Nearly 100 converting professionals attended Valmet Converting's two Open House events held June 6 and 9 during the GEC 2003 printing and converting trade fair in Milan, Italy. Customers were welcomed to the Valmet Converting Technology Center (CTC) at Valmet Rotomec Spa in San Giorgio Monferrato, where they witnessed the first-ever demonstration of the new-generation Rotomec 4000-4 ES gravure printing press with Electronic Shaft (ES) technology. The demonstrations included a job changeover from 8- to 7-color printing on the new pressin less than 16 min. The packaging material printed, laminated and slit during the Open House was a 12-micron Emblet 12000 PET film (supplied by CFP Flexible Packaging) using Sunprop 93/R Series inks (from Sun Chemical). The solvent lamination used Liofol adhesive (courtesy of Henkel Loctite Adhesivi). The printed PET film was laminated to 38-micron OPPalyte BOPP film (from ExxonMobil Chemical).

The top management team of industry vendor Extrusion Dies Industries LLC, Chippewa Falls, WI, wraps up its purchase of the company in its entirety from Minneapolis-based US Bank. "This purchase puts in place the final structure necessary to end a five-year period of transition at EDI and strengthen our capabilities for carrying out a strategy of investing in innovation and customer service," says Timothy C. Callahan, EDI president/CEO.

About 450 converting professionals from around the world attended the recent "Evolution Follows Revolution" Blown-Film Extrusion Technology open house at machinery maker Windmoeller & Hoelscher's headquarters in Lengerich, Germany. Via a wide range of presentations, W&H emphasized its role as a leader in blown- and cast-film technology. Specifically, four different specifications of VAREX® blown-film lines and one FILMEX® cast-film system were demonstrated in production.

Substrate provider Nova Films & Foils completes a move to its new 35,000-sq-ft facility in Bedford, OH. Along with new management and extensive equipment upgrades, Nova specializes in converting water-borne, pressure-sensitive, and heat-activated adhesive-coated foil and plastic films, along with high-performance double-coated and adhesive-transfer tapes. Its large coater can handle up to 62 in.-wide webs while its 27-in. coater is ideal for specialty materials, pilot runs and toll coating.

German chemical maker BASF Group launches its newly modernized technology center for pressure-sensitive adhesives in Ludwigshafen, Germany, on May 21. The center houses two pilot plants: one is reportedly the world's fastest coater (5,000 fpm) for aqueous p-s adhesives, and the other is a UV/hot-melt adhesive system for speeds to 2,200 fpm. Development costs of the coating center, which was designed and built in cooperation with Pagendarm BTT GmbH, totaled Euro 5 million.

Steel-rule diemaker SouthEastern Die Co., Inc., Atlanta, changes its name to SDC International, reflecting the significant growth the die-supplier has experienced over the past 38 years. SDC Intl.'s customer base has grown from the southeastern US region to encompass Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and Europe. It now has offices in Atlanta; Greensboro, NC; Richmond, VA; and Elmhurst, IL.