manroland Inc.

PARAMUS, NJ—1/11/2007—NAPL (www.napl.org), the trade association for excellence in graphic communications management, has selected 17 graphic communications companies to receive its 2006 Management Plus Awards, which recognize management excellence in all phases of operation. The highest Management Plus honor, the William K. Marrinan Hall of Fame Award, is bestowed on Bloomington Offset Process, Inc., a full-service printing, mailing, and fulfillment company based in Bloomington, Ill. (See NAPL January 11, 2007, press release, “2006 NAPL Management Plus Hall of Fame Award Goes to Bloomington Offset Process, Inc.”) Three companies earned Management Plus Gold Awards, 10 received Silver Awards, and two were named Merit Award

WESTMONT, IL—Al Reijmer was named general manager of MAN Roland’s central region sheetfed operations. He replaces George Fisher, who is moving to a corporate position at MAN Druckmaschinen in Germany.Reijmer is now in charge of all central region sales operations for the sheetfed line of presses. He will report to CEO Vince Lapinski.Previously, Reijmer was…

Ryobi Plans Third Press Manufacturing Facility HIROSHIMA, JAPAN—Driven by strong U.S. and worldwide demand for mid-size offset printing presses, Ryobi Graphic Systems began construction on a new press manufacturing facility this month. The new facility will be the third at Ryobi’s Hiroshima East central production center. Ryobi officials said the newest facility, Hiroshima East Plant 3, will be at full-scale operations in September 2007. It will add another 99,000 square feet of manufacturing space and represents a total expected investment of $27 million. When the third facility is completed, Ryobi will have 314,000 square feet at its Hiroshima East operations, more than double

ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM—Telephone directory producer Stevens Graphics is expanding its press fleet with the addition of a double-circumference KBA Compacta 818 web press at its facility here. HUNTSVILLE—AdeptMedia Corp. has installed its first digital press, a Xerox iGen3 110 color digital production press. PELHAM—Dealer Independent Graphic Services has sold a Sakurai 574EPII sheetfed press to Sweet Pea Designs. ARKANSAS LITTLE ROCK—In its quest to continually enhance production capacity and print quality, Magna IV has installed its first convertible press. The 40˝ Mitsubishi Diamond 3000R is configured for four-over-four sheetfed printing with aqueous tower coaters before and after the sheet-reversing unit. CALIFORNIA GARDENA—A five-color, 40˝ MAN Roland 700 press with coater is

Americans Tour German Facilities Ludwigsburg, GERMANY—Customers from the U.S. recently visited the Postpress Inforum and various manufacturing sites of Heidelberg Postpress, as well as the Polar Mohr manufacturing location. The trip started at the Polar facility in Hofheim, where a demonstration of the PACE (Polar Automated Cutting Efficiency) system and Polar’s newly finished Logistics and Parts Center were the focal points. The group then proceeded to Ludwigsburg, the main manufacturing site for folders and mailer equipment. Stahlfolder demonstrated various extended folder applications, such as mailing and in-line punching/diecutting. A whole section of the Inforum was dedicated to automation in the bindery. A changeover demonstration on a

CHICAGO—With a fresh snowfall on the ground, the Windy City provided a fitting seasonal backdrop for MAN Roland’s annual Editor’s Dinner. This time, the educational event and end-of-year celebration also served as a toast to Yves Rogivue, the press manufacturer’s then outgoing CEO, and Vince Lapinski, who took over the reins effective January 1. In his parting remarks Rogivue, who has since returned home to work for Muller Martini in Switzerland, challenged industry companies to make some noise and shake things up with new technology. “CIM (computer-integrated manufacturing) is the cornerstone upon which the future of this industry will be built,” Rogivue said. “Implementing CIM

LOS ANGELES—12/07/06—Schawk Los Angeles has received certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in recognition of its environmentally sound production practices, as it prepares for the January installation of the world’s first 8-color-plus-coater version of the Roland 900 XXL press. “FSC certification represents Schawk’s commitment to the proper management of our natural resources,” says Carl Taylor, Managing Director of Schawk’s LA printing facility. “It will allow us to use the FSC logo to let our clients know that we are playing our part as responsible global citizens.” According to the council, in order to display the FSC logo as an “environmental claim,” a printed product must

MENOMONEE FALLS, WI—It’s been an active fall capex season for the Hi-Liter Graphics/Inland Graphics franchise, and 2007 is already shaping up to be pretty active. A 10-color Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 sheetfed press with perfector came online at Inland Graphics in October, according to Craig Faust, president and CEO of the organization. The press joins an existing four-color perfecting press. Hi-Liter Graphics, in Burlington, WI, is also augmenting its press firepower with the order of a four-color, 32-page 4x4 MAN Roland Uniset web offset press. Faust and Co. signed the contract days prior to Graph Expo; once constructed, the web press will be installed and operating

American Firms Win High Honors BUDAPEST, HUNGARY—Winners of the Sappi International Printers of the Year awards for 2006 were announced at a gala event held here at the Museum of Applied Arts. The nine winners were chosen from 33 finalists in the following categories: annual reports, books, brochures, calendars, catalogs, general print, magazines, packaging and labels, and printer’s own promotion. North American firms bringing home the cast bronze elephant trophy included Nahan Printing, St. Cloud, MN, for its Bergdorf Goodman Magazine Resort/Holiday 2005 in the magazines category and Cenveo Anderson Lithograph, City of Commerce, CA, for the 2006 Cadillac XLR brochure in the brochures

THE 2006 printing industry campaign provided more than enough ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ to keep followers on the edge of their seats, including a summer blockbuster takeover attempt of Banta Corp. by Bob Burton and Cenveo Inc. And the subject of postal reform, which has festered for years without a resolution, appeared on the brink of falling to pieces at the last minute. The M&A train seemed to pick up speed in 2006, though some parties managed to botch the due diligence aspect and instead land in court. Reorganization was in the air (unfortunately, so were job losses) and some of the biggest names in