The US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced the availability of $42.5 million in Youth Apprenticeship Readiness grants to support the enrollment of in-school or out-of-school youth apprentices (ages 16-24) into new or existing Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs).

“These apprenticeship grants offer communities the opportunity to make targeted investments today that will fuel future economic growth, by enabling young people to earn a living while learning critical job skills at the same time,” said US Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia.

ETA intends to fund approximately 15 to 25 Youth Apprenticeship Readiness grants, with awards ranging from $1 million to $5 million. The amount of grant funding an applicant can receive will depend on the proposed number of youth enrolled in RAPs.

“The importance of providing multiple pathways to career success cannot be overstated,” said John P. Pallasch, assistant secretary for employment and training. “For too long, higher education was seen as the only path, but we know that’s not the only or best choice for many young adults. This investment in youth apprenticeship is key to helping broaden understanding of career options, and to giving these young adults an on-ramp to apprenticeship.”

In June 2017, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on Expanding Apprenticeship in America, focusing on expanding apprenticeships to secondary and post-secondary institutions, and increasing youth participation. This grant program supports the president’s Executive Order and ETA’s goals to expand access to youth apprenticeships, to promote pre-apprenticeship programs and to develop a strong youth apprenticeship pipeline.

As a critical step toward advancing high-quality registered apprenticeship programs in the US, these funds will be awarded to the lead entity of a youth apprenticeship partnership that seeks to partner with business and industry to develop new RAPs or expand existing RAPs.

Through this grant program, the partnership will directly engage educational entities, including traditional, alternative and non-traditional schools, as well as programs that serve out-of-school youth, school boards, workforce boards, employers, workforce partners and other apprenticeship intermediaries, to develop comprehensive approaches to establishing new apprenticeship models for youth or expanding existing apprenticeship programs for youth. Specifically, the funds will support training for thousands of underrepresented youth for apprenticeships in new and nontraditional occupations or expanded apprenticeship programs.

Information on how eligible applicants can apply for funding can be found at www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=325965. Also, visit www.apprenticeship.gov to learn more about the department’s broader efforts to connect career seekers with apprenticeship opportunities and expand apprenticeship into new sectors and industries.

Aldus Tronics, Sydney, Australia, a supplier of Tronics labeling, Videojet coding, marking and graphics machines, has announced that Aldus Pty Limited has acquired the business of API Foils Europe (excluding its Dutch and Asian subsidiaries), creating a new company called API Foilmakers Limited.

The new company will be led by Will Oldham, who was managing director between 2012 and 2015, and key members of the existing senior management team.

Oldham commented: “I am delighted to be back leading the API’s European Foil business, which has been at the forefront of quality graphic stamping foils for many years. Joining the Aldus Group will give our team the financial strength and support to ensure that we can continue to deliver the highest quality product to our customers across Europe and the world. We are particularly pleased to be restarting the Scottish manufacturing facility and ensuring the continuing operation of our distribution hubs across Europe, delivering 160 jobs, including more than 100 in Scotland.”

Frank Floriano, Aldus CEO, added, “API has long been viewed as a market leader in high quality foils.”

For more information, visit www.aldustronics.com.au.

The Association for PRINT Technologies (APTech), Reston, Virginia, is relaunching the LeadingPRINT Summit as a full-scale digital event enabling association members and non-members to access the event for free. The summit will deliver the same incredible content and leading speakers as on the original agenda. The live event will take place April 28, 2020.

The summit is an intensive program developed exclusively for industry leaders who want to change the status quo and renew their lease on success especially during this time of great economic challenge. Based on the concept of radical innovation, attendees will learn the realities of business cycles and how to jump the “S-curve” where commoditization, cash flow pressure and sales slow-downs can drive a business to a dangerous tipping point.

This virtual program will run from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will feature discussions with business leaders Kris Boros, co-CEO of SipScience; Kary Radestock, CEO of Hippo Premium Packaging; Rob Finnie, commercial director, Nettl; and APTech’s Ken Garner. Attendees are encouraged to invite their colleagues to participate in this interactive program.

“We’re here to provide maximum value for our members and for the greater print community. This virtual LeadingPRINT summit will enable us to engage with our PRINT community and share valuable information even though we cannot meet in person,” said Thayer Long, president, APTech.

The LeadingPRINT Summit is an extension of the organization’s LeadingPRINT platform that includes a magazine, podcast series, live and virtual events designed to bring insight, tools, best-practices and entrepreneurial success stories to a wider and more diverse audience.

Registration for the virtual LeadingPRINT Summit is open. For details and to register, visit www.leadingprint.org/leadingprintsummit/. To learn more about APTech, visit www.PRINTtechnologies.org.

Mid-March, the postponement of the world’s leading trade fair for printing technologies, drupa, to April 20 – 30, 2021 was announced due to the exponential spread of the coronavirus. Director drupa and Global Head Print Technologies of Messe Düsseldorf, Sabine Geldermann, is answering questions that concern the print industry.

Sabine Geldermann, what was the decisive factor for Messe Düsseldorf to postpone drupa?

Messe Düsseldorf is following the recommendation of the crisis management team of the German Federal Government to take into account the principles of the Robert Koch Institute when assessing the risk of major events. Based on this recommendation and the recent significant increase in the number of people infected with the new corona virus (SARS-CoV-2), including in Europe, Messe Düsseldorf has reassessed the situation. In addition, there was the general ruling issued by the city of Düsseldorf on March 11, 2020, in which major events with more than 1,000 participants present at the same time are generally prohibited. Against this background, there was unfortunately no other option than to postpone drupa.

On which criteria did you determine the new date?

“Under normal circumstances” the year 2020 would have been a “trade fair rally” for Messe Düsseldorf, because from August last year until this June almost all of Düsseldorf’s major world-leading trade fairs should have taken place – with drupa as the finale. Due to the influence of the coronavirus and the associated official decrees or restrictions, seven trade fairs planned for this spring have already been postponed to the second half of 2020 and to spring 2021. Since we need a time frame of around two months for drupa (due to its set-up, duration and dismantling), there were only limited options available. Having weighed up all the parameters and in view of the international trade fair calendar, the date chosen, 20 – 30 April 2021, is the earliest and best possible date, which we have agreed together with our President and the VDMA as the supporting association. Under the current circumstances, this date now allows the greatest possible planning security for all parties involved. Fortunately, we are now once again in a similar timeframe to the original, traditional May date of drupa, which has become widely established in the industry.

How has the global printing community responded to your announcement?

The current situation is affecting all industries worldwide in an unprecedented way and the effects of the coronavirus are already having a drastic impact on public and economic life. As in other industries, the printing industry is feeling the effects of this in the form of short-time work, production downtime and supply bottlenecks – on a national and global level. In this situation, however, the health and protection of employees and partners takes precedence. The reaction of our international customers and partners to the postponement was therefore consistently positive and met with great understanding and acceptance. Three months before the regularly scheduled start of drupa, we were thus able to give many exhibitors the opportunity at this point in time to reschedule their upcoming logistical and very cost-intensive measures, such as the shipment of machines.

We were very pleased with the numerous emotional feedbacks on our social networks and platforms. One thing is certain: the industry wants to have a drupa  again, one that retains its image, its radiance and its global standing – this would not have been feasible under the current conditions. That’s why we will now take every possible measure to meet the expectations of our global customers in April 2021 – let’s embrace the future in 2021 together!

Exhibitors traditionally work towards the drupa date with their new products: Much is already completed for June; exhibitors do not want to wait to present the new products to their customers. Does drupa now see itself confronted with alternative, virtual presentation formats?

Our exhibitors will certainly present some of their innovations this year already, using different formats such as customer events or digital platforms. However, these can only bridge the current demand – in our opinion, they do not offer a complete replacement for a trade fair with worldwide appeal. drupa is and will remain the top platform for the printing industry to present innovations, come together and, above all, network. That is why drupa will remain the target the print industry is working towards even after the postponement. drupa represents an indispensable platform for industry participants, providing orientation, impetus and, above all, satisfying the demand for face-to-face meetings and worlds of experience to a high degree. It is all about human needs, haptic experiences and running machines that fascinate participants and which definitely cannot be fulfilled at this point by digital media. What distinguishes leading world trade fairs such as drupa is the concentrated energy that arises from the selective gathering of many people; the personal and emotional exchange; the joint presence of decision-makers, multipliers and idea providers; lively discussions; presentations that set the pace; chance encounters; opportunities to acquire new customers; recruiting options…

Especially in the current situation, where numerous European countries are subject to unexpected restrictions, the need for personal encounters and an extraordinary customer experience after such an experience will certainly be even more pronounced in the future. We are people, not avatars – and the desire for personal exchange, knowledge transfer and networking in a fascinating ambience is unbroken despite all digital formats. That’s why it’s great to see that numerous key accounts are already shaping the motto “let’s embrace the future in 2021 together.”

How do you believe print businesses can weather the storm caused by the pandemic?

There is no doubt that there will be declines and lasting economic setbacks. The government’s measures and aids are on the way. However, it is important that the industry does not suffer a complete standstill in production as a result of the current measures. Our industry must continue to invest in the future in order to seize market opportunities, because print, with its so many different and extensive applications and forms of use, will continue to be indispensable in many markets in the future. The exchange of ideas between industry players and the necessary inspiration are key means to this end and are lived out and introduced in a future-oriented manner at leading world trade fairs such as drupa.

What changes will the postponement mean for drupa 2021?

The postponement represents a new, unprecedented scenario for all concerned and requires a certain degree of flexibility.  As in the past, we will continue to take every possible measure to carry over the successful status of drupa to the new date in 2021. It is our ambition and desire to organize another unique and successful drupa for our global customers in 2021.

Will the framework program remain in place?

Our supporting program at the five special forums has already impressed with a fascinating range of formats, renowned speakers and exciting topics.

Our top priority is to offer our visitors highly relevant, inspiring and lastingly valuable content. The lecture program is rounded off by Guided Tours and was already available for bookings via our portal. Our aim is now, of course, to adapt and transfer the prograe as far as possible to the April date.

Significant issues concerning the ongoing digital transformation, topics related to circular economy and sustainability or new business models, which will be presented as keynotes, panel discussions and best cases, will continue to inspire and successfully advise companies – and this will be more relevant than ever after the impact of the coronavirus.

What are the effects of the postponement on the satellites?

We do not currently see any effects of the shift on our “Printing Technologies” portfolio and thus on Messe Düsseldorf’s foreign trade fairs.

As a result of drupa’s postponement, the most important trade show in our international portfolio, All in Print China in Shanghai in October, will become the largest and most important print trade show in 2020, giving our international exhibitors another highly relevant trade show in Asia this year. Furthermore, PPP Manila in October will provide an additional platform in an emerging Southeast Asian market. And indoprint in Jakarta, planned for September 2020, will also take place on schedule – according to current information.  Of course, we are also closely monitoring the situation together with our subsidiaries Messe Düsseldorf China and Messe Düsseldorf Asia as well as participating partners and will act in good time if necessary. For this purpose we keep in touch with our customers via our various platforms and our foreign representatives and my team in Düsseldorf are available for all questions.

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at  drupa 2021 or any of the other printing trade fairs in Messe Düsseldorf’s portfolio, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: (312) 781-5180; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit www.drupa.com and www.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago.

Owosso Graphic Arts, Inc., Owosso, Michigan, has announced that the company has been designated by the state of Michigan as an “Essential Supplier” to both the medical industry and healthcare field. Owosso will remain open to manufacture the products needed by its customers.

Keeping its employees safe and healthy while providing economic stability for all is part of Owosso’s Covid-19 action plan. Owosso is following all safeguards recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Founded in 1949, Owosso Graphic Arts produces dies for letterpress printing, embossing, debossing and foil stamping in addition to thermal kiss-cutting, membrane switch overlay embossing, fabric embossing, soap & pottery stamps, heat sealing dies and many other applications. For more information, call 800.444.5552 or visit www.owosso.com.

Postpress finishing solutions provider MBO, Marlton, New Jersey, is offering virtual demos to address the necessity for sales personnel to pause travel and to accommodate customers who cannot travel at this time.

MBO America is able to continue all normal operations. The New Jersey headquarters is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The main phone number is 609.267.2900.

The MBO America warehouse continues to fill its inventory and ship out all orders placed by 4:30 p.m. in 24 hours. To place a parts order, visit shop.mboamerica.com, email partsorders@mboamerica.com or call 800.336.1164.

MBO’s expert service team is located across the country and ready to help with any issues/downtime experienced by customers. To schedule a service visit, call 800.626.8810 or email service@mboamerica.com.

To schedule a demo test in MBO’s showroom or a virtual demo, contact a local sales manager:

National Sales Director
Josh Romberg
847.226.5691
Josh.Romberg@mboamerica.com

Vice President of Sales – National Accounts & Marketing
Lance Martin
630.725.8740
Lance.Martin@mboamerica.com

Northeast Regional Sales Manager
Joe Forest
609.444.9757
Joe.Forest@mboamerica.com

Mid-Atlantic Regional Sales Manager
Paul Kuchta
410.370.9019
Paul.Kuchta@mboamerica.com

Midwest Regional Sales Manager
DeWaine Johnson
612.805.4100
Dewaine.Johnson@mboamerica.com

South Regional Sales Manager
Pat Kendrick – South Regional Sales Manager
609.876.0420
Pat.Kendrick@mboamerica.com

West Regional Sales Manager
Keith Wheelis
832.335.0696
Keith.Wheelis@mboamerica.com

Scarab Printing Arts and Lander Binding and Finishing have announced the merger of their business operations to offer improved service and capabilities for foil stamping, embossing and diecutting services to the St. Louis and Midwest printing industry market.

Scarab Printing Arts offers print decorating services in the St. Louis and surrounding market place. Scarab is a 43-year-old company based in St. Charles, Missouri, known nationally within the print finishing segment of the printing industry. Scarab is owned by Greg and Marge Greenwald of St. Charles, Missouri.

Lander Binding and Finishing of St. Louis, Missouri, is a third-generation, 100-year-old binding and finishing service company managed and operated by Steve Lander and Michael Lander of St. Louis, Missouri.

The combining of these companies will form the largest print finishing services company in the St. Louis, eastern Missouri and southern Illinois market.

For more information, visit www.landerbinding.com or call 314.963.1900.

Spiral Binding LLC, Totowa, New Jersey, a manufacturer and worldwide distributor of a diverse line of print finishing, graphic arts, and presentation products and services, has introduced the Formax ATLAS-TRIO15, a solution for digital print finishing. It allows users to slit, cut, crease and even fold in a single pass, and is ideal for high-speed creasing and production of a wide range of jobs, including business cards, postcards, brochures, booklet covers, greeting cards and more.

The ATLAS-TRIO15 uses an upper-belt tri-suction feeding system and a feed table that automatically elevates, giving it the ability to process sheets up to 13×27.5″, in weights from 120-350 gsm. The 4″ touchscreen control panel provides three modes for various job requirements: preset (for the most common formats and sizes), manual (modifies preset jobs) and flex (for the greatest customization). It also stores up to 150 custom jobs for quick and easy recall.

Standard features include double-feed detection, cut-mark registration, side alignment guide, skew adjustment and two standard slitting guides. Custom slitting guides also are available. Production speeds vary based on media size and finished output, exables include 250 business cards in less than two minutes or single-crease jobs up to 5,000/hour.

The ATLAS-TRIO-15 can be combined with the optional AC-10 Folder, which will transform large sheets into finished, six-panel brochures. This combination enables users to cut the lead and trailing edges, bleed trim the top and bottom, crease and fold. High-speed output, user friendly controls and the ability to handle large media sizes make the ATLAS-TRIO15 a great complement to today’s digital print environments.

For more information, visit www.spiralbinding.com.

The leadership team of Baldwin Technology Company Inc., with executive headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, appointed Joe Kline as its president and CEO, effective Jan. 17, 2020. Baldwin is a global manufacturer of innovative process-automation technology for the printing, packaging and converting industries. Acting CEO Kyle Chapman will continue as Baldwin’s chairman and devote greater focus to BW Forsyth Partners’ rapidly expanding portfolio. In 2012, Forsyth acquired then-public Baldwin and took it private.

“After a rigorous search and vetting process, it became apparent that Joe is a perfect fit, with the vision and flexibility to lead Baldwin and to take advantage of the significant opportunity we have to serve the industry,” said Chapman. “Joe is a seasoned leader who is highly people-focused—which fits perfectly into both our corporate culture, and into building long-term positive relationships with customers.”

Prior to joining Baldwin, Kline served as the president of a division in Eaton’s electrical sector. In addition, his previous experience includes commercial leadership roles at Eaton, Duke Manufacturing and Emerson. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Ohio University and an MBA in international business from Saint Louis University.

When asked about what attracted him to Baldwin, Kline remarked: “Baldwin has an impressive and growing collection of connected technologies under one roof, and I’m excited to partner with our global organization to bring these comprehensive solutions to our global markets and customers. I look forward to engaging with our customers around the world to strengthen our product and service capabilities, and to build upon Baldwin’s rich heritage of delivering product and service solutions that help our customers improve their operations.”

Kline’s appointment follows the 2019 appointments of four Baldwin business segment presidents: Rich Bennett at AMS Spectral UV, Tomas Anderbjer at Baldwin Precision Applications, Vince Balistrieri at Baldwin Vision Systems and Matt Shishikura at Baldwin Japan.

For more, visit www.baldwintech.com.

Messe Düsseldorf  has announced that the drupa trade fair scheduled for June 16 – 26, 2020 will be postponed to April 20 – 30, 2021.

In doing so, Messe Düsseldorf is following the recommendation of the crisis management team of the German Federal Government to take into account the principles of the Robert Koch Institute when assessing the risk of major events. Based on this recommendation and the recent significant increase in the number of people infected with the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), including in Europe, Messe Düsseldorf has reassessed the situation. In addition, there is the general ruling issued by the city of Düsseldorf on March 11, 2020, in which major events with more than 1,000 participants present at the same time are generally prohibited.

“The decision was taken in close consultation with our advisory boards and sponsoring associations,” emphasizes Werner M. Dornscheidt, Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. It also reflects the wishes of individual industries, “As their partner, we are currently doing everything in our power to reduce the economic losses suffered by our exhibitors.”

“The city of Düsseldorf is following the instructions of the state government. Our aim is to slow down the spread of the coronavirus so that the health system can continue to function properly,” emphasizes Thomas Geisel, Lord Mayor of the state capital of Düsseldorf and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Düsseldorf trade fair company.

Delaying the spread of the virus as far as possible is also a declared goal according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). In order to fulfill Messe Düsseldorf’s responsibility for risk prevention, the company primarily had to minimize the increased risk of infection at major events. Measures to reduce the risk of transmission at major events, which the Robert Koch Institute has clearly defined – such as ventilation of the venue appropriate to the risk of infection, the exclusion of persons from risk groups and the comprehensive installation of entrance screening – were practically impossible to implement. Also, comparable measures were and are unreasonable in view of the unforeseeable rapid development and the size of the various events with up to 60,000 participants.

drupa president Claus Bolza-Schünemann also agrees with this. “A postponement of drupa was unavoidable after the latest developments. The decision is therefore right and responsible. Many exhibitors start their logistical preparations middle of March – today’s announcement of the postponement enables all those affected to react now, reschedule and prepare for the event date in April 2021. The excitement for ’embrace the future’ remains undiminished – also in 2021.”

In view of the increased risk entailed by a fair with significant international participation, the industry associations also welcome the announcement. “drupa is the most important meeting place for the international printing industry,” says Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of the Printing and Paper Technology Trade Association of the VDMA. “True to the motto ’embrace the future’, it is characterized by personal, international contact and live product presentations. The risk of infection would simply be too high at present. We therefore support the decision to postpone the event and look forward to the date next year.”

The Düsseldorf hotel industry is also sending out an important signal through its umbrella organization DEHOGA (Trade Association for the Hospitality Industry). “We appeal to our members and the entire industry to be flexible when it comes to rebooking by exhibitors and visitors. The Düsseldorf trade fairs such as drupa play an enormously important role for the city, the hotel industry and the catering trade. It would be counterproductive not to show goodwill in this situation,” as both DEHOGA-Representatives Giuseppe Saitta (Chairman Düsseldorf/District Group Rhein-Kreis Neuss) and Rolf D. Steinert (Düsseldorf/Rhein-Kreis Neuss Hotels and Tourism Group) emphasize.

Werner M. Dornscheidt is pleased about the general consensus and encouragement in this special situation. “We would like to thank all partners for their excellent cooperation in making these difficult and time sensitive decisions. We are pleased that together dates were found so quickly in order to provide all those affected with reliability in planning.”

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at drupa 2021, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: 312.781.5180; E-mail: info@mdna.com; visit www.drupa.com and www.mdna.com; follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago.

Twitter:      www.twitter.com/drupa

Facebook: www.facebook.com/drupa.tradefair

For hotel and travel information, contact TTI Travel, Inc. at 866.674.3476; Fax: 212.674.3477; E-mail: info@ttitravel.net; www.ttitravel.net.