Print industry news
TC Transcontinental buys Coveris for $1.32 billion
Montreal’s TC Trans-
continental will
acquire Coveris Amer-
icas in Chicago for
US$1.32 billion in a deal that’s expected to close in mid-2018
that will further solidify Transcontinental as one of North
America’s top companies in flexible packaging. It recently
bought Multifilm Packaging in Elgin, Illinois, and last October,
added Les Industries Flexipak in Quebec. Recently, Trans-
continental has been adding to its packaging assets while
selling off some of its newspapers. Coveris Americas is one
of the leading converters of flexible packaging in North Amer-
ica and manufactures paper products, labels and flexible
plastic. It operates 21 production facilities in the Americas,
the UK and Australasia, employs over 3,100, and has sales of
approximately US$966 million. Coveris, which would be left
with 44 facilities in 14 countries after the sale, is planning to
use the funds to pay off debt. Transcontinental will use both
existing cash assets and debt to finance the deal, which it
believes will reduce costs by about $20 million over the next
two years. hardcover book-bindery services. The
deal adds to the $30 million of Webcom’s
digital book manufacturing investments
and reconfirms its commitment to meet
growing publisher demand for unique
casebinding capabilities. “The integration
of York Bookbinders into Webcom’s Toron-
to manufacturing facility significantly Mike Collinge,
improves Webcom’s capacity to support president and
book publishers with cost-competitive, CEO, Webcom
responsive service for hardcover books in
quantities ranging from one book to thousands,” said Mike
Collinge, president and CEO of Webcom. “This acquisition
will augment Webcom’s current POD, ASR, digital inkjet and
softcover production capabilities, supporting Canadian and
global book publishers with an efficient, full-service North
American book manufacturing and distribution hub.” New
capabilities will enable Webcom to meet high-quality stan-
dards for NAFTA-compliant educational titles, library
bookbinding and a wider range of elaborate casebound for-
mats. The management of both companies is developing a
six-month transition plan to consolidate equipment and oper-
ations at Webcom’s plant.
Mark Andy acquires Presstek Norlock joins Canon Canada
Mark Andy, a leader in labels and pack-
aging, has acquired Presstek, a global
supplier of DI—Direct Imaging—offset
plates, presses and CTP systems.
Presstek’s team of more than 60 tech reps
will be integrated within Mark Andy’s ser-
vice infrastructure, making it “the largest,
regionally-staffed service organization in
Kevin Wilken,
North America,” supporting equipment
CEO, Mark Andy
service for Presstek, ABDick, Ryobi, Hei-
delberg, Xerox, KBA, Epson and other OEMs. Mark Andy and
Presstek have maintained a strong partnership over the years,
with Mark Andy Print Products (MAPP) fulfilling orders in North
America for Presstek DI and CTP products. “Presstek has
been a force in the small- and medium-format offset segment
for many years,” said Kevin Wilken, CEO of Mark Andy.
“Presstek’s DI plates, equipment and CTP solutions are well-
respected throughout the industry, and I’m happy to welcome
the Presstek employees and products into the Mark Andy
family.” Presstek’s Zahara waterless plates division, which
wasn’t acquired by Mark Andy, will be restructured into a new
company, Verico Technology, headed by former Presstek CEO
Yuval Dubois.
Webcom adds York Bookbinders
Toronto-based Canadian book manufacturer Webcom has
added 7.5 million hardcover books per year with its acquisition
of York Bookbinders in Scarborough, Ontario, a specialist in
@graphicarts
A printing industry veteran and secre-
tary/treasurer for the DIA (Digital
Imaging Association), with more than
30 years’ experience, Mark Norlock has
joined Canon Canada in Brampton,
Ontario, as a production specialist. For
the past five years he was a regional
sales manager for KBA Canada. His
extensive executive experience has
been focused primarily on sales and Mark Norlock, new
production specialist
business development, as well as prod-
at Canon Canada
uct suppor t and marketing. His
expertise also spans strategic planning, organizational, ana-
lytical, communications and presentation skills. Prior to his
position at KBA, Norlock was a sales specialist for inkjet print-
ing solutions at Kodak, district sales manager for Manroland,
and a system colour specialist for Xerox – among other
positions.
O’Grady is new print systems
division president at Kodak
John O’Grady, former GM of worldwide sales for Kodak’s print
systems division, has become president of that division. He
replaces Brad Kruchten who’s retiring after 36 years with
Kodak. “Brad has been an important part of our compa ny for
many years, and I thank him for his tremendous commitment
to Kodak and outstanding accomplishments,” said Jeffrey J.
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