Wausau Coated Products, a manufacturer of adhesive-based label products, has announced the appointment of Steve Luedke as the new vice president of technology and engineering. He joins Wausau Coated Products with over 25 years of label and packaging experience.

Prior to his new role at Wausau Coated Products, Luedke held a variety of positions in industry leading companies, including WS Packaging Group, MCC Label, and Innovairre. During his tenure at WS Packaging/MCC he served in several key roles including business & market development manager, and director of engineering, North America. He also held the role of chief engineering officer, Domestic Platform at Innovairre.

In his new role, Luedke will be responsible for R&D/technical compliance; equipment capability; and quality control.

Plus, Nordmeccanica, a global manufacturer of coating, laminating and metalizing technology, has emerged as the latest strategic partner for Fujifilm. The new partnership will help deliver production benefits for customers of Fujifilm’s upcoming Jet Press FP790 digital inkjet flexible packaging solution.

This latest partnership agreement with Nordmeccanica follows recent announcements of alliances with Hybrid Software and Henkel Adhesive Technologies, and marks another milestone in Fujifilm’s drive to partner with leading suppliers and technology experts for its Jet Press FP790 press, from across the flexible packaging industry.

The partner organizations have worked closely to complete a series of test production trials to assess compatibility of output from Fujifilm’s Jet Press FP790 digital inkjet press for the flexible food packaging sector. The most recent involved working with Nordmeccanica’s Simplex range of two-layer laminating machines for solvent-less adhesives, which took place at Henkel’s test laboratory.

Raynald Barillot, category manager, Digital Packaging at Fujifilm Graphic Communications EMEA, states, “The clear objective for our new FP790 has been to offer customers an inkjet press that not only produces the best possible printed output, but that delivers on its potential from day one, for a quicker return on investment. For that to be possible, it’s essential for it to work seamlessly with existing best-in-class technologies – be that front-end software, substrates and adhesives or post-press solutions.

Here are the highest-trafficked news items for the week ending on April 14:

1. Wausau Coated names Steve Luedke VP of technology and engineering
2. Fujifilm partners with Nordmeccanica for digital inkjet printing
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4. Avery Dennison and Dow unveil hot-melt label adhesive to boost recycling
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