Industry News

Mondi starts up new extrusion line at Štĕtí

Mondi has announced the start-up of its new extrusion line at Mondi Coating Šteti (Czech Republic), marking another milestone in the Group’s commitment to support customers in their transition to sustainable solutions. The extrusion line is part of a wider investment that includes a new production building with state-of-the-art machinery including coating and slitting capabilities. The investment expands the production of FunctionalBarrier Papers and other high quality coated papers, offering paper-based solutions with customised barrier properties.

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Schöttner Druck utilizes the strengths of digital printing with the 3,000th Versafire from Heidelberg

Schöttner Offsetdruck GmbH (Schöttner Druck), based in Oberhaching, Bavaria, is a "repeat offender" and has invested in a Versafire digital printing system from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) for the third time. This is also the 3000th Versafire digital printing system delivered by Heidelberg. In addition to the traditional commercial printing business, the family-owned company, which is over 50 years old, focuses on dialog marketing for customers in the pharmaceutical industry.

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Cardboard Factory Obenauf: Company transaction completed

Alexander Wietasch took over the Bad Harzburg-based cardboard factory Obenauf as a shareholder at the beginning of October and will now head the company as CEO. Founded in 1886, the company manufactures high-quality products from solid board. The transaction was completed on October 1, 2024, at the same time Wietasch was appointed as CEO. After his technical career, the trained mechatronics engineer and industrial foreman studied Business Law. Before the takeover he headed the Westminster Group as Managing Director. Wietasch grew up in Salzgitter and is returning to his home region after holding various positions in Hong Kong and Berlin. The previous shareholder Tobias Neidhardt will continue to support the company as an advisor.

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12th Annual Girls Who Print Day Conference

Girls Who Print, the largest global network of women in the print and graphic communication industry, presented three awards during the online Girls Who Print Day Conference on November 7th. The 2024 Rising Star Award was presented to Kiki Heron, Account Manager, Training and Development Leader at Specialty Print Communications, by Kelly Mallozzi, Principal at Success in Print, who runs the Girls Who Print mentorship program. The award recognizes women who have stepped up and taken the initiative to proactively help the industry, their company, and their colleagues.

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Mondi presents sustainable papers for seamless printing in the office

The annual Big Buyer trade show has established itself in the industry as a fixed meeting point for paper manufacturers as well as wholesalers and retailers. As a global packaging and paper company, Mondi will be exhibiting at stand B32 and showcasing a selection of papers from its premium Color Copy, NAUTILUS®, BIO TOP 3® and IQ brands. The international trade event from 27 to 29 November in Milan is dedicated to products in the stationery, office, party, creativity and toy sectors. Visitors can attend a variety of conferences to learn more about current trends and innovative product developments.

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Fiorini Packaging invests in Bobst Expert CI Flexo press

Fiorini Packaging, international supplier of high-tech paper bags, has enhanced its ability to create stand-out packaging after investing in Bobst’s flexo press technology. The Italy-based company recently expanded its printing department with a 10-color Bobst Expert CI Flexo press with triLOCK technology after being impressed with the performance of its existing 8-color Bobst machine.

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Webinar on paper pouches

Medicines and medical equipment in paper pouches? Faller Packaging has launched sustainable secondary packaging in the form of paper pouches – and now is the right time to present the new product in a webinar and discuss it with users.

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Felix Schoeller informs about price adjustments for digital media products

Felix Schoeller will be making a price increase for its digital media products as of 1st January 2025. The global specialty paper manufacturer based in Osnabrück has already informed customers and partners so that they can plan ahead. The price adjustment will be customer-centric, cost-sensitive and based on partnership to ensure stability and long-term predictability on all sides.

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Heidelberg develops the AI-controlled print shop of tomorrow

Many people see printing and digitalization as opposites. But today, the printing industry is more digital than ever. Digitally networked and software-controlled printing presses are just as standard at Heidelberg as over-the-air updates, intelligent assistance systems and fully automated printing on Speedmaster models. Around 13,000 machines and systems worldwide are connected to the company's cloud. Print shops benefit from the evaluation of machine data in the form of benchmarking, performance improvements and active machine monitoring, among other things.

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Fall survey: Confidence in the AM sector despite tense situation

“Our member companies are demonstrating remarkable stability in what is currently an extremely difficult market environment,” explains Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of the VDMA's Additive Manufacturing Working Group. Despite the tense situation, only 35% of companies reported declining sales in the fall survey.

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Mondi announces closure of Stambolijski paper mill following fire

Following the fire at Mondi’s Stambolijski mill (Bulgaria) on Tuesday 24 September 2024, the Group has announced that it will permanently close the mill. The fire caused extensive damage to the 100,000 tonne per annum brown kraft paper machine and stopped production at the site. Thanks to the swift and professional response on the day, everyone on site remained safe.

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OE-A Business Climate Survey: 2024 slowdown, 2025 set to shine

“While the printed electronics industry faces near-term challenges due to global economic uncertainties and a cooling automotive sector, we remain optimistic about the future. The reduced growth forecast for 2024 reflects a cautious wait-and-see attitude, but with strong signals for a rebound in 2025,“ said Dr. Klaus Hecker, OE-A Managing Director, commenting on the results of the latest business climate survey. The biannual survey is conducted by the Organic and Printed Electronics Association (OE-A), a working group within VDMA.

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