Lon Robinson, Sean Teufler Receive FTA President’s Award

Diverse Leadership Skills Recognized

In recognition of their strong support of the core values of the Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) Lon Robinson III, Tension Envelope Corp. and Sean Teufler, Harper Graphic Solutions, have been presented with FTA President’s Awards. They become the 60th and 61st individuals to be honored in such fashion, since the award made its debut in 1991.

FTA President Mark Cisternino called both Robinson and Teufler to the stage at the gala awards banquet; held in conjunction with Foundation of FTA’s 54th Annual Forum and 30th Anniversary INFO*FLEX Exhibition. The capacity crowd filling the cavernous ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel applauded their achievements.

Cisternino observed that Robinson has been called upon in a number of different capacities to lend his technical and leadership expertise to FTA, and then said, “As a staunch believer and proponent of FIRST (Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications and Tolerances), Lon’s involvement on the 4.0 project included contributions to the book’s content from the envelope industry’s perspective.”

Robinson, who is currently serving on the FTA Board of Directors, as well as its Foundation’s Board of Trustees, was credited with working to develop a strong, collaborative relationship between FTA and the Envelope Manufacturers Association (EMA). Cisternino noted, “Lon has been instrumental in securing EMA’s commitment to customizing FFTA’s training curriculum delivered via the TEST (Technical Education Services Team) Virtual Campus for its membership.”

Turning his remarks to Teufler, Cisternino said, “Sean is one of those strong, disciplined leaders who bring efficiency to every project. He will co-chair to this year’s upcoming FTA Fall Conference—Efficiency in Flexography: Connecting the Dots—and the event’s theme represents an ideal reflection of Sean’s philosophy in business.”

Cisternino continued, “Research activities of FFTA’s Flexo Quality Consortium (FQC) have also attracted Sean’s interests as he has led the very successful ‘ink spitting’ project over the past few years. In fact, the findings of this informative project provide a wealth of important data on this pervasive flexo phenomenon.”
Teufler was commended for continually demonstrating a strong commitment to professional development. He attained National Council for Skill Standards in Graphic Communications Certified Flexographic Press Operator status in 2004. This past year, he successfully completed the FIRST Implementation Specialist Certification program.

read more in FLEXO's March 2012 issue

The FTA President's Award strives to recognize and show appreciation for key individuals who have distinguished themselves in ways that have positively affected the flexographic community, the Association and its membership. Established in the early 1990s, the award is a result of a selection process that involves key FTA management personnel as well as a number of recommendations from respected industry sources. There are no preset criteria against which individuals are evaluated; the FTA's President's Award is simply an honor given to those who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, volunteerism, and leadership to the flexo printing and converting community.