Mark Andy celebrated the extension of its market presence across central and eastern Europe with an Open House at its newly opened facility in Warsaw. Welcoming more than 100 converters and industry specialists from Poland and neighbouring countries, the event showcased award-winning equipment with a host of educational presentations. The event was based around live demonstrations of a 430mm Mark Andy Performance Series P7 servo press, and the latest versions of VSI 330 and VLI 440 inspection rewinders from Rotoflex.

Four print jobs were run off in quick succession on different substrates using different sized repeats. The first two were pressure sensitive, four-colour process jobs run at high speed using the new advanced waste wind-up. The substrate was then changed to a 28-micron unsupported BOPP, which ran as a five-colour fruit juice label, also at very high speed. Each job had a different repeat length, and the audience was shown how quickly a job change could be achieved with a minimum of waste.

European Sales Director, Tom Cavalco said: “The new facility is an ideal launch pad for supporting the market with our range of leading technology. We look forward to adding the new Digital Series hybrid line later this year as well.” To support the growth and expansion of Mark Andy in the European narrow web market the company has made several new appointments to its sales and service teams broadening the support across the region. Kevin Wilken, President and CEO of Mark Andy Inc outlined the company’s programme as a Total Solutions Partner, and explained how its technology is all designed with efficiency and productivity in mind, reminding visitors that a simple solution is often the best.

Polish celebrity and well-known motivational speaker, Jackes Walkiewicz kicked off the theme of productivity with an entertaining speech ‘Motivation to Productivity’. Sten Sarap, owner of successful Estonian business The Label Printers, then shared his company’s success story as a label converter, commenting that the Mark Andy presses and Rotoflex rewinders installed in his large print plant in Tallinn were the key to the growth of his business.

The afternoon session included presentations on maximising pre-press effectiveness from ESKO/Equinox and the evolution taking place in the ink market, given by Paragon Inks. Info Systems then explained the need for business automation and how to go about its implementation, and the Open House was also supported by Cheshire Anilox Technology and Alphasonics. Concluding the event, Mark Andy’s new Sales Manager for Poland, Lukasz Chruslinski, said: “I am excited to be joining Mark Andy at a time when the company is growing rapidly in the European market, and the support and attendance we have enjoyed at today’s event is a very positive signal for future business.”