Bobst Group
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Have you ever heard of a 120-year-old company (in our industry) with more than 5,000  employees in 28 countries, who had red ink in only one year? I am sure there are others but my memory escapes me at the moment. You may know them as BOBST, FISCHER & KRECKE, KOCHSIEK, ROTOMEC, TITAN, ATLAS, GENERAL, ASITRADE, or MARTIN. (And by the way, the 2010 Flexographic Technical Innovation Award winner for F&K’s smart GPS exclusive Graphic Positioning System.)
I know them as BOBST GROUP, Sustaining TAPPI member for 44 years, great supporters of our corrugated events, and this week as Mike D’Angelo, Vice President Business Unit Web Fed, and Steve Creasey, Business Director Business Unit Sheet Fed. They are two members of a worldwide leading supplier of equipment and services to packaging manufacturers in the folding carton, corrugated board and flexible materials industries.
On Wednesday August 18, 2010, Eric Fletty and I had the privilege of visiting Bobst Group North America headquarters in Roseland, NJ.
 Steve Creasey has been with Bobst for 16 years. He is originally from the UK but most recently he is a transplant from Shanghai, China, where he was a key player with their folding carton operations. Bobst has had plants in China since 1997. Their main product lines dealt with tobacco, general packaging and pharmaceuticals. Steve will take over for Mike D’Angelo as he moves into the Flexible Packaging business segment arena. Although Bobst has been involved in flexible packaging since 1988, the company is still viewed as a relative newcomer to many people. Mike is in his 28th year with Bobst and still maintains a very positive spirit towards our industry. He has also been a loyal TAPPI member since 1983.
The New Jersey location was formerly a manufacturing plant for many years. After consolidation it now serves their customers in the following distinct areas:
• Product Demonstration Center
• Training Center
• 24/7 Customer Service
• 24/7 Technical Service Support Center
• Parts Warehouse and Distribution Center
The 80-plus employees in NJ seem to like what they are doing very well as they support all 280 employees in North America. Some of them have been around for 40 years. The smiles from everyone I spoke to was also a big tip off.
Mike's Top Three views on TAPPI membership are as follows:
• TAPPI definitely suits the needs for networking with customers on a global stage. The local sections also provide a very good venue for networking on the local stage.
• We need a clearing house for industry information and TAPPI fills that need.
• TAPPI provides an opportunity to serve the industry. This allows Bobst to reinforce our image as a good industry neighbor. We have supported many TAPPI events and served on several committees over the years in the corrugated sector. Now with a whole new TAPPI, we want to branch out into the Nonwovens and Flexible packaging divisions as well.
You can come and see what Bobst has to offer at Corrugated Week 2010 in Baltimore, MD, October 4-7, 2010.
For more information on Bobst Group go to www.bobstgroup.com.
For more information on TAPPI please go to www.tappi.org.
There are two types of people in this industry, TAPPI members and those who should be.
Until next time,
Larry
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