18 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk March / April 2024 - Issue 347 Siegwerk celebrates 200-year anniversary Siegwerk, a global provider of printing inks and coatings for use within packaging and labels, is celebrating its roots as a family-owned business which started in Siegburg, Germany 200 years ago. The company, which is now in its sixth generation of ownership, is using the motto “Let’s celebrate” in order to mark the milestone. Established in 1824 as a retailer of manufactured goods, the German familyowned company entered the printing industry not too long after its inception. After opening a calico (cotton fabric) print store the company went on to be one of the first illustration rotogravure print stores in Germany before becoming a fully automated ink production facility. In 1911, Siegwerk Chemisches Laboratorium was founded as a specialist in the production of gravure inks and other graphic-used chemicals. Today, the company says its corporate culture is influenced by its origin as a family business as values like responsibility, open-mindedness, foresight, and dedication are still preserved. Siegwerk was founded in Siegburg, Germany 200 years ago Fedrigoni announces new acquisition Specialist in materials for luxury packaging and creative solutions, Fedrigoni, has announced a new corporate venture capital program to identify start-ups and accelerate their innovations and technologies into the group. The latest acquisition, done through a capital increase of a minority stake, is in connected solutions and consulting company, SharpEnd / io.tt which is based in the UK and the US. SharpEnd / io.tt uses technologies such as NFC, QR codes, and augmented reality (AR) to develop connected packaging, product, and retail experiences for brands powered by its SaaS (software as a service) platform called io.tt which is used in over 130 countries. Marco Nespolo, chief executive officer at the Fedrigoni Group, says: “This deal, strongly synergic with the recent acquisitions of Tageos and the Grenoble R&D Centre, will enhance our solutions portfolio in the world of smart labels and papers”. The deal consists of an initial investment with a path to acquire their entire capital in the longer term. SharpEnd was founded in 2015 as the world's first Internet of Things (IoT) agency ARMOR Print Solutions renamed as Altkin Altkin (formerly ARMOR Print Solutions), a European “alternative” print firm headquartered in Nantes, France, has debuted its new name and trajectory. The change of name has been made to reflect the ‘coherence and relevance’ of Altkin’s offerings and services which it believes offer fair solutions with freedom from technological and financial constraints. In 2023, Altkin reported a turnover of around €90m (£76.8m) and is planning to extend its fairer, greener “fair printing” model to the entire printing sector. The new name has been chosen to combine the shortened ‘alt’, meaning alternative, like an ‘alt’ key on a keyboard with ‘kin’ which represents family or clan, as well as being an anagram of ink. Together the name Altkin reflects the shared mission to find different ways of creating impact together, while the logo features a curved K which represents a fork in the road, to demonstrate the idea of choosing a different route. Altkin is part of the ARMOR Group, a specialist in thermal transfer ribbons for labels and packaging Precision Card Services (PCS), a provider of commercial cards, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The company was founded in 1993 by Rob Nicholls and Tim Holt who had a combined 20 years of experience in the field. Originally known as Plastic Card Services, the company employs around 40 people and was recently acquired by Woodberry Packaging. In 2018, the company launched the Plastic Card Hub, a web-to-print platform. The company also rebranded in 2022 with the introduction of its recycled PVC offering. PCS celebrates 30th year Kustom Design Printing celebrates award win Kustom Design Printing, which operates under online brands including Fast Labels, Fast Print, and Discount Sticker Printing, has won the award for Medium Business of the Year at the 25th Doncaster Business Awards. A platinum member of the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF), Kustom Design Printing has stayed ahead of the curve over the past few years with investment in HP Indigo print presses, as well as obtaining ISO accreditations 9001 and 14001. Finance broker, Bluestone Leasing, which offers bespoke financial solutions to the print and reprographics sectors, has launched a new and unique endto-end finance platform called the Bluestone Portal alongside a significant rebrand. Bluestone’s rebrand and product launch took place on January 15th, which saw the launch of Bluestone portal with an internal launch party in the Bluestone head office in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The rebrand includes a new name, website, and a new approach to the business. Bluestone launches new finance platform BUSINESS / NEWS PrintMonthly printmonthly PrintMonthlyMagazine
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