Mark Andy

When the judges of this year’s Excellence Awards began examining the more than 200 entries, it was like watching kids in a candy store. And, the judges were excited for good reason. packagePRINTING received a great collection of entries this year. But, the entry that took front and center was a wine label submitted by MPI Label Systems of California (MPI, Calif.). The label, produced for Lodi Vineyards’ Windmill Estates Chardonnay, part of the Michael-David Winery’s family of wines, impressed judges with its complexity, aesthetics, embossing, tight tolerances, and small type. “I think it’s a combination of technical difficulty and overall aesthetics,” said Joe

ROCHESTER, NY—James E. Hammer, president and CEO of Hammer Packaging, is the 2008 recipient of Rochester Institute of Technology’s Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award. Hammer was honored during a luncheon on April 23 as he accepted one of the area’s most prestigious business awards. The annual award goes to a successful business leader who has positively impacted the local economy with innovative management skills that have also changed the course of an existing business. Hammer became president of the family-owned company in 1983. Since then, the company has invested more than $100 million in new equipment and seen its sales grow from $4

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Two-and-a-half days of competition culminated in victories for the Canadian competitors at the 11th Annual International Phoenix Challenge Flexo Skills Competition, when the team of Hannah Plavnick and Jyoti Brar of Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, won first place. The pair of high school students each received a $1,000 scholarship and the Phoenix Challenge Gold medallion. They were also presented with the Harper Flexo Cup for display at their school. It is the third time in four years that Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School has the honor of displaying the cup signifying the home of the current Phoenix Challenge

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—MAX, the service and support team of Mark Andy, Inc., is offering another aftermarket program to help customers achieve reduced cycle times in narrow-web print applications. KECO brand high-performance non-stick coating technology is available on EZ clean ink pans and traction release idler rolls, resulting in a partnership between MAX and KECO Coatings to offer the Process Improvement Coating Program. This program provides existing equipment owners the opportunity to purchase coated ink pans and idler rolls, customized to their Comco or Mark Andy press. The Process Improvement Coating Program is a time-saving, cost-cutting measure for converters. With this program, the converter sends

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—MAX, the service and support team of Mark Andy, Inc., is offering another aftermarket program to help customers achieve reduced cycle times in narrow web print applications. KECO brand high-performance non-stick coating technology is available on EZ clean ink pans and traction release idler rolls, resulting in a partnership between MAX and KECO Coatings to offer the Process Improvement Coating Program. This program provides existing equipment owners the opportunity to purchase coated ink pans and idler rolls, customized to their Comco or Mark Andy press. The Process Improvement Coating Program is a time saving, cost cutting measure for converters. With this program,

The NorthEast Label Manufacturers Association (NELMA) will be holding its 6th Annual Expo and Networking Conference on Thursday, May 8th at the Bridgewater Marriott in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The event will run from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. This event will feature an exhibit hall with key suppliers of products and services to the label printing industry. They will included such vendors as UPM-Raflatac, Technicote, 3M, FlexCon, Spinnaker Coating, Mark Andy, AquaFlex, Matik NA, PCS (Degrava), Siegewerk Ink, Alden & Ott, Sun Chemical, Wilson Mfg., Kocker & Beck, Tek Graphics, Anderson Vreeland, Anilox Roll Cleaning Systems, Quality Discount Press Parts, AAA Press Parts, Rotoflex,

CHARLOTTE, NC.—With its annual high school event approaching, the Phoenix Challenge Foundation recognized the sponsors that will make this year’s Annual International High School Flexographic Skills Competition possible. This year’s 11 new sponsors include: Applied Laser Engineering Ltd. Bryce Corporation Design Label Systems Inc. Eastman Kodak Co. ECP, Engineered Coated Products Huggins & Company North State Flexibles LLC Nu Tech Coatings The Provident Group Van Hoy, Reutlinger, Adams & Dunn The Phoenix Challenge Foundation also recognizes the returning sponsors whose loyalty makes the high school competition bigger and better each year: 3M All Printing Resources, Inc. Anderson & Vreeland Inc. Appalachian State University BB&T

CHARLOTTE, NC.—With its annual high school event approaching, the Phoenix Challenge Foundation recognized the sponsors that will make this year’s Annual International High School Flexographic Skills Competition possible. This year’s 11 new sponsors include: Applied Laser Engineering Ltd. Bryce Corporation Design Label Systems Inc. Eastman Kodak Co. ECP, Engineered Coated Products Huggins & Company North State Flexibles LLC Nu Tech Coatings The Provident Group Van Hoy, Reutlinger, Adams & Dunn The Phoenix Challenge Foundation also recognizes the returning sponsors whose loyalty makes the high school competition bigger and better each year: 3M All Printing Resources, Inc. Anderson & Vreeland Inc. Appalachian State University BB&T

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—Mark Andy, Inc. recently released MAX, a new customer service and support initiative supporting Mark Andy, Comco, and UVT product lines. A corporate-wide initiative, MAX is designed to help printers and converters get the most out of their equipment. “MAX was developed to reinforce our commitment to every facet of the customer’s business,” states Adam Baer, vice president of customer support, Mark Andy, Inc. “As the largest OEM service provider in the narrow web marketplace, MAX is committed to enhancing our customers’ success everyday.” With services ranging from its own line of gear grease and gearbox oil, to retrofits and preventive maintenance

Back in 1979 when Joe Elphick, president and CEO, and his partner (since retired) founded Colonial Carton Company (CCC) in New Jersey, the two probably didn’t picture a 72,000-square-foot facility in North Carolina, with an additional 40,000 under construction. They probably also did not foresee almost losing the company’s building and almost all its equipment after a fire. However, joining the Independent ­Carton Group (ICG) helped ensure that the company would not only rise from the ashes with some of the latest technologies available, but also that there would be no loss of business or productivity when the unthinkable occurred. Having a contingency plan