SUPPLIER news

The UK-based international print recruitment firm Pyramid Consultancy has formed an alliance with PrintLink, a graphic arts industry placement specialist serving the United States and Canada, for all printing and packaging related technologies.

David Murphy has been tapped as marketing director for HP's Graphics Solutions Business, Americas, replacing Francis McMahon (who left the company). He now reports to Jan Riecher, vice president and general manager of Graphics Solutions Business, Americas. Murphy most recently served as vice president of marketing at RISO.

Van Son Holland Ink has made key shifts in the roles of three senior management staff members. Joe Bendowski, former president, has been promoted to CEO, where he oversees and directs all operations with a particular focus on business development. John Sammis, former vice president of sales and marketing, succeeds Bendowski as president. And, John Bendowski, national sales manager, has been named vice president of sales and marketing. In other company news, James Carstairs is now responsible for providing technical support throughout the West Coast region; and Victor Flores is responsible for the Southeast region, as well as supporting Van Son's Caribbean and South American customer base.

The Hague District Court in The Netherlands has issued a second favorable ruling for Xingraphics Co. in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Agfa Graphics, according to Xingraphics. The court reportedly found that Xingraphics' FIT and FIT Xtra plate technology did not infringe upon a patent held by Agfa Graphics.

Several organizational changes have been announced at Ricoh Americas: Kevin Togashi, chairman and CEO of Ricoh Americas Holdings; Matthew Espe, chairman and CEO of Ricoh Americas; Jeffrey Hickling has expanded his current role as president and COO of IKON Office Solutions to become president and CEO of Ricoh U.S.; and Martin Brodigan, executive vice president and CFO for Ricoh Americas.

Jamie Sutphin has rejoined Braden Sutphin Ink as a technical sales representative after 25 years of experience in the printing ink industry.

Mike Honerlaw has been named regional technical director at Tower Products, covering the Midwestern region, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota and Iowa.

A strategic partnership has been forged between Screen (USA) and Online Print Solutions, wherein Screen (USA) will deliver Online Print Solutions' products that facilitate Web-enabled print ordering, dynamic publishing and cross-media marketing.

Three new appointments have been made at PressAccess. Walter Langley has been named PressAccess' bindery manager and Brausse specialist. Mike Morgan and Tom Wilson have joined as sales representatives for the Southwest and Southeast regions, respectively.

At LithoTechnics Inc., John Eames has been appointed CFO. He previously held positions at ScenicSoft (acquired by Creo Inc.), Creo Americas, WinEstimator Inc. and John Wagner Associates.

Printable Technologies and Ricoh Co. have signed an alliance agreement. Ricoh will now market two kinds of Printable Technologies' solution bundles with the Ricoh Pro C900, and incorporate the solutions into Ricoh's Business Development Program and Professional Service and Solution offerings. In other company news, Printable announced the acquisition of DirecType, a supplier of image personalization software.

interlinkONE Inc. has appointed Mark McIntosh as the company's new president. He succeeds John Foley Jr., who founded interlinkONE and will continue to serve as CEO. McIntosh most recently served as director of fulfillment solutions at Cedar Graphics.

Two appointments have been made at Mohawk Fine Papers. Paul Biesiadecki has been promoted to executive vice president. Vincent Giannetti has been named director of envelope operations. He now reports to Biesiadecki.

Essex Products Group (EPG) has entered into an agreement with Welas, Vaasa, Finland—manufacturer of segmented ink blades—making EPG the exclusive North American 
distributor of Welas products.

Nicole Rosseel has been appointed Punch Graphix Americas' new vice president of operations. Rosseel now reports to Michael Ring, president of Punch Graphix Americas. She also serves as a liaison between the company's U.S. and European operations.

Investment banking firm The Open Approach has formed a partnership with Svoboda Capital Partners on a new business platform in the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) market. The venture will assemble ECM providers to create a single-source enterprise to respond to the growing needs of the global business community.

NELA has donated a Vision PunchBender to the Rochester Institute of Technology's Printing Applications Laboratory. In other news, NELA announced a joint venture with Proteck, a graphic arts supplier based in Chennai, India. The two companies will join efforts in engineering, selling and servicing CTP processors and plate ovens for the North and South American printing markets.

Printers Software has announced a partnership with Survey Advantage, wherein Printers Software users now have access to the CustomerPulse program, a retention, revenue preservation and lead generation program, offered through Survey Advantage.

EskoArtwork has relocated its North American headquarters from Vandalia, OH, to a new 30,000-square-foot facility in Miamisburg, OH.

BCC Software has appointed Chris Lien as president. He succeeded K. Jon Runstrom, BCC Software's founder and president, who had served more than 30 years at the company.

Expansion plans have been announced by BÖWE BELL + HOWELL for a new customer excellence and demonstration center in Durham, NC. Slated for a grand opening later this summer, the center will feature a wide range of inserting, sorting, software, vision and service offerings.

Two appointments have been made at Pitney Bowes. Vicki O'Meara has been named an executive vice president and president of Pitney Bowes Management Services and Government & Postal Affairs. John O'Hara has been named a vice president and president of Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI).

Greg Friesser, Sakurai USA's former director of operations, has been chosen as the new general manager. John Wokurka, Sakurai's former spare parts manager, has been appointed as operations manager.

GPA has acquired TEC Papers USA, a national distributor of sheetfed pressure-sensitive paper, film and digital substrates, from Wausau Coated Products. In other company news, Tom Brooker has been named president and CEO. His background includes positions with Wallace Computer Services, RR Donnelley, Nashua Corp. and Teraco. PI