Finishing - Conventional

Company Enters Diecutting Business SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA—Established in 1997, Crown Finishing has operated as a low-profile trade shop serving the special needs of the folding carton industry. Until recently Crown's business had exclusively consisted of UV coating, but last fall the company expanded into diecutting with the purchase of its first diecutter, a Bobst SPeria 106 E. "We saw the opportunity to grow," explains president and CEO Armando Garcia. "As a trade shop we're driven by our customers' needs and the addition of die-cutting and scoring has proven to be very profitable." The Bobst SPeria 106 E was selected by Crown Finishing based

Ask yourself a simple question. Where will you be when opportunity knocks? Take Terry Pegram, for example. Rather than wait for an opportunity to show up at his doorstep, Pegram made his own chances by being a risk taker—despite having a low-key demeanor more fit for the Southern gentleman that he is. Who is Terry Pegram, you ask? He is the founder, chairman and CEO of PBM Graphics, based in Research Triangle Park, NC. In terms of stature and industry recognition, the company is as much a mystery as the peculiarly named city in which it resides. His vision was of a company that

Open House Offers Look at New Gear ROLLING MEADOWS, IL—Spartanics held its fourth annual open house in suburban Chicago recently, featuring the North American debut of the new Spartanics Klemm laser cut diecutting system. Two participatory forums were offered to attendees on the subjects of "Introduction to Digital Diecutting" and "Feed Users Forum." Finishing Safety Standards Adopted The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved ANSI B65.2-2005, Graphic technology-Safety requirements for binding and finishing systems and equipment. This standard revises and replaces the 1999 edition, and is currently available from NPES. The standard addresses mechanical safety issues such as motion controls, guarding against hazards, and warning

Pair of Machines Head Down South Marietta, GA—Color Spectrum Network (CSN) has added two new multi-function machines—a Bobst SPanthera 106-LER embossing diecutter with blanking and a Bobst Mistral 110 A-2 CS folder/gluer equipped with the latest source tagging and CD insertion devices. This marks the first time both of these new generation machines have been installed together in a single U.S. plant. After Fire, Bindery Is Thriving Again Lancaster, PA—It was among the largest and most intense fires that the local fire department could ever remember, and it caused more than $4 million in damage to Bindery Associates last year. "One-third of our facility was completely destroyed,"

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor Getting customers to stop by their booth was the No. 1 challenge facing manufacturers, suppliers and distributors during PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 in Chicago. Be it food, beverages, magicians or professional pool players, those exhibiting knew that getting one's attention was as critical as spreading their company's gospel. This is particularly true for those purveyors of binding and finishing equipment, which offer such a vast array of products and services that it's easy for attentions to get divided. The key was in seeing those attentions get conquered. For example, Standard Finishing Systems and Horizon International made a

Gämmerler to Build Manufacturing Plant HANOVER PARK, IL—Material handling and inline finishing equipment manufacturer Gämmerler plans to build a 80,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Palmetto, FL. Scheduled to open in April 2006, company officials say that the new facility will house the latest in automation equipment, provide roughly 35 percent of annual global production capacity and significantly improve Gämmerler's operational efficiency. "The decision to build the new plant was based on an increase in demand for Gämmerler's products in North America and a desire for a more flexible and efficient international manufacturing platform," says Gämmerler CEO Gunter Gämmerler. "The Palmetto plant will complement our existing production

Thinking back to when he started out in the industry in the 1980s, Frank Shear, president of Woburn, MA-based Seaboard Bindery, remembers a time when trade binderies were all things to all printers. Only a handful of the largest printers had substantial bindery capabilities back then. Most finishing work was left to the trade shops. “There was a lot of overflow work in those days, and we were able to provide a complete bindery service to most of the printers we dealt with,” Shear recalls. “Markups were healthy in those days.” My, how things have changed. Many commercial printers have opted to bolster their

Show Shines for Manufacturers ORLANDO—With 150 exhibit spaces of machines and services at Orlando Graphics 2005, held in April, enthusiasm for 2006 has already been expressed with 98 percent commitment by this year's exhibitors. "The quality of visitors, not the quantity, is what generates business for us," says Hans Max, president and CEO of MBO America, an exhibitor at the show. "We were extremely satisfied not only with the immediate sales, but the followup sales and leads produced by Orlando Graphics." MBO ran demonstrations allowing visitors to see more than 20 multiple-machine configurations bringing improved production to the pressroom or bindery. There was excitement over MBO's

Marketing Alliance for Digital Finishing SANTA ANA, CA—Duplo USA announced the introduction of its DC-545HC slitter/cutter/creaser through Canon USA's Imaging Systems Group Alliance and Industry Marketing (AIM) program. This pairing of Canon digital color printing systems and Duplo finishing equipment will provide customers in the production and commercial printing marketplace with a streamlined solution for the finishing of short-run digital color print jobs. Duplo's DC-545HC provides complementary finishing features for documents printed on Canon imageRUNNER and CLC devices. By combining the functionality of multiple devices, the DC-545HC delivers value by reducing production time (single pass required, as opposed to multiple passes in multiple devices) and freeing

Finishing Supplier Changes Structure HANOVER PARK, IL—Gämmerler, a supplier of materials handling and in-line finishing equipment, is implementing a new global organizational structure designed to unify the company's resources to improve customer support on a global basis. This includes the formation of a senior level, global management team with collective responsibility for worldwide service, sales, marketing, finance, engineering and order management functions. Open House has Post-Drupa Flavor ROSELAND, NJ—In November, Bobst Group USA held its "Direction '04" open house, the North American launch and domestic premier of the 12 new products announced earlier this year at Drupa in Germany. During the three-day open house, U.S. converters