After starting nonprofit organization Two Sides North America, Chicago, Illinois, nearly a decade ago, Phil Riebel has retired as president of the organization, effective April 1. Kathi Rowzie, who has been running the day-to-day operations of Two Sides since last March, will become president.

Jeff Hester, chairman of the Two Sides North America board of directors, stated that everyone who has worked with Riebel over the years knows him as a trusted colleague and passionate advocate for the sustainability of print, paper and paper-based packaging. The industry has benefitted enormously from his efforts to build Two Sides into an organization whose voice is recognized and respected across the paper value chain and among many of North America’s leading corporations. As Riebel moves on from his Two Sides role to pursue other opportunities within the industry, Hester thanks him on behalf of the board of directors for his dedicated service to the Two Sides members and industry. Though Riebel is stepping down, he will remain associated with Two Sides’ mission as a valuable advocate in its strategic efforts.

Bill Rojack, vice chairman of the Two Sides board of directors, said the organization also wants to express its support for Rowzie as she steps into her expanded role. She brings a unique combination of paper industry, sustainability and communications expertise that will help the organization continue to build on Two Sides’ success.

Rowzie’s career spans more than 30 years in corporate and consulting roles with Fortune 500 companies, including extensive experience in the paper industry and with industry customers. A longtime advocate of Two Sides, her association goes back to the organization’s beginning when, as a consultant, she was instrumental in helping launch the Two Sides website, educational tools and marketing materials.

Hester said Rowzie continues to bring new ideas and fresh perspectives that will be critically important as increasing consumer, government and ENGO attention to the sustainability of print and paper products makes Two Sides’ work more important than ever. The board looks forward to working with her as it seeks to take Two Sides to the next level.

The phone number for Two Sides North America has changed to 937.999.7729. The email address will remain info@twosidesna.org.

For more information, visit www.twosidesna.org.

The Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC), Springfield, Massachusetts, the North American association for converters of paperboard packaging and their suppliers, has selected Steven C. Voorhees, former CEO of WestRock, as the recipient of its 2021 Robert T. Gair Award. Named after the man whose innovation gave birth to the modern folding carton, the Robert T. Gair Award is reserved for individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to the paperboard packaging industry.

Long before Voorhees found himself driving success for one of the world’s largest paper and packaging companies, he was pushing a lawnmower across the lawn of his childhood home in Michigan. Voorhees attributes this and other chores to his father, a navy commander with a post-retirement career in the chemical industry, as instilling within him the strong work ethic that would serve him throughout his career.

After receiving his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and MBA from the University of Virginia, Voorhees spent the first leg of his career working for the Birmingham, Alabama-based energy company, Sonat. He went on to join the paperboard packaging firm, RockTenn (which would later become WestRock as part of a merger under Voorhees’ guidance). There he held numerous leadership positions in the Atlanta, Georgia-based corporation before being named CEO in 2013.

Voorhees’ many accomplishments center around expanding WestRock’s capabilities, geographic presence and industry leadership with numerous acquisitions. Voorhees is known for cultivating a corporate culture that delivered immeasurable value to customers, stockholders and teammates alike.

Ben Markens, PPC president stated that he congratulates Mr. Voorhees on his significant accomplishment – and it is significant. In fact, PPC has only given 19 Gair Awards during its 92-year history. Only the most committed and exemplary individuals can receive the award, those who have left an indelible mark not only on the industry but on PPC as well as their own communities. Without a doubt, Mr. Voorhees fits the bill.

Indeed, Voorhees’ impact extends beyond the industry. As a community partner, he has lent his business and leadership expertise to several Metro Atlanta organizations, including Junior Achievement of Georgia and Boys & Girls Clubs. As an advocate for youth programs and education, Voorhees was one of the business leaders that supported the development of 3DE by Junior Achievement, an innovative approach to high school that integrates business connectivity into education to provide a real-world, authentic, experiential curriculum. He often made a point of visiting with 3DE students during their WestRock case study trips to the company’s home office to talk about the company, the industry and careers in modern manufacturing, including his personal career journey.

Voorhees said he is extremely grateful to the PPC for this exceptional recognition, noting that it has been a privilege to serve the paper and packaging industry, including WestRock as president and CEO. He extended thanks to all of the people who have supported him throughout his career and enabled this recognition, including his wife, Celia, and the incredible WestRock team members around the world who work tirelessly every day to connect people to essential, sustainable products.

Announced virtually last week during PPC’s Spring Meeting, the 2021 Robert T. Gair award will be celebrated in-person during the association’s Fall Conference, Oct. 27-29, 2021, in Savannah, Georgia.

For more information, visit www.paperbox.org and www.westrock.com.

Kongsberg, a provider of digital cutting solutions with US headquarters in Miamisburg, Ohio, entered a new era on April 6, 2021, transforming into a standalone company, Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems (“Kongsberg PCS”). The transformation follows the acquisition of the business by OpenGate Capital.

The transformation of Kongsberg PCS brings with it the opportunity to innovate and expand the business into new markets. This marks a new chapter for Kongsberg PCS, a brand with a rich heritage spanning more than half a century.

Stuart Fox, president of Kongsberg PCS, stated that it is truly an exciting day for everyone at the company. Since 1965, the Kongsberg name has been synonymous with innovation, delivering precision, reliability and quality through seven decades. Following the acquisition by OpenGate Capital, the company now will focus on its future, and the next generation innovation and growth.

Founded in Norway in 1965, Kongsberg was purchased by Esko (then Barco) in 1998. In December 2020, Esko agreed to the sale of Kongsberg to private equity firm OpenGate Capital. The acquisition includes the original research and development facility in Kongsberg, Norway, and the production facility in Brno, Czech Republic.

Fox stated that this is an opportunity for the Kongsberg team to realize its ambitions, and to explore new markets. The company will be developing strategic initiatives to further innovate its digital finishing hardware and software solutions, as well as growing the Kongsberg brand beyond the packaging industry.

Fox noted that whilst the company is excited about the future, it also is committed to ensuring that it honors its heritage. It has a team of 400 people, many of whom have been a part of the Kongsberg family for more than 30 years. The Kongsberg values that are important to its customers – strength, performance, longevity of the machine – will endure.

Fox stated that sales, service, consumables and spare parts will all continue as usual. Customers will receive the same level of service during the transition and they can look forward to business as usual throughout 2021. The company will continue investing in its table technology, and in the coming months it will be showcasing the latest developments with its automation solutions.

For more information, visit www.kongsbergsystems.com.

Komori America, Rolling Meadows, Illinois, a maker of offset and digital presses, has announced that MBO will be offering a new MBO K32-KSE Combi Buckle/Knife Folder to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Komori’s acquisition of MBO Post Press Solutions. “KSE” in the machine name stands for “Komori Special Edition,” and it is available at special pricing for a limited time only, now through Aug. 31, 2021.

This combi-folding machine, designed for full-size B1 and smaller sheet sizes, is well suited to the commercial print market and is ideal for high-precision, fast production of all types of general commercial applications. It is a perfect fit alongside Komori’s high-performance offset presses.

The K32-KSE anniversary edition comes with a comprehensive equipment package. The machine can fold common 25 x 38″ sheets up to 13,755 sheets per hour, approximately twice as fast as legacy folding machines, to help printers keep pace with Komori’s presses. It is available in two configurations: fully automated or manual. Both versions come equipped with a palletized feeder with the latest Vacujet feed head, M1 Advanced Control with touchscreen controls for fast makeready and Remote Access Software (RAS) with complimentary remote maintenance service included. Customers can choose the model and options that best fit their production requirements. Both models have been designed for maximum productivity and reliability to help eliminate bottlenecks in postpress processing and to meet customers’ quality expectations and increasingly short deadlines.

Because this is a limited-time offer, print providers interested in adding this advanced folder are advised to contact their local district sales manager for more information. For contact information, visit www.komori-america.us/contact-us/. For more information, visit www.komori-america.us/.

EyeC, Hamburg, Germany, a maker of artwork and print inspection systems, has announced global availability of ProofText, its new highly automated web-based text inspection software. ProofText is designed for initial artwork proofreading and revision control to assist creative agencies, prepress service providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, FMCG companies, as well as label and packaging printers in accelerating the artwork creation and prepress process, shortening proofreading time and avoiding costly mistakes.

Dominique Elsen, EyeC product manager stated that ProofText provides up to 50% faster total inspection time than comparable systems on the market due to the highly automated text matching process, best-in-class usability and an efficient evaluation. The core functionality of ProofText is comparing manuscripts to initial artwork documents like PDF or others to find and evaluate differences.

ProofText’s intuitive usability, intelligent algorithm and innovative user interface together with easy-to-use tools allows any user to inspect and evaluate complex documents and artwork in an efficient way at any place, without extensive training. The quick check prevents gross errors in advance and avoids upcoming costs.

ProofText is developed especially for text-heavy and multilingual artwork on products such as folding boxes, labels, leaflets, booklets and flexible packaging. To ensure quality right from the artwork creation phase, live text (Unicode) from manuscript and briefing files (Word, HTML, QRD templates and more) is compared with the initial artwork file or proof (PDF). The artwork revision control cycle is reduced by comparing live text of a PDF vs. PDF with different revisions.

Text content checked by ProofText includes differences caused by deleted, inserted or changed text as well as deviations in text styles (bold, italic, size and font type). Multiple pages, documents, file formats and languages can be checked simultaneously in one pass.

Virtual demonstrations are available.

For more information, visit www.EyeC-inspection.com.

Eckhart & Co., Indianapolis, Indiana, a resource for bookbinding and print finishing services, and a manufacturer of rigid boxes and cases, has launched a website with a fresh, clean look. The site features clear, concise navigation, along with informative descriptions of services, all accompanied by illuminating graphics.

Details about Eckhart’s binding, decorating and finishing, and packaging services are artfully presented to inform visitors about the options and benefits of the company’s array of services. Long-standing customers and new visitors alike will find a visually-rich overview of the company, its personnel and its wide range of bindery services.

For more information, visit www.eckhartandco.com.

More than 200 exhibitors from 33 countries have registered for virtual.drupa, scheduled for April 20-23, 2021, at https://virtual.drupa.com.

“We are very pleased about the recent registrations from outstanding exhibitors and major global players such as HP Inc. and Landa Digital Printing from Israel. Both companies will enrich virtual.drupa with their impressive range of innovations in the field of digital printing technologies and broad range of applications,” said Sabine Geldermann, project director of print technologies at Messe Düsseldorf.

Industry pioneer Benny Landa, Chairman of the Landa Group and founder of both Indigo and Landa Digital Printing, is looking forward to virtual.drupa, which he considers “…particularly important for our industry in times when face-to-face events cannot take place.”

Heim Levit, general manager at HP Indigo, added: “We are very pleased to continue our commitment to the printing industry and drupa through our participation as an exhibitor at virtual.drupa this year. While we miss seeing our partners, customers and friends in the industry in a live show, protecting our employees and community remains a top priority. However, the last 12 months have demonstrated the very positive reception of our new NPI portfolio, which continued to drive significant innovation allowing businesses of all sizes to keep growing despite challenging business environments. We encourage everyone to visit virtual drupa and connect with us.”

Most recently, other major and long-standing drupa exhibitors also have confirmed their participation, including Swiss conveying and processing systems specialist Ferag AG, manufacturer of high-performance UV curing systems IST Metz GmbH, leading web offset printing solutions provider manroland Goss web systems GmbH and global digital cutting systems specialist Zünd Systemtechnik AG.

virtual.drupa leading event partners

The event partners of virtual.drupa consist Leonhard Kurz (Platinum Event Partner), DuPont de Nemours, Electronics for Imaging (efi), Kodak, Komori (Gold Event Partners), BlueCrest, CloudLab, Fujifilm, Hybrid Software, Koenig & Bauer, Mimaki, OQChemicals and Xeikon (Silver Event Partners).

virtual.drupa current status

To date, more than 200 exhibitors from 33 countries have registered for virtual.drupa, including nearly all significant global players. With 46%, European companies make up the largest group. In addition to German manufacturers, the leading exhibitor nations are China, the US, Switzerland, Italy and Japan. More than 890 exhibitor representatives have signed up for the matchmaking function, which enables the arrangement of virtual meetings and direct interaction via a chat function before and during the event. Customers from all over the world have shown strong interest in virtual interaction, with about 2,400 international visitors registered for matchmaking and meetings with industry experts. Visitor registration is gaining momentum due to extensive PR and marketing activities, as well as invitations being sent out by exhibitors.

43 hours of presentations and web sessions

Comprehensive knowledge transfer is the keyword for virtual.drupa, which will be offered during more than 43 hours in keynote speeches, panel discussions, presentations and exhibitor web sessions.

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at virtual.drupa, visit https://virtual.drupa.com or www.mdna.com.

Printing and graphic arts association PRINTING United Alliance, Fairfax, Virginia, has announced that Dave Leskusky has been appointed president of PRINTING United Alliance. Leskusky has overseen operations at NAPCO Media, which melded with the Alliance in 2019 to further connect members and the industry at large with a comprehensive platform of the most widespread media brands in the industry, more than 30 combined events, including the largest printing and graphic arts tradeshow in the Americas – PRINTING United.

In this move, Leskusky will retain his role in leading NAPCO Media as part of the PRINTING United Alliance portfolio and will support Alliance efforts to further streamline myriad robust resources and services being offered from the Alliance, including preeminent industry education, training, workshops, events, research, government and legislative representation, safety and environmental sustainability guidance.

Ford Bowers, PRINTING United Alliance CEO, will continue working closely with the board of directors, the members of which are representative of industry printer and supplier members, on creating, communicating and implementing the organization’s vision, mission and overall direction to best serve the industry. Bowers remains the main liaison to members, exhibitors and the press, and he will represent the Alliance in Washington, DC, as well as announce new developments and share major changes that are being implemented.

Bower said the Alliance is pleased to appoint Leskusky as president of PRINTING United Alliance during this exciting time for the association and the industry. With the wonderful partnerships it has made recently, including welcoming Idealliance to the Alliance family, it recognized that a full-time focus was needed to serve in an overarching role. As the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, Leskusky will oversee operations and best practices to integrate and enhance the most valuable resources through the Alliance’s combined partnerships to plan for the long-term success in serving the industry.

Leskusky said he is excited to help lead PRINTING United Alliance in this new role. He will continue to give back to the industry and work with its longstanding partners to provide even more resources and services to members, printers and suppliers. The Alliance is building a bigger tent that enables it to focus on key issues facing all printers and provide a stronger unified voice that has never existed in a previously fragmented landscape.

Leskusky can be reached at dleskusky@napco.com. For more information, visit PRINTINGUnited.com.

RadTech, the nonprofit for UV/EB technology, has announced the winners of the 2021 RadLaunch Awards, which will be presented during an Awards Zoom Program, 3-4 p.m. EDT on April 28, 2021.

In addition to recognizing four RadLaunch winners, the judges offered a special Unique New Technology Award to recognize a potentially disruptive formative composites process.

The Awards Zoom Program, moderated by Darryl Boyd, US Naval Research Laboratory, and Mike Idacavage, Radical Curing LLC, is supported by RadTech members, its sponsors and RadLaunch platinum sponsor Azul 3D, and will feature short presentations by each award winner.

2021 RadLaunch Award Winners

Biomass Derived Chromophores for Radiation Curing
Prof. Jayaraman Sivaguru et al., Bowling Green State University, and Gregory Carroll, Ph.D., NRC Senior Research Associate at the Air Force Research Laboratory

The vibrant colors that enhance Nature’s elegance play a critical role in various chemical and biological processes. Translating these colors, which are dictated by the presence of chromophores, to curing technology is challenging as it requires rational manipulation of excited-state properties.

Jayaraman Sivaguru, Ph.D., the Antonia and Marshall Wilson Professor of Chemistry and Associate Director, Center for Photochemical Sciences, at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, is leading the effort in collaboration with Gregory Carroll, Ph.D., NRC Senior Research Associate at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Sruthy Baburaj, graduate student at Bowling Green and Sheila Asiago, PhD candidate at Bowling Green, as they explore translating biomass derived compounds that can be fine-tuned for radiation curing with both UV and visible light.

The biomass derived compounds are fine-tuned to feature photochemical properties superior to the conventional compounds featuring similar chromophores. Sivaguru’s team is working on translating these novel biomass derived compounds as curing systems with high efficiency.

Mighty Buildings

A construction technology company based in Oakland, California, Mighty Buildings is innovating the construction industry by creating beautiful, affordable and sustainable homes using 3D printing, advanced materials and robotics automation. Co-founders Alexey Dubov, Sam Ruben, Slava Solonitsyn and Dmitry Starodubtsev aim to unlock productivity in construction by combining 3D printing and prefab, making construction more sustainable, efficient and affordable.

The company’s large-scale 3D printers use a proprietary thermoset composite material that the co-founders invented, Light Stone Material (LSM), that can be 3D printed and that hardens almost immediately thanks to a UV-curing process, while also maintaining cohesion between layers to create a monolithic structure. LSM is four times lighter than concrete, has a high thermal resistance and is watertight, sturdy and fire resistant. This 3D printing technology allows Mighty Buildings to produce modular houses and building components much faster than traditional construction.

Mighty Buildings has a near-zero waste production process, preventing 1,100 – 2,000 kg of CO2 emission per 3D printed home. Committed to achieving Net-Zero by 2028, the company is 22 years ahead of the construction industry. Certified under California’s Factory Built Housing program to build units using 3D printing, the company is the first company to achieve certification under the UL 3401 standard for evaluating building structures and assemblies. Mighty Buildings is backed by notable international and Silicon Valley tech investors, including Khosla Ventures, Zeno Ventures and Y Combinator.

3D Printed Ceramic Resins
Tethon 3D

Tethon 3D, Omaha, Nebraska, manufactures universal UV photocurable ceramic resins that are used in numerous SLA, DLP and other vat polymerization 3D printers, and has an R&D facility that formulates custom additive manufacturing UV curable materials. Executive chairperson Karen Linder, Trent Allen, CEO and Gregory Pugh, CTO, lead the company to produce high quality ceramic materials for diverse industrial, consumer and design industries.

With over 1,000 customers in 40 countries, Tethon 3D serves clients in aerospace, electronics, defense, energy, biomedical and other industries that desire the physical properties of ceramics and the complex geometries made possible by 3F printing.

The company also sells a desktop DLP 3D printer optimized for highly viscous and/or opaque photopolymer composites, including ceramics and metals, and Tethon 3D offers proprietary resins for this printer. Tethon 3D accepts contracted service R&D projects to develop a variety of custom UV curable materials.

Multi-Color Visible Light Additive Manufacturing
Prof. Zachariah Page et al., University of Texas at Austin

A limitation to using high-energy UV/violet light in additive manufacturing is that degradation and attenuation narrow the scope of materials which can be used. While tapping visible light can open the door to more materials – including biological compounds, nanocomposites and materials with multiple structures – the photochemistry required for visible light has had unacceptably slow reaction times.

The research team led by Zachariah A. Page, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, is developing high resolution stereolithographic 3D printing using different colors of low energy visible light to rapidly solidify resins. Key to the research is the team’s formulation of panchromatic photopolymer resins.

Utilizing visible light will enable “spectral control” – the ability to dictate the chemical reaction that occurs by the color of incident light used. This color-specificity provides the foundation for multicolor additive manufacturing (McAM) that will facilitate the fabrication of multi-material objects with unprecedented precision and functionality.

Unique New Technology Award

E-Beam X-Ray Cured Carbon Fiber Composites
Dan Montoney, Rapid Cure Technologies, and Anthony Berejka, Ionicorp+

The RadLaunch Unique New Technology Award will be presented to Dan Montoney, Rapid Cure Technologies, East Syracuse, New York, and Anthony Berejka, Ionicorp+, Huntington, New York, for their work developing and testing X-ray cured carbon fiber composites. Their work was supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

It has been shown that X-rays generated by high powered electron beam accelerators (already used for decontamination of mail for the US Postal Service since 2002 and for medical device sterilization) can efficiently convert (meth)acrylate formulations commonly used in radiation curable coatings into functional cured matrices for carbon fiber composites, notably as used in automotive components.

This use of high intensity X-rays was found to be more energy efficient in curing carbon fiber reinforced composites than commonly used thermal curing. By being non-thermal, this treatment permits the use of less-expensive molds and also eliminates issues that arise from thermal expansion-contraction during curing. X-rays were even shown to cure through embedded metal, permitting the fabrication of hybrid items with metal inserts, such as potentially hinges for composite doors or trunk lids.

To register to join in as the Emerging Technology Award winners are introduced and celebrated at 3 p.m. EDT on April 28, 2021, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86886012865.