Omet, the Italian manufacturer of narrow and mid web printing presses and converting equipment, announces the opening of its new branch, Omet America Inc. The new company, located in Grand Rapids, MI, USA, will focus on providing service and parts for existing and future installations in North America, the Caribbean and Latin America. North American sales will still be handled Matik Inc., West Hartford, CT, USA.

”We are extremely pleased to achieve this new milestone in our history,” says Omet founder and President Angelo Bartesaghi. “This move will reinforce our global presence, after establishing our facilities in Europe and Asia. The past few years have been very successful for Omet, and we consider now to be the best timing for this important step, which we believe will demonstrate our commitment to the market.”The new facility is located few minutes away from Lansing International Airport, in a 5,600 square foot building. In addition to space for offices and spare parts inventory, sufficient space exists for future expansion.

Jean-Pierre Penhoat, vice president of Omet Americas, runs the new operation. “We want our customers to be able to maximize the high technology of our presses. Servo technology provides extreme productivity, but we wanted to provide also the flexibility to troubleshoot.” Penhoat has 20 years of experience servicing printing equipment, speaks English, French and Spanish.
Omet says that the advantages for North American, Carribean and South American customers will include local parts inventory, readily available technical engineers, on-site support for new press installations, programs for periodic maintenance visits and training programs, available on demand; and online press service via an internet connection. Staff will include service technicians for mechanical, electric and electronics, as well as back office for the parts ordering.
The company has two upcoming press installations: a 10-color, 26″ Varyflex packaging press with inline lamination and cold seal for the Midwest; and a nine-color 17″ press for packaging, including inline hot melt coating, for a Canadian converter.