05.18.15
MPS and EMT have formed a partnership that will result in the assembly of MPS presses in the United States. The two companies made the announcement on April 28, 2015, at Thornberry Creek at Oneida in Green Bay, WI, USA.
Following the agreement and several presentations, Kees Nijenhuis, vice president of MPS Systems, North America, conducted a demonstration of the company’s new EF multi-substrate flexo press. In addition, EMT executive vice president Jim Driscoll discussed the benefits of his company’s Chameleon line of converting and rewinding finishing equipment.
More than 150 printers and suppliers attended the event, including the live demonstration, “The Extremes of the EF.”
“This open house went better than we even imagined it could,” said Denny McGee, president of MPS America. “The response to the invitation was outstanding. Not only was everyone excited to see our EF press and its extremely stable print register, we also delivered a lot of information on a variety of topics from many industry experts. It was a very exciting day!”
EMT built its facility in Hobart, WI, in 2010. Troy Streckenbach, Brown County executive, Richard Heidel, Hobart Village president, Paul Rauscher, CEO of EMT, and Wim van den Bosch, CEO of MPS, were all on hand to participate in the ribbon cutting.
“We’re very excited about starting to work with MPS on building a state-of-the-art printing press,” said Rauscher. “I think it’s something we can offer as a partnership to bring to the marketplace a very high-end, a very quality press with a lot of upside.”
EMT originated as a punch-tooling company for business forms over 80 years ago. It grew from a tool and die shop for the local paper mills and paper converting facilities. EMT opened with 15 employees and now employs 170 people.
The finishing company’s product line of perforators (inline and cross), punching, sheeting (straight and chip-out), slit/merge, stacker/batcher, die-cut, coaters and winders can handle speeds up to 1,000 fpm and 42” web widths. Additionally, EMT acquired Advanced Graphic Equipment in 2011.
EMT currently manufactures finishing equipment that would go on the back of digital web presses in its 70,000 square foot facility. This accounts for most of the company’s business, and EMT has worked with companies like Kodak, Canon and HP.
“For HP, we built their web presses for them, their digital web presses for their inkjet side” added Rauscher. “We built those printing presses at our facility and put all of our finishing equipment on the back side of those things.”
The MPS EF printing press is an automated multi-substrate flexo press that offers a choice of either plate rolls or print sleeves, providing flexibility. The EF features both UV and hot-air drying technologies. Its web transportation system allows users to print on a variety of substrates including thin film, paper, cartons, shrink sleeves, in-mold, tube laminate and flexible packaging.
The EF also utilizes MPS’ exclusive Crisp.Dot and iControl technologies. Crisp.Dot uses a rubber-coated counter-pressure roller to exert equalized pressure resulting in minimal dot gain. The result is that the print dot retains its round shape, the ink coverage is solid and small fonts are sharper. The iControl management and service operator/machine interface minimizes operator errors.
“We don’t just want to be a machine supplier,” said van den Bosch. “We want to be a real partner for our customers, so we looked at everything around the press. We have the knowledge in-house. We have a lot of experience in our team, and we are using that much more to help customers.”
Eric Hoendervangers and Bert van den Brink founded MPS in 1998. The company maintains a large market share in Germany and the United Kingdom and has global headquarters in the Netherlands. At the end of 2013, the company decided it wanted to expand its business and set its sights on North America. According to van den Bosch, MPS wanted to capitalize on the market, since between 100 and 150 presses are sold in North America each year.
“They took the company from zero to one of the top five suppliers of printing presses worldwide, an enormous achievement,” said van den Bosch. “They did that by building the best presses. That’s the goal they always had, very operator focused and high quality.”
“I think there are a lot of things that we can do to make MPS a very popular press here in the States,” explained Rauscher. “We’re one of the few vertically integrated companies out there, and that means we design the equipment, we machine our own parts, we do all of our own wiring and assembly, and we do all of our own assembly and service work on our equipment.
“Our capabilities line up with what MPS offers, and we have a lot of specialty finishing,” he adds.
According to EMT, its Chameleon Spectrum series was designed for 22" web finishing. The series operates at speeds up to 500 fpm, and Spectrum offers average cost savings up to 25% over existing EMT Chameleon solutions. The company also states that it reduces the overall footprint and total components by up to 30%.
“We came to the conclusion that we needed a really good partner,” added van den Bosch. “It was about six months ago that we visited EMT, and immediately the feeling was like it was too good to be true. The technology that they are using is quite similar to our technology, their work ethics, and especially the people. It was a very good match.”
For more pictures, click here for the slideshow.
Following the agreement and several presentations, Kees Nijenhuis, vice president of MPS Systems, North America, conducted a demonstration of the company’s new EF multi-substrate flexo press. In addition, EMT executive vice president Jim Driscoll discussed the benefits of his company’s Chameleon line of converting and rewinding finishing equipment.
More than 150 printers and suppliers attended the event, including the live demonstration, “The Extremes of the EF.”
“This open house went better than we even imagined it could,” said Denny McGee, president of MPS America. “The response to the invitation was outstanding. Not only was everyone excited to see our EF press and its extremely stable print register, we also delivered a lot of information on a variety of topics from many industry experts. It was a very exciting day!”
EMT built its facility in Hobart, WI, in 2010. Troy Streckenbach, Brown County executive, Richard Heidel, Hobart Village president, Paul Rauscher, CEO of EMT, and Wim van den Bosch, CEO of MPS, were all on hand to participate in the ribbon cutting.
“We’re very excited about starting to work with MPS on building a state-of-the-art printing press,” said Rauscher. “I think it’s something we can offer as a partnership to bring to the marketplace a very high-end, a very quality press with a lot of upside.”
EMT originated as a punch-tooling company for business forms over 80 years ago. It grew from a tool and die shop for the local paper mills and paper converting facilities. EMT opened with 15 employees and now employs 170 people.
The finishing company’s product line of perforators (inline and cross), punching, sheeting (straight and chip-out), slit/merge, stacker/batcher, die-cut, coaters and winders can handle speeds up to 1,000 fpm and 42” web widths. Additionally, EMT acquired Advanced Graphic Equipment in 2011.
EMT currently manufactures finishing equipment that would go on the back of digital web presses in its 70,000 square foot facility. This accounts for most of the company’s business, and EMT has worked with companies like Kodak, Canon and HP.
“For HP, we built their web presses for them, their digital web presses for their inkjet side” added Rauscher. “We built those printing presses at our facility and put all of our finishing equipment on the back side of those things.”
The MPS EF printing press is an automated multi-substrate flexo press that offers a choice of either plate rolls or print sleeves, providing flexibility. The EF features both UV and hot-air drying technologies. Its web transportation system allows users to print on a variety of substrates including thin film, paper, cartons, shrink sleeves, in-mold, tube laminate and flexible packaging.
The EF also utilizes MPS’ exclusive Crisp.Dot and iControl technologies. Crisp.Dot uses a rubber-coated counter-pressure roller to exert equalized pressure resulting in minimal dot gain. The result is that the print dot retains its round shape, the ink coverage is solid and small fonts are sharper. The iControl management and service operator/machine interface minimizes operator errors.
“We don’t just want to be a machine supplier,” said van den Bosch. “We want to be a real partner for our customers, so we looked at everything around the press. We have the knowledge in-house. We have a lot of experience in our team, and we are using that much more to help customers.”
Eric Hoendervangers and Bert van den Brink founded MPS in 1998. The company maintains a large market share in Germany and the United Kingdom and has global headquarters in the Netherlands. At the end of 2013, the company decided it wanted to expand its business and set its sights on North America. According to van den Bosch, MPS wanted to capitalize on the market, since between 100 and 150 presses are sold in North America each year.
“They took the company from zero to one of the top five suppliers of printing presses worldwide, an enormous achievement,” said van den Bosch. “They did that by building the best presses. That’s the goal they always had, very operator focused and high quality.”
“I think there are a lot of things that we can do to make MPS a very popular press here in the States,” explained Rauscher. “We’re one of the few vertically integrated companies out there, and that means we design the equipment, we machine our own parts, we do all of our own wiring and assembly, and we do all of our own assembly and service work on our equipment.
“Our capabilities line up with what MPS offers, and we have a lot of specialty finishing,” he adds.
According to EMT, its Chameleon Spectrum series was designed for 22" web finishing. The series operates at speeds up to 500 fpm, and Spectrum offers average cost savings up to 25% over existing EMT Chameleon solutions. The company also states that it reduces the overall footprint and total components by up to 30%.
“We came to the conclusion that we needed a really good partner,” added van den Bosch. “It was about six months ago that we visited EMT, and immediately the feeling was like it was too good to be true. The technology that they are using is quite similar to our technology, their work ethics, and especially the people. It was a very good match.”
For more pictures, click here for the slideshow.