The judges for this year’s Global Flexo Innovation Awards, hosted by Miraclon, have been announced. The panel comprises eight flexo industry influencers and technical experts who bring vast experience from every segment of the flexographic value chain. Each judge’s area of expertise offers a unique take on the judging criteria, which will mark each entrant against their show-stopping creativity, transition to flexo from another print process, print production workflow efficiency and commitment to sustainable print.

Joining this year’s independent judging panel are: Laurel Brunner (UK), Consultant and Journalist for Digital Dots, Verdigris & Spindrift; Matthew Daniels (UK), Artwork Excellence Innovation Manager at Unilever; Stefano d’Andrea (Italy), Industrial Graphic Expert; Kai Lankinen (Finland), Executive Partner & Co-Owner of Marvaco Ltd; Sebastian Longo (Argentina), President and Managing Director of Fotograbados Longo S.A; Ken McGuire (US), Research Fellow at Procter & Gamble; Jason Goode (Australia), Packaging Manager at Reece Group; and Dr. Chip Tonkin (US), Chair – Department of Graphic Communications at Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design & Graphics.

Chairing the judging panel, after being a judge for the first awards in 2018, will be Christopher Horton, former Senior Vice President of Southern Graphics Systems (SGS). Christopher has had a distinguished career in graphic services, having founded Advance Printing Products, Inc. (APP) in 1988. He then became a senior executive within Southern Graphic Systems, Inc. when the two businesses merged in early 2001. Christopher was instrumental in the company’s growth to become a global graphic services provider before he retired from SGS in 2015. He still remains active in graphics services and provides business optimization and exit planning consulting services.

Emma Schlotthauer, Chief Marketing Officer at Miraclon, comments: “Across the flexo printing marketplace, there are a host of innovative companies who are driving technological enhancements throughout the production process, even in unprecedented times like these. At Miraclon, we want more than ever to honor the talent and innovation in the industry that is driving flexo forward. That’s why we’re returning this year with the second Global Flexo Innovation Awards to place a spotlight on companies using flexo to expand their business horizons. Through the awards, we’re not only celebrating these companies and sharing their inspirational stories, but we’re also connecting like-minded individuals to create a valuable global network. We’re excited to be strengthening that network with this year’s awards program.”

Schlotthauer concludes, “Without our independent judging panel, our Global Flexo Innovation Awards are not possible. We are thrilled to be welcoming nine judges to our panel this year, each who have a vast experience and unique perspective of the flexo print industry. Collectively, they are ideally qualified to recognize the entries that have made the most significant impact across the packaging value chain and we look forward to hearing their choices and revealing the winners.” 

Launched in 2018, the Global Flexo Innovation Awards were introduced to recognize companies at the forefront of the transformation of the flexographic printing industry. Looking beyond print quality and technical execution, which is expected to be of the highest caliber, entrants are challenged to demonstrate how flexo printing and KODAK FLEXCEL NX technology, with their own innovative approach, has been used to achieve outstanding results throughout the whole production process, from design, to production efficiency and commitment to sustainability.

The Global Flexo Innovation Awards will be open for entries in September 2020. For more information on the Global Flexo Innovation Awards program, 2020 judging panel and 2018 winners visit www.transformingflexo.com.