Frontline

Staff -- Converting Magazine, 12/1/2000

Salem Printing installs six-color Roland offset press: The Winston-Salem, N.C., package printer's new MAN Roland 300 features an aqueous coater and speeds to 15,000 sph. Salem says the press offers a 100 percent productivity increase. It also has computerized color control with a scanning densitometer linked to the ink keys for color control and shorter makeready times.

New corrugated pavilion to debut at CMM Intl. 2001: A pavilion and presentation theater dedicated to corrugated and folding-carton converting will feature the latest technologies from worldwide vendors at the show April 23-26, 2001. The venue allows converters to learn about new machinery and materials and attend focused presentations on specific applications.

Bryce Corp. acquires Simpro: The Memphis, Tenn., converter of flexible packaging for the snack, confectionery, bakery and pet-food industries buys Houston-based Simpro, Inc. Simpro manufacturers clear, white and metallized BOPP films for the food and tobacco industries. Bryce has renamed the company BPX Films and will continue operating in Houston.

Switzerland-based Unaxis Holding Ltd, sells off its large-area coating division to inline equipment supplier Applied Films Corp., Longmont, Colo., for $60 million in cash and 10 percent in shares of Applied Films. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2001.

Laser dieboard cutter online at Matthews Intl.: The Pittsburgh-based ID-products converter installs a new combination flat/rotary cutter from Data Technology, Wilmington, Mass. Online at Matthews' Archdale, N.C., plant, the system uses the "Laserblade" 2,200-watt laser to prepare dieboards for steel-rule placement.

Glue-applied plastic label for Coors Light: When Coors Brewing began testing Coors Light in 16-oz plastic bottles recently, the trendy new containers featured NorthStar Print Group's Aqua-Starr Chrome, reportedly the first plastic label for high-speed glue application. The Milwaukee-based converter's label has a bright, mirror-like finish that matches Coors Light's silver brand equity. The Aqua-Star product is said to run at production speeds without modification for most cold glue-applied labeling equipment. In addition, they are completely recyclable on PET bottles.

FIRST IMPRESSION

Will the Internet be the dominant source for end users to purchase packaging products from converters? Yes, but not just now, thank you.

That's the consensus of a 15-member panel of packaging purchasing managers recently assembled by B2BPKG.com, a Naugatuck, Conn.-based e-marketplace. The panelists agreed that Internet business-to-business portals are going to be used for information about products, orders and shipping status rather than buying. Members said they weren't sure if products will be cheaper via an e-marketplace, but they were confident they could save time on decisions.

"Procurement is years away," says one pharmaceutical-packaging buyer. "The important thing is information, information, information."

Three-quarters of the panelists said they had vendors implementing e-commerce plans for ordering online and providing order status online. And eight out of 10 said they'd be inclined to do business with converters offering Web-enabled order entry.

To help converters navigate the e-marketplace maze, CMM Events will hold a three-day E-Business/Converting Conference on April 22-24, 2001, at Chicago's Hyatt McCormick Place Hotel. Concurrent with CMM Intl. 2001, the conference features one-on-one consulting opportunities and Internet demos, mixed with practical and understandable case studies, panel discussions and workshops. More info: 415/538-3808, www.cmmshow.com