January 28, 2021
Athena SWC launched its new website as part of a five-year strategic plan.
“Athena has been in the process of developing and executing our five-year strategic growth plan, which included redefining our web presence based on our newly expanded inbound and outbound service offerings,” said Todd M. Zielinski, managing director and CEO of Athena. “Our mission is to partner with manufacturers and B2B technical sales environments that require best practice processes and infrastructure to support our customers’ long-term sales growth goals.”
The new website “offers a modern design, easy navigation, improved functionality, and enhanced resources,” according to a company news release.
Peachtree Packaging & Display hired Garrison Brooks as its new creative sales director, bringing with him more than 18 years of leadership, creative, and industrial design experience.
“Maintaining a rich in-house team of the best designers allows us to efficiently and quickly create packaging and display solutions that maximize form and function in ways that capture customer’s attention and drive sales,” said Chad Wagner, CEO of Peachtree Packaging. “Garrison’s design prowess is exceptional and will be a prodigious asset to our design team. We are thrilled to have him on board.”
In other Peachtree Packaging news, the company’s Black Box Coffin for Black Box Wines was a finalist in “Best Merchandising Solution” category of the Path to Purchase Institute’s 2020 Design of the Times competition.
“Retail displays are the most visible, physical, tangible way to reach into a consumer’s world at the point of purchase and tell a company’s brand story,” said Pete Galbiati, director of marketing for Peachtree Packaging. “The story has to be compelling, experiential, and engaging or customers will walk right by. It’s hard to ignore a nearly life-size coffin display without provoking an intriguing goosebump or two.”
Huston Patterson named Merle Mixell as its director of finance, making him responsible for all accounting and IT functions for both Huston Patterson and Sigma Graphics.
“Merle brings a vast amount of experience and expertise to Huston Patterson,” said Tonya Kowa-Morelli, the company’s president. “His sound and diverse background as an accounting professional is a critical asset for us as we continue to grow and evolve within our industry.”
Indianapolis-based Opus Packaging Group installed a Kolbus Hycorr 66 x 115 rotary die cutter (RDC), featuring a four-color bottom-print and one-color top-print station.
“Demand for our corrugated boxes is very high and has grown stronger during the pandemic” said Mike Seifert, director of manufacturing services at Opus. “Our customers are seeking new ways to attract more business and often it entails colorful graphics on the outside of the box and one-color messages and advertising on the inside. With the investment of the new Hycorr RDC, we can accomplish those orders efficiently and quickly all in a single pass. I expect we will quickly be operating the Hycorr RDC at a two shift level producing a wide array of products including graphic packaging, packs and kits, interior dunnage, custom partitions, and packaging supplies.”
H.B. Fuller released a new line of extreme cold-resistant adhesives, Advantra®, for the pharmaceutical industry.
The new Advantra 9280 EU and Advantra BOLD™ 9480 adhesive grades “have been designed for tough surfaces and harsh conditions such as high-speed pharmaceutical packaging lines with counterpressure,” according to a company news release. Furthermore, “H.B. Fuller’s Advantra adhesives demonstrate tamper-evident fiber tear on pharmaceutical packaging and confirmed fiber tear after seven days’ storage at -70 degrees Celsius and after reconditioning at refrigerator temperature of 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Farenheit.”
JB Machinery installed ColorDry® XL3000 IR dryer systems on the three-color Isowa IBIS FFG at the Abbott-Action Packaging facility in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
“It was a pleasure to celebrate this milestone event with our great friends and valued partners at Abbott-Action,” said Warren Bird, president of JB Machinery. “We congratulate Sam and his team on their installation and look forward to celebrating their success with the new capabilities ColorDry will bring to their Isowa and the added value they will create for their customers.”
Durst P5 350
Michigan-based Shaw PPC Design and Georgia-based Walton Press each installed a Durst P5 350, a hybrid large-format UV LED inkjet press that prints rigid and roll materials up to 130 inches wide with 1,200 dpi output.
“Shaw PPC Design brings a commitment to customers that extends beyond the printed product,” said Larry D’Amico, Durst’s sales director, North America. “We are honored to be an integral part of their production process, and we look forward to a continuing relationship built on innovation and shared goals.”
Of Walton’s install, D’Amico said, “One of the strengths of the P5 platform is the versatility it offers large format print businesses. With the hybrid P5 350, we provide the needed tools for a company like Walton who is looking to enter this market and requires a broad capability to address their customer needs. We are thrilled to be partnering with Walton Press and their growth initiatives into the wide format graphic marketplace.”
Grupo Gondi completed its Musketeers mill project, employing up to 2,100 people (and up to 6,300 indirectly).
“Today Grupo Gondi proudly announces the startup of its new PM7, the most modern recycled containerboard mill in Latin America,” said Grupo Gondi CEO Eduardo Posada. “After reaching stock on wire some days ago, we managed to have paper on reel today. This represents a crucial step to the beginning of our productive process. We will continue working to achieve the established goals for what will be the most innovative low basis weight recycled containerboard mill of Grupo Gondi, Mexico, and Latin America”
The company estimates production of 400,000 metric tons per year of lightweight.
Signode SIG-VCS
Signode introduced its new SIG-VCS TANDEM automatic bundler system.
According to company news release, the system “combines the power of two squaring bundlers connected with dual-zone conveyors to meet the extreme demands of modern flexo folder gluers with inline bundle breakers.” It reportedly operates at speeds up to 36 bundles per minute.
“We have been listening to our customers who are eager for a bundling system that maximizes high-speed bundling capabilities and minimizes production interruptions,” said Mike Stein, vice president of marketing and product management for Signode’s Automation & Packaging Technologies group. “The SIG-VCS TANDEM achieves these goals and provides box plant operations with unparalleled performance, simple maintenance, and increased uptime for corrugated bundling.”
