Employees Volunteered Over 150 Hours as Part of CMD’s Holiday Giveback ProgramJanuary 2, 2024 – (APPLETON, WI) – CMD, a capital equipment manufacturer in the film converting and alternative energy markets is proud to announce that CMD employees came together in the giving spirit this past holiday season by volunteering over 150 hours in the community as part of CMD’s Holiday Giveback Program.
A group of CMD employees from engineering and project management volunteered at Feeding America during the holiday season.
From November 6 – December 31, 2023, employees on every shift had the opportunity to volunteer any time of the day or night and get paid for up to four hours of their time. Four local charities worked with CMD in creating volunteer opportunities for employees: St. Joseph Food Program, Feeding America, The Salvation Army, and COTS.
“Our Holiday Giveback Program not only allowed our employees to give back to the community, but it also gave them the opportunity to connect with one another and feel a sense of pride in their workplace and community,” Said Hans
Bachmeier, President of CMD. “Seeing the impact they made on the lives of those in need was truly inspiring, and we look forward to continuing this tradition in the years to come.”
Holiday Give Back is part of CMD’s overall Corporate Social Responsibility program, which includes volunteering, internal employee enrichment and community outreach events, fund-raising and charitable support and advocacy. The objective of the program is to enhance employee opportunities to make a positive difference in our communities while supporting positive employee experiences with CMD.
About CMB
CMD is a capital equipment manufacturer in the film converting and alternative energy markets. Built on a culture of integrity, we innovate unmatched profitable solutions for our customers and provide life-long service and support to the markets we serve. CMD designs and manufactures high-performance equipment for the plastic converting industry, including pouch packaging converting systems and patented, high-speed rotary bag and film converting lines. Custom engineering, process validation and machine optimization services are part of a consultative approach to customer care. Remote service technology and advanced data analytics for preventive maintenance and proactive production efficiency are advanced services that set CMD apart from other OEMs. The company serves a global marketplace through a network of sales and service associates worldwide. Equipment is manufactured to exacting standards at USA facilities. More information is available at www.cmd-corp.com and www.cmdenergy.com
We just witnessed US Steel sale to Nippon Steel a Japanese Company. It will warrant serious scrutiny from both Policial Parties and the American Public drawing alarm purchasing an iconic USA Company! The price tag of the purchase is approximately $14.1 billion. The deal would be reviewed by the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to include national security risks from foreign investments in American firms. Japan has been a strong ally and trading partner for many years with the USA. Japan is looking at the military and economic risk of China to secure resources to protect their country and USA interests! China has become the world’s largest producer of steel replacing the USA.
The USA Paper and Pulp industry In the United States has been acquired by a number of allies in Europe and adversaries including China and Indonesia without any fanfare at a price tag far surpassing the US Steel buyout. Where was the US Government allowing these purchases of critical assets supporting the USA Industries! The USA has sold out our Paper and Pulp Industry to Asia!
The CCP and State-Owned Paper Companies and Indonesia control vast resources in the USA, Canada, and South America. Today, Wisconsin has two of the largest Chinese and Indonesian companies owning large Paper, Pulp and Packaging Companies on the Wisconsin River. We have a European company owning a large Pulp and Paper Mill on the Wisconsin River that is shut down with no plans of reopening or selling the facility! Wisconsin and the Great Lakes States are desperate for paper resources and our logging industry is in serious trouble due to the shutdown!
Wisconsin still has an opportunity to support the Paper Industry. The Paper Industry like the steel industry is critical to our economy and once Wisconsin was the premier manufacturer of Paper and Paper Products.
Based upon our research, Wisconsin has 22 Companies with Paper and some with Pulp Mills. However, twenty of the companies have paper machines from 30 to 100 years old. We see a number of small paper machines that would need to be updated or replaced at a fraction of the cost of a new paper machine. Wisconsin has the right vendors that can update and upgrade the paper machines. The owners of the paper machines are long-established companies with a strong base of customers and excellent track records. In addition, we would anticipate that all the companies are approved by the DNR for Environmental Permits, etc. If the State of Wisconsin wants to support the Paper Industry, the time is right with a large surplus of financial support and a strong economy. Investment in the Paper and Pulp industry would have a BIG MONETARY impact across the State of Wisconsin. It is ironic that the European and Asia companies have their hand out for financial support from our States. It is time to invest in American companies!
Why Wisconsin? As we rank states by sales with proper adjustments to account for certain disparities in a state economy size, population and total annual sales, Wisconsin is the leader in printing. Our estimate is 800 printers and Wisconsin printers service the nation with a wide variety of printing capabilities with our average sales per employee setting the standard to the US Printing Industry. We estimate the number of employees at 23,500 in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Paper Industry built the printing industry providing a wide variety and selection of paper products. Unfortunately, the Paper Industry in Wisconsin is on a decline forcing our printers to buy paper form suppliers from Foreign Countries which is having an impact on our strong printing economy! While Illinois, Ohio and Minnesota have outstanding printing capabilities, Wisconsin has a strong and broad base of diverse offset printers. The four Great Lake States combined are the largest supplier in the USA for offset printer services! The Germans came in and set up the printing industry. Wisconsin has a long history, tradition and a great work ethic supporting printing. Wisconsin has the manufacturing firepower of a state more than double its size and we belong in a class by ourselves. As a State built on generations of printing, we have 3 generations of families in the printing business! However, Wisconsin biggest asset is companies investing in new updated technologies and going into new markets for printed products.
Wisconsin has a fair number of the largest and most respected printing companies in ALL SEGMENTS.
“If you don’t’ like change you’re going to hate irrelevance” – Eric Shinseki, US Army General GBIG members are embracing the expansion of digital inkjet by adopting various Wide Format technologies and specialty applications into their current workflow. In this series of three articles, we will discuss the features and advantages of various Wide Format inkjet technologies.
The November 8, 2023, GBIG Newsletter wrote about the growth of commercial printing in the US. Analog printing will be stable with minor growth of just under 1% while Digital Inkjet will grow by over 5.7%. The article also highlighted GBIG member examples where digital has improved their Wisconsin based print businesses.
The “Digital Opportunity” will discuss new technologies and applications in rigid, hybrid rigid, roll to roll, cutting systems and specialty print to fabric and transfer film applications.
Why consider these applications? The reasons are many, but we will highlight the most important:
Barriers to entry and cost of inkjet technology has declined.
Very quick turns.
Personalization: variable data printing can improve response rates up to 36% according to CPCneutek.
Improved color and excellent white opacity.
Smaller equipment footprints.
Ease of use and streamlined workflows.
Cloud printing and managing remote print operation options.
Less labor requirements. A single operator can operate multiple machines.
Improved uptime vs. offset and toner-based technology.
Sustainability improvements to ink, UV curing and recycled media options.
Improved device security via onboard security firmware.
In our next segment we will review digital inkjet print to rigid / hybrid technologies.
At Big Systems, our Service Mark is “Print Brilliant”. We do our absolute best to help our customers improve their workflow and print results every day. Big Systems is a dealer of Wide Format equipment, supplies, software, installation and repair services and specialty applications. We are located in Menomonee Falls, WI.
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In the age of digitalization, there is increasing demand for the traceability of products and product supply chains. Transparent, reliable, unambiguous tracing is essential during the lifecycles of products, particularly in sectors such as the clothing and food industry, as well as in logistics, the automation industry and in health care. Labels with so-called RFID inlays and tags are often affixed to products or product packages for this process documentation. The RFID labels designed for the related frequencies, e.g. UHF or also HF and NFC, can be identified by means of RFID inlays and tags embedded in the label and in this way correspondingly dependable product information read using suitable devices such as RFID readers, as well as using smartphones for NFC applications.
Together with Alexander Thomalla, product manager at Erhardt+Leimer (Germany), we took a look at the quality control for such an RFID label and also talked to a user. Here our focus was not so much on electronic inspection, but instead on the visual inspection of RFID inlays as well as the visual inspection of the embedded RFID chips. The challenge is that the chips are often not visible to the human eye or a camera because they are embedded in the inlay or final label.
To begin with, let us take a closer look at a classic RFID label. As an example, we will use a self- adhesive label made of paper removed from the matrix and applied to a carrier. An RFID inlay is embedded in this label; at first glance this inlay is not visible from the exterior. The RFID inlay is to be checked for the following criteria:
Chip present
Chip positioned correctly
Chip free of defects
Inlay punched correctly
Inlay free of damage or soiling
Ideally, all these criteria are to be checked using only one camera system. Relevant defects must be detected reliably and faulty labels ejected.
Question for Alexander Thomalla: so what exactly is the challenge for a camera system?
“In principle, a camera system works like the human eye. We observe something and we can see or possibly not see details depending on the light source. This issue is easy to explain using our example label. If we illuminate it from above, we can make damage to the surface visible. This damage could be material defects, scratches, soiling or also printing errors. The disadvantage: the embedded chip and the related inlay cannot be seen.
If we now remove the incident light source and instead place a light source behind the label, the chip becomes visible. In this way the presence and positioning of the chip, as well as any damage, can be detected. The disadvantage with this transmitted light method is that surface defects are practically invisible without incident light. As such, the part of an RFID label visible to the human eye cannot be inspected. However, visible defects are immediately visible to anyone and would immediately result in a complaint.
Consequently, you could now think that if we use both light sources at the same time, we would be able to see all relevant details. However, this is precisely not the case. Using the two forms of lighting at the same time would reduce the contrast required to make defects visible. Positive effects are therefore counteracted by the brighter light source. The contrast is then insufficient to detect defects reliably and automatically.”
How does the camera system from Erhardt+Leimer tackle this task?
“The inspection system SMARTSCAN provides a special 200% inspection. SMARTSCAN is equipped with a high-resolution camera and has two lighting variants for the inspection of RFID labels. Both background lighting and incident lighting are incorporated. The special feature of SMARTSCAN is the way it processes images. During the inspection, SMARTSCAN continuously changes back and forth between the lighting variants. The labels are illuminated once from above and once from below, one after the other. Depending on the light source activated, the individual elements become visible and defects are detected.
The switching of the light sources, the related image acquisition and the evaluation of the images for defects are undertaken in real time. Speeds of over 400 m/min can be implemented due to this high- performance process. Defects can also be ejected reliably at these speeds such that faulty labels can be corrected immediately.
A further advantage of SMARTSCAN is that the machine operator also sees immediately on the monitor an image of the label inspected; this aspect is particularly important for the indication of faulty labels. It is possible to switch the display between the images acquired with the different forms of lighting. The operator can therefore view the image with illumination by means of transmitted light, or change directly to the data acquired with incident light for a clear image of the surface of the label.”
Quality assurance already during production
The company Tageos in Montpellier, France, is a market leader and specialist for the manufacture of highly-sensitive RFID inlays and tags; the company produces and supplies these inlays all over the world. While 100% electronic reading (inspection) of the chips has been a fixed element of its quality control for some time, 200% inspection using SMARTSCAN is now safeguarding further important quality criteria. The comprehensive quality control of its products is a vital element of the production process at Tageos and is equally important for all production sites. The company already has extensive experience with camera-based 100% inspection systems. Here the choice of the “correct” light source was an important factor. “We are pleased that with SMARTSCAN we have found a high-quality, easy-to-operate, all-in-one solution that meets our high requirements in quality management and that, in the meantime, is now in daily use on many of our machines.” says Alexandre Vautravers, industrial process manager at Tageos.
Alexander Thomalla also highlights a further advantage. SMARTSCAN is used during the actual production of the RFID inlays at Tageos. As such, the organization profits from the 200% inspection concept already during this stage. Defects can be detected immediately. This aspect is extremely important so that it is possible to react immediately to any defects that occur in the production process and tackle the source of the defect.
Alexandre Vautravers from Tageos can but agree with this statement in its entirety. “With our high production volumes, it is immensely important that we always maintain our quality at the same high standard and in this way keep the time and costs for any defect rectification as low as possible. We can already meet all these goals today using SMARTSCAN.”
SMARTSCAN in use for quality control on RFID labels
Incident light image for the detection of defects on the surface
Transmitted light image. Chip and antenna are visible with optimal contrast
Defects typically detected with illumination by means of transmitted light
Discontinuities in the antenna
Incorrect positioning of the chip
Hidden inclusions / damage
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT CHAD KUCHLER 864-764-4745
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JP Morgan U.S. released its North America economic research. The 2024 Economic Outlook: Walk the Line. The economy easily avoided recession in 2023, but labor market activity has been slowing.
Appleton, Wis., (Jun. 30, 2023) – New Leaf Paper, Inc has acquired Arnold Grummer’s LLC. The Wisconsin-based company distributes nationwide as the preferred supplier of hand papermaking kits.
Arnold Grummer’s will remain in Wisconsin, with headquarters moving to New Leaf Paper in Appleton. Oversight of Arnold Grummer’s will move forward with Paul Bradshaw as President and Sabrina Schwietzer as Executive Vice President, both from New Leaf Paper, with transition support from Kim Grummer.
“We’re excited to continue the legacy of the Arnold Grummer’s brand, and to provide quality hand papermaking items. The Grummer family has built a unique set of products for education and artist communities, and have provided valuable contributions to the papermaking industry’s history,” said Paul Bradshaw, CEO of New Leaf Paper. “The mission and vision for the two brands align wonderfully,” continued Bradshaw.
“We look forward to furthering sustainability principles into Grummer’s product line, while continuing focus on high-quality products, outstanding service, and meaningful innovations,” said Sabrina Schwietzer, VP of Marketing and Sales of New Leaf Paper.
According to Kim Grummer, the timing is right. “It’s a perfect time for me to do what’s best for my family and the business. With the transition to New Leaf, I get to ensure that my father’s legacy will continue by helping to support the team in the upcoming months, while ensuring our customers have product access for years to come,” said Grummer.
New Leaf Paper
New Leaf Paper is the leading national supplier of sustainable paper solutions, focusing on developing and supplying products with 100% post-consumer recycled fiber. New Leaf Paper is committed to reducing its environmental footprint and minimizing all resources used in producing printing, writing, retail, publishing, and communication papers. New Leaf Paper is a B-Corporation and FSC certified. Papers are made in North America, processed chlorine free, and Ancient Forest Friendly certified. For more information visit www.NewLeafPaper.com.
Arnold Grummer’s
The Arnold Grummer’s brand started in Arnold’s home in Wisconsin. Arnold’s passion for teaching papermaking, along with his contributions to the paper industry, earned him recognition in the International Paper Industry Hall of Fame. Within the business Arnold, and his daughter Kim, focused on education, innovation, value, and excellent service.
Kim Grummer has continued to create products for school and artist communities, with passion for both the products themselves and the individuals that use them.
Green Bay Innovation Group
Bringing Green Bay Companies Together. Green Bay Innovation Group is committed to building an authentic networking experience where innovation can thrive.
