Strategic consulting firm Connecting for Results (CFR) hires industry expert Joe Campbell as sales and operations strategy specialist. The addition of this new specialist enables CFR to expand its offerings to clients across North America. As a North American senior packaging industry expert, Joe’s well-rounded career in sales, operations, and manufacturing enables him to bring a unique perspective to client solutions. With a diverse background, he ensures all opportunities are viewed through a lens of departmental connectivity benefitting multiple areas of the business. Throughout his career ..read more

Manroland Sheetfed welcomes Mirko Kern as its new CEO. Kern succeeds Rafael Penuela, who now assumes the chairmanship of the Manroland Sheetfed Group. Penuela (64) joined Manroland in 1992 and headed the Manroland Sheetfed group since 2012, when the business was acquired by the current owner, Langley Holdings. Prior to that he held several senior management positions within the formerly listed Manroland AG. Kern (51) joins Manroland from DC Druck Chemie Group, where he has been managing director since 2016. The appointment to the top job at Manroland Sheetfed will be something of a home-coming ..read more

Xitron, a subsidiary of Hybrid Software Group and the developer of Harlequin-based Navigator RIP and workflow products for commercial, flexo, screen, digital, and high-speed inkjet printing, releases version 14 of their Navigator RIP. Nearing almost 50,000 installations worldwide, Navigator is the foundation for Xitron’s full slate of prepress workflow products. Under development for more than three years, Navigator version 14 introduces support for PDF/X-6, PDF/X-VT3, and Color Exchange Format (CxF), as well as interpretive speed improvements. “The Navigator name is recognized by printers aro ..read more

The growing skills shortage in the print industry will be among the challenges keenly explored during Drupa. Since 2018, the number of people employed in the sector worldwide has dropped 14.8 per cent, from 4.8 million to 4 million in 2022. Smithers’ The Future of Printer Demographics to 2028 predicts that this trend will continue. The report said contributing to staff reductions were redundancies offsetting a fall in demand, increased operational efficiency enabled by automation, and older, and generally skilled, staff retiring early and leaving the industry. It warned the latter was likely t ..read more

Jürgen Otto (59) will become the new CEO of Heidelberg on July 1, 2024. He succeeds Dr. Ludwin Monz, who will resign from his position as chair of the management board at his own request and in agreement with the supervisory board. At the end of June 30, 2024, Monz will step down from the management board of Heidelberg. The chair of the supervisory board, Dr. Martin Sonnenschein, commented, “We very much regret Dr. Ludwin Monz’s decision to leave Heidelberg. He has decisively advanced our company strategically and operationally and thus strengthened our foundation in a difficult market environ ..read more

Koenig & Bauer introduces a new training program that simulates a complete press electronically from a network perspective. Users have been visiting the company’s Dallas (Texas) headquarters in small, focused groups to learn on press operation and software before the arrival of their new presses. “We pride ourselves on offering the most robust service organization that provides the highest uptime for our customers,” says Chris Talbert, senior vice president of service and operations at Koenig & Bauer (US/CA). “It’s important for our sheetfed press customers to feel ready to use their n ..read more

Xerox earned a revenue of US$1.50 billion in Q1 2024, a decline of 12.4 per cent YoY. The adjusted net income was $11 million, a decline of US$71 million year-over-year. “This quarter, Xerox orchestrated one of its most intense periods of structural change in recent history, continuing the hard work required to reposition our business for long-term, sustainable growth. We implemented comprehensive and strategic operating model changes to align our organization more closely with our buyers’ needs and improve efficiency,” said Steve Bandrowczak, chief executive officer at Xerox. “While results w ..read more

Late last year, Print Panther Direct, a commercial printer in Oakville, Ont., invested in a Konica Minolta Business Solutions Jetvarnish 3D Evolution press. This was five years after it installed a Jetvarnish 3DS embellishment press. The new press has a sheet size of 29 x 47 in. and 800 GSM stock compatibility. “Evolving our print to meet our clients’ needs is both what excites us and keeps us in our leadership position. The acquisition of our new Konica Minolta MGI Jetvarnish 3D Evolution with its larger sheet size opens up exactly the kinds of opportunities we like to seize, and our clients ..read more

Fedrigoni appoints Gary Bernstein as commercial senior vice president of Fedrigoni Special Papers, North America. Bernstein will lead the commercial team and utilize his extensive experience and network to drive growth across North America. In his career, Bernstein has driven opportunities with significant brands within the high-end retail, food & beverage, beauty & personal care markets, with a strong focus on fibre-based alternatives to plastic. He brings a wealth of expertise in packaging and sustainable solutions, having worked at Neenah Paper for 25 years, and held previous roles ..read more

International Paper (IP) acquires DS Smith to create one of the world’s largest packaging companies. “Combining with DS Smith is a logical next step in IP’s strategy to drive profitable growth by strengthening our global packaging business,” said Mark S. Sutton, chair and CEO of IP. “DS Smith is a leader in packaging solutions with an extensive reach across Europe, which complements IP’s capabilities and will accelerate growth through innovation and sustainability. We are confident this combination will drive significant value for our employees, customers, and shareholders.” CEO of DS Smith, M ..read more