Easton, PA – Tower Products, Inc., a leading manufacturer of environmentally sensitive pressroom chemistry has released MILLENNIUM 4500, an advanced and innovative one step fountain solution for  high-speed sheet-fed commercial and packaging presses. This product is yet another Tower technology solution helping printers produce outstanding work for their customers, while at the same time reducing their cost of operation.

MILLENNIUM 4500, has been in beta testing for 5 months and is now available throughout North America. It is a single step product that can be used on presses running up to 18,000 impressions per hour. It performs well with both paper, board and non-porous substrates. The product features an outstanding buffering system and has the ability to give the printer a much faster and cleaner roll up to color, preventing excess substrate waste.  Much of this new and innovative technology is unique materials not traditionally combined when used in fountain solution formulations. The product development was centered on maximizing the performance of the fount in an energy curable environment so that the solution does not interfere with drying. It was also tested in the conventional ink setting with terrific print results.

MILLENNIUM 4500, as well as other Tower pressroom chemical products, are only available through authorized Tower dealers. 

For more information, please contact Chris Schwab at 800.527.8626 or visit our website at www.towerproducts.com.

Cohoes, NY – Syracuse Label & Surround Printing, Macaran Printed Products and W.N. Van Alstine, announced today that their respective boards of directors have approved a merger agreement.

The new organization will provide enhanced development and manufacturing capabilities, incorporating state-of-the-art label technologies along with improved economies of scale. The new business will be led by industry veterans Nick Van Alstine (Macaran / Van Alstine) and Kathy Alaimo (Syracuse) operating as co-CEOs, with Tom Sargent as President.

“I have known Nick Van Alstine, and we’ve been friendly competitors for over 20 years”, said Kathy Alaimo. “This friendship and mutual trust evolved into a conversation about how similar our companies were, and what an exciting opportunity we had to support future growth for our employee-owners,” she added.

What is Driving this Merger

The merger brings together three strong, industry leading label and packaging companies who share common cultures, common cause and common goals. Both companies are 100% employee-owned each with rich corporate legacies. Driven by industry consolidation, both organizations found themselves in similar circumstances as the competitive landscape has shifted around them. The merger will create an organization with greater scale, capacity and capability, bringing additional value to the customers and markets it serves.

“This is a great fit for our businesses. This merger is all about our shared values; preserving corporate legacies, creating value for our employee-owners and becoming more competitive in the marketplace,” said Nick Van Alstine. “

Better Together

The merger will create a new organization with 3 facilities, 165,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space, 175 full-time employee owners and $65M in sales. It also brings together a C-suite leadership team with decades of proven experienced in the industry. The team consists of:

·       Kathy Alaimo – Co-CEO

·       Nick Van Alstine – Co-CEO

·       Tom Sargent – President

·       Gary Riley – President, W.N. Van Alstine

·       Dan Rosenbaum – Chief Financial Officer

·       Paul Roux – Chief Technical Officer

·       Thomas Faugno – Chief Sales Officer

·       Nick Noyes – Chief Operating Officer

A Win for Customers

“The merger creates a tremendous opportunity for all of us to better serve our customers,” said Nick Van Alstine. “The new organization will be better positioned to compete through intellectual property, innovation, press technology, operational efficiency and overall scale,” he added.

The W.N. Van Alstine team brings critical expertise to the new organization as well. “With our experience, we can work with customers to provide leading-edge, ‘end of line” packaging equipment, systems and related materials,” said Gary Riley, Sr, President, W.N. Van Alstine. “This knowledge helps round out our full-service offering, solidifying our stance as custodians of their brand,” he added.

Employee Owners

A critical aspect of the merger is the continued development and support of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The ESOP ownership structure was adopted by Syracuse Label & Surround Printing in 2007 and Macaran/Van Alstine in 2017.

“The ESOP is an incredibly powerful and supportive culture,” said Alaimo. “It gives all employee-owners a voice, as well as an opportunity to benefit from the organization’s continued growth.” she added. “The main reason our ESOP was instituted was to protect and reward our employees who have played such critical roles in crafting our success,” said Van Alstine. “We are thrilled to be able to continue this ownership structure along with Syracuse Label,” he added.

Moving Forward

Customers will not see any changes to the day-to-day operations of Syracuse, Macaran or Van Alstine. All sales, service and accounting procedures and contacts will remain intact, and all divisions will continue to use their branded visual identities and logos.

In addition, effective December 31, 2022 both Kathy Alaimo and Nick Van Alstine will retire and assume roles as Co-Chairs of the Board of Directors. Tom Sargent will assume the CEO position effective January 1, 2023. This announcement is the culmination of a well-planned and orderly succession process to ensure the continued success of the organization.

About Macaran Printed Products
Macaran Printed Products is a third-generation, employee-owned supplier of high-quality label and packaging solutions for the spirits, craft beer, non-alcoholic beverage, household products, health, beauty and medical markets. Headquartered in Cohoes, NY, the company provides a “cradle to grave” product development system, and the latest in label printing and converting technology to ensure your brand image is delivered to the market just as you intended. As the “custodians of your brand” we take the time to understand your vision, ensuring consistency and reliability across every project, every time! Our offerings include pressure sensitive labels, extended content labels, peel & seal labels and promotional labels. For more information please visit www.macaran.com

About W.N. Van Alstine
W.N. Van Alstine & Sons was founded in 1950, as a paper and packaging distribution firm by William Van Alstine. Today, the employee-owned company is one of 3M’s most valuable distributor partners, supporting some of the region’s most respected companies with leading edge, end-of-line packaging systems, equipment, service and related materials. The company is led by an experienced senior level management team including Gary J. Riley Sr (43yrs), President, Will Dwyer (33yrs), VP Sales and Greg Kelley (23yrs) VP Operations. For more information please visit www.vanalstineinc.com

About Syracuse Label & Surround Printing
Syracuse Label & Surround Printing is a 100% employee-owned company and one of the largest and most versatile independent label converters in the Northeast. We offer digital and flexographic printing solutions with a product portfolio that includes Flexible Packaging, Shrink Sleeves, Pressure Sensitive Labels, Cartons, Hang Tags, Roll-Fed Wrap Labels, and other custom-made printed products. Our advantages include cutting-edge print technology, a complete in-house Art Department, and a large, experienced staff of technical advisors, production people, and sales service personnel. We offer superior quality at competitive prices, fast turn-around times, exceptional service, and unparalleled solutions. For more information please visit www.syrlsp.com

Louisville, KY – What is the secret to long-term success with a Flexo Wash cleaner? For this company it was pairing the highest-quality cleaning system with a consistent preventative maintenance program and dedicated employees. 

Interprint (a Toppan company) operates in the decorative gravure marketplace where they develop and print designs used in the laminate decorative surface category for products such as flooring countertops, cabinetry, furniture and other like items. Their print surfaces uncannily resemble wood, marble, stone and granite, just to name a few. Interprint works with renowned designers to create some of the most popular decor surfaces. 

2008: Interprint Buys a Flexo Wash Gravure Cylinder Cleaner

In 2008, Interprint transitioned to in-house laser engraving of gravure cylinders to support their internal design development. This process uses zinc as the engraving medium. The zinc is galvanically plated directly over a copper base then laser engraved, cleaned, polished and a final layer of chrome is plated over the zinc to seal the porosity and provide a durable exterior for printing. 

Todd Luman, Laser Engraving Manager at Interprint, recommended they try a Flexo Wash Gravure Cylinder Cleaner. He states that they “gravitated toward the Flexo Wash system primarily for its minimal impact on the cylinder surface, meaning the system is less invasive to the cells (engraving structure) while cleaning compared to some other systems we have used in the past. In addition, we liked the fact we could use an environmentally safe low VOC cleaner to effectively clean the water-based ink on our cylinders.  We run a few different low VOC water-based ink systems that are designed to set at low temperatures and cure fast. In stating this, when we wash-up in the press we don’t get all of the ink out of the cells and require an off-press cleaning system.”

Luman got in touch with Joe Almeida, Flexo Wash territory manager and got a demo unit set up at Interprint. Luman states “A demo Flexo Wash system was brought in and tested on several cylinders that were severely plugged. The results speak for themselves obviously as we proceeded to purchase the system.” Interprint bought their Flexo Wash Gravure Cylinder Cleaner in 2008.

INTERPRINT IS STILL USING THAT CLEANER FROM 2008 TODAY.

Interprint has kept this machine running and continuously cleaning for 14 years. We asked Luman to share what the secret was to long-term success with this cleaner? 

“No secret really, just good old-school mentality of scheduling your machinery for maintenance before your machine schedules it for you. The system has lasted due to our preventative maintenance program and a dedicated group of individuals (operators) who take pride in their work environment and respect the equipment they use.”

Scheduled Maintenance Program

• Every other month all the sprockets, shafts, chains and rollers in the drive system are inspected for wear and replaced as needed. Additionally, the in-line oilers are inspected and refilled. 

• Detergent to clean the cylinders is added as needed to the holding tank. (Themachine lets us know when we need to make an add)

• Twice a year, the holding tank is emptied and the sludge is removed, a fresh bath is made at this time. 

Luman states “This does not mean we have not had premature equipment failures. This happens, things break. However, I would contribute a fair amount of this due to the additional demand we put on the machine. Our equipment was designed and specked out to clean 1/3 the amount of cylinders we are actually processing through the system (a lot of additional wear and tear, it may also be of interest to mention the size of our cylinders, which range in weight from 500 LBS to 2000 LBS and up to 8’ wide to 1450mm circumference). “

STATISTICS

Projected amount of cylinders cleaned per month:

The initial projection was for the system to clean an average of 150 cylinders per month. However, in reality, the lowest month was double that number since we started to track the through put data in 2011. 

Size of cylinders:

Range in weight from 500 lbs. to 2000 lbs. Up to 8’ wide to 1450 mm circumference.

Actual amount of cylinders cleaned per month:

        Year               Total Washes       Average Washes per Month

• 2011                3,580                  298

• 2012                4,207                351                    

• 2013                4,558                  380

• 2014                5,479                  457

• 2015                4,697                  391

• 2016                5,043                 420

• 2017                4,746                  396

• 2018                5,016                  418

• 2019                5,191                  433

• 2020                4,488                  374

• 2021                5,580                  465

How many days a week and days per year in operation?

Pressroom operates with three shifts, 24 hours a day/five days a week. Total of 240 days a year.

How much time do you spend cleaning each roll now? How much time did you spend before the Flexo Wash Cleaner?

“The system is not faster than our previous cleaning methods, however it is safer on the cylinders. So, it may take twice as long to clean them with the Flexo Wash (about a 15-20 minute cycle time) however, we are not damaging the cylinders which is a savings to us.

This does not mean we couldn’t use a harsher chemical and crank up the heat during the cleaning cycle to increase the speed of the cleaning process. However, the end goal is not to damage the cylinders. So, if it takes longer to clean them, we are okay with this. “

How much are your cleaning supply costs? How does that compare with before this cleaner? 

“The cost of everything has gone up since our purchase back in 2008 so we don’t have a fair baseline to compare consumable costs. Nevertheless, the cost of the cleaning supply is not a make-or-break factor for us. We need an effective, environmentally safe, low VOC cleaner and will pay a bit more to get the results we desire. “

FUTURE GROWTH FOR INTERPRINT

As their business grows, Interprint will require additional cylinder cleaning equipment in the future and will assess the market for what technological advancements have been made to best fit their needs.

Luman adds “a few things we take into consideration that weighs strongly on the final investment decision outside of the obvious (performance and price to a certain extent) has to do with the type of technical support/service provided by the manufacturer. The technical support, plus the responsiveness and willingness to listen to our concerns provided by Flexo Wash has been outstanding over the last 14 years which reassures us that Flexo Wash is a company that stands behind their product and will support their customer’s needs. 

As mentioned previously, the support from the Flexo Wash group has been fantastic. Joe Almeida in particular understands the industry, his equipment and has been pleasant to work with. Joe is open to hearing the good and taking the bad news as well in a positive, professional manner and has supported us over the years to ensure we were satisfied with the performance of our equipment. “

www.flexowashus.com

Mondi and EW Technology have partnered to create an innovative new paper wrapping machine.

EW Technology’s mechanical engineering knowledge has been combined with Mondi’s paper packaging expertise to enable companies to wrap pallets in Advantage StretchWrap paper.

New machine extends the possibilities for companies wanting to replace plastic pallet wrapping with a recyclable and renewable paper solution.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, has collaborated with Austrian mechanical engineering company EW Technology to launch a new machine for paper pallet wrapping that is more efficient and sustainable on small-to-medium production lines.

The two companies worked together to design the innovative machine, which fills a gap Mondi identified in the pallet wrapping market. Offering two settings, the machine can be fully automated to wrap up to 60 pallets every hour or semi-automated to wrap 10-15 pallets per hour.

The machine takes a full reel of Mondi’s Advantage StretchWrap paper, allowing customers to replace the multi-layer plastic which is currently the industry standard for pallet wrapping. Advantage StretchWrap is 100% virgin paper, created with renewable materials and fully recyclable in existing paper waste streams across Europe. It contains no plastic or coating, but still ensures excellent strength and tension absorption. Mondi commissioned an independent life cycle assessment (LCA) comparing the innovative paper pallet packaging to conventional plastic stretch film and proved that it performed better in several impact categories – most notably in climate change, with a 62% lower carbon footprint than virgin plastic stretch film.

From a user point of view there are further benefits. A full reel of Advantage StretchWrap can be applied to the new machine without any need to re-wind. The larger dimensions of the Advantage StretchWrap reel mean that a replacement reel is only needed every 400-600 pallets compared to 40-80 pallets for plastic wrapping, providing a more efficient solution.

Philipp Ertl, Co-founder, EW Technology, says: “Sustainable projects are close to our hearts and as a young team we are determined to make a positive contribution to the environment. By taking a collaborative approach with Mondi we were able to learn exactly what was needed and work together to deliver a unique new offering in paper wrapping technology for palletised goods – one that will benefit companies across many industries.”

Babicz Bartosz, Product Manager Advantage StretchWrap, Mondi adds: “We work with brands across various industries and recognised that companies seeking to be more sustainable and with smaller outputs require a customised machine for paper pallet wrapping. This machine will mean that customers can successfully and safely wrap their products in paper for transportation, work towards a more circular system and make a positive contribution to the environment.”

www.mondigroup.com

 

Technicote has appointed Ed Klene to the position of National Sales & Marketing Director. In this role Ed will continue his responsibilities as Marketing Director developing and implementing marketing strategies, pricing and portfolio management. Now, he will also be responsible for leading the company’s highly-experienced North American field sales organization. Ed sits on the Technicote’s executive team collaborating with operations, supply chain and technical teams.

Ed has spent 5 years at Technicote leading the Marketing & Purchasing organizations. Prior to Technicote Ed spent 16 years in brand & packaging management leading consumer product goods marketing teams, “Ed brings a broad experience from the food & beverage industry as well as leading Technicote through the recent challenging supply environment. He has been a key contributor to our success. By consolidating the front-end under his leadership, we are excited about expanding our value proposition to all of our customers,” said Frank Gavrilos, Technicote President. “I am excited and honored to expand my role at Technicote. We have a strong & passionate sales team with many years of experience. I look forward to working with them to provide customer solutions and drive growth,” said Klene.

Ed works at the corporate office in Miamisburg, OH where he enjoys his family of four and enjoys U.S. history & is an avid National Parks visitor.

About Technicote
Technicote, an ISO 9001:2015 certified company is privately held, headquartered in Miamisburg, OH. Technicote provides solutions to label converters seeking the best total value in material solutions. Technicote has manufacturing and distribution facilities across North America and has grown steadily from its founding in 1980 to be a major supplier to the release liner and pressure sensitive roll label industries.

For more information about Technicote, visit www.technicote.com

Helsinki – UPM Raflatac is the first company in the world to invest in Ocean Bound Plastics (OBP) waste as label raw material in their new Ocean Action labels. The Ocean Action labels are made from ocean bound plastic using mass balance approach. Ocean bound plastic is abandoned plastic waste recovered from areas up to 50km inland from waterways, defined as “at risk of ending up in the ocean” by OBPCert. The new innovative label material is made possible by close collaboration with multiple partners in the product’s value chain.

The world desperately needs more sustainable and commercially viable ways to recycle post-consumer plastic. The United Nations has recognized the need to recycle more post-consumer plastic and launched a new plastic pollution treaty in 2021. OBPCert has estimated that ocean bound plastic generates 80% of plastic marine litter. Today, only around 10% of plastic waste globally gets recycled, while the rest ends up at landfills, in incineration, and leakage to nature or oceans. One solution to this problem lies in creating markets for products made from ocean bound plastic.

”The new innovative Ocean Action label material is the latest step in our beyond fossils journey. It does not only help prevent the plastic waste from ending up in the oceans but also offers brand owners the possibility to meet their recycled content targets for packaging. The Ocean Action label material is an easy-to-use drop-in solution created especially for food and cosmetics end-uses as it has exactly the same performance as the current fossil-based labels,” says Eliisa Laurikainen, Business Development Manager from UPM Raflatac.

The Ocean Action label material is available as White and Clear Top Coated PP films with RP37, RF37, and RP74 adhesives and PET 23 PCR and glassine liners. These label materials are a perfect fit for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), such as household goods, personal care, packaged foods, and beverages.

To make Ocean Action label a commercially successful product, UPM Raflatac has collaborated closely with multiple partners in the value chain. The collaboration is necessary to make circular economy a reality. At first stage HHI, a Malaysian-based plastic recycling company collects and sorts the ocean bound plastic waste with its partners. HHI has Ocean Bound Plastics certification under Zero Plastic Oceans program that ensures the responsible sourcing, proper collection and management of the ocean bound plastic waste.

After collecting and sorting the ocean bound plastic waste, HHI uses chemical recycling to convert the waste into pyrolysis oil. The pyrolysis oil is then used by SABIC to create high-quality PP plastic granulates.

“We are proud to offer our customers another more sustainable choice through the advanced recycling of
used plastic that could otherwise end up in our oceans and rivers. These labels containing ocean bound plastic connect with our TRUCIRCLE™ program of circular solutions designed to help reduce plastic waste, mitigate fossil depletion and protect our planet,” says Lada Kurelec, General Manager PP, PET, PS, PVC, PU & Elastomers Businesses for Petrochemicals at SABIC.

After SABIC, the plastic granulates are used in the process in which the film manufacturer Taghleef Industries produces the label film that is used to produce the final label material by UPM Raflatac.

“We are proud to be part of this initiative that represents a further step towards a more circular economy, thanks to an efficient reuse of valuable material, and is a responsible effort to preserve our environment, especially for younger generations,” says Simone Baldin, Business Unit Manager – Labels Europe, Taghleef Industries.

The plastic waste used in the value chain of making Ocean Action label material is certified under the Zero Plastics Oceans program, and the final label material under ISCC PLUS. The label material is produced using sustainable recycled feedstock, replacing the equivalent amount of virgin fossil resources used in the production process, using a mass balance approach, accounting for the amount of sustainable resources. These verify that the Ocean Action label material is traceable and sustainably sourced.

UPM Raflatac
UPM Raflatac is leading in sustainable labeling through our innovative self-adhesive label materials and services. We offer high-quality paper and film label stock for branding and promotion, informational labels, and labels with functionality. We operate a global network of factories, distribution terminals and sales offices. Our company employs around 3,000 people and made sales of EUR 1.7 billion (USD 1.9 billion) in 2021. UPM Raflatac is part of UPM.

Find out how we are labeling a smarter future beyond fossils at www.upmraflatac.com.

With its UV- and water-based deinking primers for labels and sleeves, Siegwerk offers validated solutions for a safe and economic deinking of energy cured ink systems that have been so far considered as non-deinkable. This sets new norms to drive deinking as industry standard and further improve recyclability & circularity of plastic packaging.

Siegburg, Germany – Siegwerk, one of the leading global providers of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications and labels, today announced its most recent development for an improved deinking especially for rigid plastic packaging which is adding a substantial value to industrial mechanical recycling.

Beside the already existing water-based deinking primer (officially approved by The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR)) Siegwerk is now offering an UV-curing deinking primer that is suitable for pressure sensitive and wrap around labels, and shrink sleeves made of Polyolefin- and Polyester-based materials. This development closes a gap as it now allows an inline printing of deinkable materials in a 100% UV-Flexo press setup.

Today, consumers expect higher recycling levels of plastic packaging where a meaningful reuse of the recycled material is mandatory instead of wasting the material into downcycling streams. This sustainability-conscious demand has driven brand owners to rethink their packaging to switch to 100% recyclable packaging in the near future. “Achieving this 100% packaging circularity requires a sufficient and consistent quality of recyclates,” explains Ralf Leineweber, Head of Global Technology Development at Siegwerk. In mechanical recycling as the today’s only established industrial recycling process, deinking of printed packaging material is one – if not the most – viable technology to meet this requirement. Only deinking can bring here clean and clear recyclates with a suitable quality back into the packaging stream to consequently reduce the need of more virgin plastic material. “That’s why we are committed to support customers with innovative solutions facilitating deinking and thus contribute to establish deinking as industry standard further improving packaging recyclability and circularity,” adds Guido Lander, Vice President Narrow Web EMEA at Siegwerk.

To integrate deinking into the recycling process, recyclers need to implement a hot washing step first, if not already existing. Here, it is critical that the deinking does not negatively impact the recycling process for example by contaminating the wash water. Besides, the lower the needed washing temperature for deinking the better – because this not only saves energy but also costs. More and more recyclers focusing on rigid plastic packaging such as trays, cups and plastic containers are implementing hot washing processes to improve the quality of their recyclates which enables an easy and seamless integration of a deinking step for a broad range of packaging materials. “We consider deinking primers as a key lever for smart deinking of crosslinked ink systems especially at low washing temperatures  for sleeves, labels and other printed decoration for rigid plastic packaging,” explains Leineweber.

Siegwerk’s deinking primers enable a smooth and reliable deinking at any hot washing condition currently used in the recycling industry. They are compliant with different film materials like cPET, PE or PP and do not require the use of a dedicated ink series to keep complexity for users rather low. Besides, any printing process can be used in combination with our deinking primer portfolio – from flexo, offset and screen printing to foiling, metallic and other decorative embellishments. With its UV-curing deinking primer, the company especially offers a solution for converters who are using a pure UV flexo press and are not able to process a water-based primer. This primer shows best compatibility with UV-curing inks facilitating quantitative deinking according to the washing protocols of EPBP and APR. Applied under bleeding resistant UV-cured ink layers, the primer layer dissolves in the hot washing process and thus enables the generation of high-quality colorless recyclates, while the non-bleeding ink formulations ensure a clean and reusable washing solution.

Siegwerk is currently engaged in various deinking projects for all kind of rigid packaging solutions with in-mold and pressure sensitive labels as well as for direct printed rigid containers. “The greatest opportunities to improve plastic recycling in line with a circular economy obviously lay in areas where hot washing already became a standard step within the recycling process, such as in the PET bottle 2 bottle recycling,” adds Ralf Leineweber. Siegwerk has for example developed deinking technologies for shrink sleeves allowing a 100% recyclability of bottle and sleeve in food contact grade quality. Furthermore, the ink expert sees excellent opportunities to recover high-quality recyclates from postindustrial flexible packaging waste via deinking. Post-consumer waste is supposed to follow as well at a certain time due to its volume related importance.

Next to deinking primers, printing inks and coatings, Siegwerk also offers its customers technical services along the value chain to support an optimized and consistent deinking process. The company can also provide optimized deinking chemistry based on a systematic development to ensure fast deinking resulting in clean flakes with almost virgin quality of the recyclate. “Deinking is not a product for us, it is a “Full Service Offering” where everything needs tie together,” says Lander. “That’s why we follow a holistic approach and also offer the execution of deinking tests according to the most common washing protocols in our specialized laboratories.” Based on its deinking expertise, Siegwerk can guide customers through the entire process, from the unprinted substrate to the deinked and recycled packaging material, finally helping to optimize plastic packaging recycling in line with a circular economy.

About Siegwerk
Siegwerk, a sixth-generation family-owned company, is one of the leading international manufacturers of printing inks and individual solutions for packaging, labels, and catalogs. With more than 180 years of experience, the company has solid expertise in and knowledge of many printing procedures. A global manufacturing and service network ensures customers consistently high-quality products and services. In keeping with the company’s philosophy “Ink, Heart & Soul,” Siegwerk seeks long-term cooperation with its business partners. Siegwerk employs some 5,000 people worldwide in more than 30 country organizations and is headquartered in Siegburg near Cologne.

Further information on Siegwerk can be found at www.siegwerk.com