marketing in their current locations.

About Ennis
Since 1909, Ennis, Inc. has primarily engaged in the production and sale of business forms and other business products. The Company is one of the largest private-label printed business product suppliers in the United States. Headquartered in Midlothian, Texas, the Company has production and distribution facilities strategically located throughout the United States to serve the Company’s national network of distributors. The Company manufactures and sells business forms, other printed business and commercial products, printed and electronic media, presentation products, flexographic printing, internal bank forms, secure and negotiable documents, envelopes, tags and labels, advertising specialties, adhesive notes, plastic cards and other custom products. For more information, visit ennis.com.

Caledonia, IL – KTI, a world-class manufacturer of automatic splicers, turret rewinders and other web converting equipment has recently completed installation of their ZL Series Automatic Butt Splicer for Papercone Corp. located in Louisville, KY. 

Papercone Corp., a manufacturer of specialty envelopes and soft packaging, designs and builds their folding lines in-house.  Papercone needed to add capacity, so they approached KTI for a solution that will allow the benefit of shaftless technology and butt splicing as opposed to lap splicing.  KTI proposed the ZL Series Automatic Butt Splicer because it offers many features that can simplify and optimize their processes. 

The ZL Series Automatic Butt Splicer is the perfect fit for Papercone Corp. as it is designed specifically for use with light paperboard and similar materials.  There are a number of configurations available to accommodate various web widths and materials and the integrated festoon allows for splicing at full line speed. The operator-friendly, single-method splice preparation assures reliable diagonal butt splicing with no overlap. 

Papercone Corp. plans to run TerraBoard, their eco-friendly 100% recycled content material. The ZL Series Automatic Butt Splicer was chosen for its additional capacity and innovative shaftless technology. The Butt Splicer’s two cantilevered roll positions feed a continuous supply of material into the press. The integrated storage festoon eliminates the need to stop while changing rolls, saving time and material waste. 

Through years of experience working together, Papercone Corp. knows the KTI product line to be reliable, a big reason they chose KTI for this application. Papercone Corp. currently has six KTI machines running in their distribution center making the ZL Series their 7th KTI machine.   

“KTI has provided us with great solutions for our varied needs in the past.  They have worked very well for us over the years”, says Tony Darnell, Project Engineer at Papercone Corp. 

Steve Reynolds, Regional Sales Manager for KTI added “Papercone Corp. has been a good customer to us.  We take pride in providing robust, reliable machines that can help them achieve their goals and increase their capacity.  We look forward to continuing to grow our relationship and offer them the excellent after-market support KTI is known for.” 

The ZL Series Cantilever Butt Splicer is available in web widths up to 50 inches (1270mm), roll diameter up to 72 inches (1828mm), splice speed up to 1000FPM (304MPM) and runs 12 inch (304mm) cores.  Standard features include PLC touch screen controls, automatic zero speed butt splice at process line speed, diagonal butt splice with no overlap, two-sided tape, automatic roll side lay and bi-directional unwind capability.  Optional features include in-register splice system for pre-printed webs, core chucks for alternate core sizes.  All KTI equipment is remote diagnostics ready. 

For more information on the ZL Series Automatic Butt Splicer from KTI visit www.ktiusa.com. 

About KTI
KTI, originally founded in 1985, is under the ownership of Quantum Design Inc. and shares its home with several product lines including CTC, Quantum Roll Sheeters and Quantum Design Control Systems. KTI currently has over 3,500 machines installed in 24 countries being utilized by printers and converters in the tag and label, printing, envelope, packaging, business forms, newspaper and folding carton industries. For more information on KTI or Quantum Design, please visit www.quantumdi.com or call (815)885-1300 today.