The 2021 online European Label Forum convened by Finat has hosted 750 attendees from label printing companies, suppliers and organizations from across Europe, providing a platform to analyze the industry over the last year and the opportunities for the future.
On the first day of the forum, after Chris Ellison (OPM Labels & Packaging, UK) opened proceedings, attendees heard from Finat’s managing director Jules Lejeune and LPC’s Jennifer Dochstader, who analyzed some of the emerging trends and developments in the label industry after a tumultuous year.
Day two was focused on business strategy and began with a talk from Prof Andrea Boltho, an Italian economist who lectures at Oxford University. He offered a zoomed-out view of the present dynamics of the European economy by looking at the post-Covid recovery and the forces shaping the global economy. Nick Mockett from Moorgate Capital and Norman Bremer from IK Investment Partners also looked at the challenges and opportunities f
SML RFID has launched GB32U9, its first DoseID certified inlay, and the latest addition to its range of high-performance RFID tags, designed for unit-of-use medications in pharmaceutical applications to provide high quality and rapid inventory counting in dense tag populations.
The GB32U9 is designed to tackle the pharmaceutical industry’s pain points of tracking liquid and small items. The inlay combines its ultra-small size with U9 sensitivity to provide balanced and accurate tracking of general pharmaceutical packages. In addition, its small design means the GB32U9 easily fits on a wide range of pharmaceutical products, including small items such as plastic syringes, plastic vials, and other plastic materials containing liquid.
Spektr, one of the leading label and packaging printers in Belarus, has installed the EyeC ProofRunner 100 percent web inspection system for automatic quality control of printed labels.
Serving the label market for more than 20 years, Spektr is known as a premium label segment supplier and one of the leaders of the Belarusian market in the volume of labels produced with a high degree of finishing. The printing house operates mainly with Bobst and Omet presses with up to 12-colors flexo units serving customers in CIS countries and Western Europe.
The EyeC ProofRunner Web 450 inspection system was installed on the Bobst Expert M3 flexo printing press. The system provides constant monitoring of the printing process and identifies various types of label defects, the criteria for which are determined in the system settings, and instantly alerts the printer if any faults are detected.
Danish converter Color Label has increased the number of its Nilpeter machines to ten, with the recent acquisition of a fully refurbished, pre-owned FA-2500 press and opting for more sustainable investment for its production floor.
Nilpeter’s pre-owned program is a part of a strategic objective to create sustainable initiatives. Older printing presses are often traded in as part of a new purchasing decision and then fully refurbished to improve the condition and lifetime.
The newly refurbished 8-color UV FA-2500 installed at Color Label is the second of its kind to land on the production floor in Aarhus, Denmark. The press software has been upgraded considerably, and all vital mechanical parts and electrical components controlled or changed. Cosmetically, all panels and covers have been powder coated to factory standards.
US-based coating specialist Michelman has appointed Dr Richard (Rick) Michelman as the next president and CEO, effective January 1, 2022. At that time, longtime leader Steven J. Shifman, president and CEO since 2003, will assume the role of executive chairman.
Founded in 1949, Michelman has been one of the industry leaders for over seven decades in developing and applying sustainable and water-based surface modification technology. This leadership transition assures that the company will continue to be family-owned and managed for the long term.
‘I am tremendously proud of having led and grown our company globally for nearly 20 years,’ said Shifman. ‘Moreover, I have strived to lead the company so that our ability to grow sustainably for good has been enhanced. Michelman is comprised of hundreds of values-based and purpose-driven associates, and I am appreciative that we continue to leave a positive impact on the communities we serve and the world around us.’