BPM Inc’s environmental citizenship includes the conservation of natural resources and exploring new opportunities to protect the air we breathe and the land on which we live. As part of our initiative, we partner with local schools. Students from area schools will join together to recognize Earth Day by picking up trash, litter and garbage to make area communities cleaner. For the past several years, BPM has donated biodegradable garbage bags and compostable gloves for area students to use in clean-up efforts. Schools and organizations which have volunteered to clean up surrounding areas of school grounds and communities include Beecher-Dunbar-Pembine, Coleman Middle and High School, Marinette Middle School, Menominee Central Elementary and High School, Oconto Elementary and Middle School, Oconto Falls Elementary, and Wausaukee High School. With the excellent response and interest, the company provided bags and gloves to 16 schools and organizations for an estimated 2600 students, teachers and volunteers.
The area schools that agreed to participate appoint a teacher or staff member as the contact person and event coordinator. The schools estimated the number of students participating and supplies were provided accordingly. Each school may choose the Clean Up day according to weather and class schedules.
The Earth Day Clean Up event is designed to partner with local schools and help students to recognize the need to take care of our environment and in return, provide a beautified community for all. A special thank you is extended to the coordinators at each school and the eagerness to partner with BPM.
Please reach out to BPM at bpm@bpmpaper.com to be included for next year’s event or with any questions.
Appvion Announces Large Captial Investment in New Coating Equipment. Appvion, LLC, a Wynnchurch Capital, L.P. (“Wynnchurch”) portfolio company, announced a significant investment in new equipment slated for delivery and installation in 2023.
“This is the largest single investment made in our Appleton plant for many years and marks the start of a new and exciting journey for the Appvion team,” said Laurie Andriate, CEO at Appvion. “The investment provides many benefits for Appvion and our customers, including elimination of “double-handling” of rolls to improve productivity as well as safety of our people.”
This new equipment will allow Appvion to make products more efficiently, allowing Appvion to optimize finished goods capacity and eliminating the need to secure pre-coated base in a consolidating white paper market.
“The capital investment demonstrates our commitment to Appvion. Continued investment in new technology fosters future growth in Appvion’s core business,” said Greg Gleason, Managing Partner at Wynnchurch.
The announcement comes just months after the company was purchased by Wynnchurch Capital, L.P., a private equity firm headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. Founded in 1999, with offices in California, New York, and a Canadian affiliate, Wynnchurch Capital is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm. Wynnchurch’s strategy is partnering with middle-market companies in the United States and Canada that possess the potential for substantial growth and profit improvement. The company’s focus is on leveraging business strengths and identifying new market opportunities to support management’s vision—with an unwavering commitment to sound business judgment, partnership, communication, and integrity.
About Appvion
Appvion Announces Large Captial Investment in New Coating Equipment
As a leading manufacturer in North America, Appvion develops innovative, water-based, and environmentally responsible coating solutions for consumers’ everyday life. Appvion utilizes its material science expertise to apply high-performance, functional coating solutions to various flexible substrates, including products from an FDA-compliant facility. Primary offerings include direct thermal paper and film products and renewable, fiber-based consumer and industrial packaging solutions. Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, Appvion employs nearly 400 people. Connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn to learn more.
Get links to the latest news, events, stories, and interviews from our 5P news members. Our goal is to remind the decision makers in Wisconsin of the importance of our industry both historically, and more importantly, into the future.
Read the latest 69 Stories and Links on the Internet below.
THE GREEN BAY INNOVATION GROUP SUPPLY CHAIN IN-PERSON SEMINAR
The Green Bay Innovation Group will be hosting an outstanding group of speakers to discuss the Paper, Pulp, etc. supply chain issues impacting their businesses.
DATE: May 24, 2022
TIME: 2:00 – 4:30 pm
PLACE: Urban Hub 340 N. Broadway St. Ste. 200 Green Bay, WI
REGISTRATION: Go to https://greenbayinnovationgroup.com/events/
COST: $25.00
The guests include:
Aaron Haas – Vice President at BillerudKorsnas
Brad Shockey – VP Supply Chain at Pixelle Specialty Paper
Dennis Tegrootenhuis – President of Small Quantity Boxes
Blaine Ott – The Director of Supply Chain at Outlook Group
Brit Swisher – Vice President of the North Region at Midland
Nick Mares – President of Viridian
We are seeing major supply issues with the paper industry having a huge impact on the Wisconsin Economy. We are seeing long lead times, allotments, NO paper availability and large price increases. The current USA suppliers are simply not able to keep up, and we have become dependent on overseas suppliers to fill the void.
The Wisconsin Printing Industry is a major supplier for commercial printing, publication, catalog and direct mail printing leading the nation. Wisconsin is a premier manufacturer of labels and packaging. Wisconsin is a major producer of corrugated products. Wisconsin is the leader in the Converting Industries.
We are seeing major disruptions for customers in the packaging industries like food, consumer goods, logistics pharmaceuticals, chemicals, etc. because of the severe disruptions of the supply chains. We are seeing publications go digital with major supply issues with the catalog and direct mail industries. The paper shortage will have far-reaching consequences, especially for the Wisconsin economy! We will be addressing these issues to try to come up more questions and answers to the issues.
Our new website is live! The revamped Green Bay Innovation Group website makes it easier for members to network with others in the 5P Industries. The website has a brand-new look and easier navigation. GBIG members and the public can visit the website to read GBIG’s bi-monthly newsletter, register for events, and learn about innovative 5P Industries in Wisconsin.
Built by Packerland Websites
Packerland Websites built the website as a dynamic online tool for the organization. Packerland Websites, 2140 Velp Avenue, Green Bay, develops effective websites and SEO strategies that lead to results, so businesses gain and nonprofits prosper. Owner Bill Koehne is a GBIG board member who built his first website in 1999, putting him on the cutting edge of technology. He opened Packerland Websites in 2007 after managing a multi-million-dollar home construction company for 20 years. Bill leads a team of four college-educated developers who design websites to be eye-catching, secure, fast, and user friendly. The team manages over 500 websites, each specifically customized to achieve a client’s goals. They also co-publish the GBIG News, to share the latest industry news and member updates. To view a portfolio of commercial, municipal, and nonprofit websites built by Packerland Websites, visit PackerlandWebsites.com/portfolio/.
Designed as a Dynamic Internet Tool
GBIG’s new website is designed to be:
Secure – averts hacking and cyberattacks
Mobile friendly – resizes for phones, tablets, and other devices
Google friendly – pops up higher in internet searches
Manageable – easy for GBIG editors to maintain and update
Functional – free of broken links, so as to professionally represent GBIG 24/7/365
Navigable – visitors move around the website quickly and easily
Attractive – images, graphics, and text invite the audience to browse
Includes Interactive Links, Phone, Email
Images and text on the GBIG website invite the audience into a closer relationship with the organization. Visitors learn about GBIG’s founder, Marty Ochs, and the organization’s history and purpose. Visitors can easily search the member list for networking and partnership opportunities. Then, with a couple of clicks or taps, they can contact these members by phone or email or visit the member’s website to learn more about them.
Provides Value to Members
GBIG’s new website allows visitors to:
Build relationships with others in the 5P and related industries
Search the list of members for partnership opportunities
Join GBIG as a Gold, Silver, or Bronze sponsor
Learn about webinars, seminars, and networking events
Read the latest industry news in the GBIG News
Wisconsin is a manufacturing hub for paper, pulp, printing, plastic, packaging, and related industries. The GBIG website drives these industries forward and advances their mutual interests.
ATCAM LLC is a locally owned thermal spray and custom machine shop located in the heart of the Fox River Valley. We’ve recently doubled the size of our modern facility to its present 35,000 square foot size to better provide companies with a variety of coating, machining and repair services.
DWS Printing & Packaging discusses their MPS EF SYMJET ‘powered by Domino’ hybrid press for labels & shrink sleeves. This visit to their Deer Park, NY facility on Long Island was to learn more about the company, why they chose Domino, and the benefits realized in adding this hybrid press to their business.
The interview was captured in the following video
Andy Staib – Owner and CEO of DWS Printing and Packaging
Perfecting the craft since 1865
“So, what’s critical to us is that we are a tried & true and solid partner to our clients. But at the same time, we demand and expect the same level of support and partnerships from our supply chain… namely Domino… and we’ve gotten it,” says Andy Staib, fourth generation owner & CEO of DWS.
Andy continues. “Our great grandfather was one of the original principles. We think that’s pretty unusual to be in business that long and have maintained the family heritage. Our primary niche is in the craft beer, beverage, and food markets, but we also cater to non-alcoholic, to the organic food space. Unlike some of the bigger guys, we can be responsive with shorter runs and quicker turnaround. We like it. That’s really where our comfort zone is.”
Due diligence process in selecting digital
John Gulino, Senior Technical Director at DWS describes the due diligence process they went through in selecting their digital printing partner. “We always like to be innovative. We want to be on the cutting edge. We don’t want to be a follower. So, we vetted out every technology that was out there. During our vetting process we had all the press manufacturers run all the same files on all the same material. We labelled independently each sample from each press manufacturer. We gave our Sales team the exact same samples on the exact same substrates and asked them all for their opinion. And unanimously, it came back to Domino.”
“So, once we decided on a Domino UV inkjet, we decided that hybrid was the way for us. Then came the decision on how are we going to build a hybrid press that’s best for DWS. And that’s when we decided on MPS.”
DWS’ hybrid press configuration
John provides an overview of the configuration they selected for their hybrid press. “This is our MPS EF SYMJET powered by Domino. We have two flexo stations in front for printing UV ink, we have cold foil, we have the Domino N610i with 7-colors, we have two flexo stations in the back for printing UV ink, we have a turn bar for two-sided printing, a lamination station, we have semi and full-rotary die-cutting, and this is Felix our lead pressman, and it’s all powered by one press console.”
The DWS difference
John describes how DWS helps their brand owner customers differentiate product, and standout from the competition. “Clients often come to us because we have our own in-house design team, and they’re looking for how we can make their labels better. One of our brewery clients wanted to put different dogs on all their beer labels, but they had no idea how to do that. We were able to show them how variable data can improve their selling ability. Without having the digital capabilities of Domino, we could not have done that with our traditional flexo or offset printing. So having the Domino hybrid technology has taken us to a completely different level. There’s not many people that are doing what we can do, or do it as well as we can do it. And Domino has been able to give us the technology and the quality to provide those to our clients.”
Andy says, “We took it one step further. We wanted to keep sleeving in-house. And it was the digital technology that helped us get there. And it brings a solution to the table that the other guys just don’t have. It’s a game changer.”
DWS has their own packaging operation where shrink sleeves are applied to empty beverage cans. Andy explains, “One of the reasons that we got into digital printing in the first place was so that we could streamline the process. So, the labels that you just saw hot off the press are going right into sleeving…thanks to my nephew TJ, generation five. The sleeves are getting applied right here in-house, they go through a short conveyor system, and about three seconds later we’ve got a finished pre-sleeved can. Nobody else is doing this. The bottom line… none of this would be possible without our hybrid press. How cool is that?!”
DWS & Domino partnership
Andy summarizes the relationship of DWS & Domino by saying, “Domino has been there, right from the start, to help us get through the learning curve, to understand digital, and to support us throughout the process. So, it’s been great.”
Expanding into Austin, TX DWS installed another Domino – MPS hybrid press.
Domino is a leading manufacturer and distributor of digital printing and product identification solutions. Celebrating its 44th year in business, Domino is a global organization with world headquarters in the UK, and North America headquarters in Gurnee, IL. Domino has 25 subsidiaries, representation in over 120 countries, and over 3,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Domino digital printing, please visit dominodigitalprinting.com
Leading provider of fiber-based specialty solutions positioned for continued growth and investment
April 4, 2022 SPRING GROVE, PA — Pixelle Specialty Solutions Holding LLC (“Pixelle” or the “Company”), a leading provider of fiber-based specialty solutions in North America and portfolio company of Lindsay Goldberg, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative investment firm with $48 billion of equity capital under management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Pixelle was formed in 2018 by Lindsay Goldberg, a private investment firm that focuses on partnering with families, founders and management teams seeking to actively build their businesses. Pixelle has built an industry-leading four-mill specialty paper platform with mills in Chillicothe, OH; Jay, ME; Spring Grove, PA; and Stevens Point, WI. Collectively the mills operate 11 paper machines and produce more than one million tons of paper annually.
Timothy Hess, Pixelle’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “Together with Lindsay Goldberg, Pixelle has developed a broad, innovative portfolio of industry leading brands across the specialty papers and sustainable packaging markets. In under four years, we have transformed Pixelle into the leading specialty-focused paper producer in North America through three strategic acquisitions and successful implementation of a continuous improvement program. We thank Lindsay Goldberg for their partnership and look forward to our next chapter with H.I.G. Capital.”
Russell Triedman, Managing Partner at Lindsay Goldberg, added, “We are very pleased to have partnered with Pixelle’s management to execute on a strategic plan to position the business as a true market leader and partner of choice to its customers. We are especially proud to have worked with Pixelle’s management team to advance the company’s sustainability initiatives, including responsible sourcing practices, reduced energy consumption, and the continued development of environmentally friendly products. Pixelle is poised for continued success and we wish Tim and his team the best.”
Credit Suisse served as lead financial advisor to Pixelle on the transaction. Houlihan Lokey also served as financial advisor to Pixelle. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP served as legal advisor to Pixelle. Credit Suisse and Macquarie Capital are providing committed financing in support of the transaction. Macquarie Capital and Jefferies acted as financial advisors and Ropes & Gray LLP provided legal advice to H.I.G. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.
New GBIG member brings low cost, flexible printing equipment options to the 5P community.
Please welcome Joe Jones and his team from Big Systems to the GBIG community. Based in Menomonee Falls WI, they have been servicing customers in the Midwest and beyond for nearly 28 years. Joe sells DIGITAL and 3D PRINTING equipment from his company HQ in Milwaukee.
Big Systems and their lead partner HP have just introduced a super high speed “Pagewide XL Pro” family of printers. This family of three models prints speeds up to 20 D/A1 pages/minute! Options include the ability to print on boards, cardstock, paper, various banner materials and the printer has a have a two-sided option. Other features include on board scanning, three-liter bulk ink cartons and easy to use RIP software.
To learn more about Big Systems and HP Pagewide XL Printers: https://bigsys.com/main/Store.php#!/HP-PageWide/c/118936292 or contact Joe Jones at joe@bigsys.com or 262-345-6300.
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.
