Coater/laminator machinery maker Kroenert Corp., Kenosha, WI, will now provide sales and service for subsystem suppliers AB Kelva (Lund, Sweden) and Vetaphone A/S (Kolding, Denmark) in the North American market. Vetaphone supplies corona-treating equipment into the coating and printing markets. AB Kelva provides ink pumps, braking and tension controls, as well as non-contact and contact web cleaners. Kroenert will focus on the contact web-cleaning aspects of the Kelva product line.

St. Louis-based pressmaker, Mark Andy, forms a partnership with Tamarack Products to open a new RFID tag and label research and demonstration center in Wauconda, IL. At the Tamarack facility, a new Mark Andy Model 2200, equipped with the Tamarack P500 RFID module, is available to demonstrate RFID-tag insertion in-line with complete label-printing production.

F.L. Smithe Machine Co. says that its Aquaflex press manufacturing operations will move to the company's Duncansville, PA, plant. The transfer should be complete early this year, F.L. Smithe says. F.L. Smithe purchased the assets of Aquaflex in March 2004. Duncansville-based F.L. Smithe provides automated envelope-converting equipment worldwide. Aquaflex builds state-of-the-art flexographic presses for label, film, flexible packaging and cartons.

To help RFID-trial participants meet compliance requirements, substrate provider Appleton (Appleton, WI) launches a partnership initiative that underwrites a portion of the costs associated with trials that run its new SmartStrate® labelstock.