SUPPLIER news

At Presstek Inc., John Dreyer has been appointed lead director of the company's board of directors. Dreyer has been a member of Presstek's board of directors since 1996. He retired as chairman and CEO of the Pitman Co. in December 2000.

Mohawk Paper Mills has named Thomas O'Connor Jr. chairman and CEO. Prior to this appointment, O'Connor was president and CEO. He represents a third generation of the O'Connor family closely identified with the family owned business.

Michael Swack is the new public relations/analyst relations manager for the graphics market at Hewlett-Packard. He is now responsible for HP Indigo, HP Designjets, as well as MFP and Laserjet products that are targeted to the graphic arts industries.

Diamond Holding Corp. announced a partnership with Amerikal Products to sell roller washes, paste and other pressroom chemistry. Amerikal and Diamond Roller jointly developed and tested the new line of washes that are are low-VOC and effective with today's UV, EB and hybrid inks, as well as conventional inks.

Members of the graphics and advertising industries will join Dale Schmitt of Kodak Polychrome Graphics and Ed Garvey of The Garvey Group at the Greater Chicago Graphics Industry's annual "Spirit of Life" award gala supporting City of Hope and its cancer research, treatment and education programs on May 19, at the Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel in Northbrook, IL. Schmitt and Garvey, who are currently leading a campaign to raise funds for the cancer center, will be presented The Spirit of Life Award in recognition of their leadership in the community and industry. The honorees hope to raise $150,000 through the campaign.

Gämmerler, a supplier of in-line finishing equipment, announced that Mitch Lopac has been named North American director, sales and marketing. Lopac replaces Mark Legac who was promoted to global director, marketing and sales, as part of the company's recent transition to a global organization structure. Lopac was formerly director of sales for Day International's Kompac Div.

Goss International and Ferag AG report the conclusion of an exclusive distributor agreement for Goss to represent and sell Ferag products in the United States and Canada. Goss will offer the full range of Ferag newspaper and commercial web postpress and mailroom equipment, alongside its own Goss postpress and web press products in the North American market. Ferag will maintain its U.S. offices and will continue to provide aftermarket sales, service and training support to all customers.

Graphics of the Americas announced the addition of Ben Neji, director of operations, to its trade show staff. Neji brings more than 15 years of international event experience to the Miami-based organization, including sales, marketing and operational expertise. Previously, Neji held the position of vice president of the World Trade Center Miami.

The Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization, PRIMIR, the new research body formed by the merger of the NPES Market Research Committee with the Graphic Arts Market Information Service (GAMIS), elected its first set of officers. The newly elected chair is Steve Skal, market manager/paper chemicals for RohmNova; vice chair is Christina Echevarria, manager of marketing information at Goss International Americas. These industry executives join the permanent officers of PRIMIR: president William K. (Kip) Smythe, vice president of NPES; and Jackie Bland, managing director of PRIMIR, who also serves as secretary. At the meeting, the executive committee also adopted a new logo and reviewed plans for up to 10 major studies pending in 2005.

Agfa Corp. has appointed Jack Baraczek to the position of director of graphic systems, Canada. Baraczek has more than 25 years of experience in the graphic arts industry. For the past six years, he has been Agfa's Midwest regional manager for graphic systems in the United States.

In a move aimed to enhance its position in the automatic cleaning systems market, Baldwin Jimek, a wholly owned subsidiary of Baldwin Technology, has signed a worldwide distribution agreement with German manufacturer Hildebrand Systeme. The agreement gives Baldwin the exclusive global marketing rights for the web offset market for Hildebrand Systeme's Jetstream and Jetvac web cleaning systems.

American Baler has promoted Michael Guzek to regional sales manager, with responsibilities for all phases of sales and customer service with American Baler dealers and customers in Michigan and Western Pennsylvania, as well as in-house sales of vertical balers.

Screen (USA) reports that Eiji (A.J.) Kakiuchi has been promoted to corporate officer/president of the Media Technology Co. of Dainippon Screen Mfg. Screen (USA) also strengthened its senior executive management team, announcing the promotions of Mike Fox and Kunihisa Hashimoto the position of senior vice president. Both positions report directly to Kakiuchi, who retains his title and responsibilities as president of Screen (USA).

Jetrion, the wholly owned industrial ink-jet products and services subsidiary of Flint Ink, announced that Progressive Color Media is joining Jetrion's operations. Progressive Color Media provides a full range of color management workflow solutions, including hardware, software and services, and is also a subsidiary of Flint Ink.