PHILADELPHIA, PA—On Jan. 22 and 23, more than 200 visitors attended the Grand Opening of MPS’ new North American Technology & Expertise Center. The two-day event included an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, MPS customer testimonials, a tabletop exhibition and live demonstrations featuring connectivity and hybrid printing on the MPS EF SYMJET with an integrated Domino digital inkjet unit.
Harm-Jan de Jong, vice president of MPS Systems North America Inc, said: “Attendance to our Grand Opening event exceeded all our expectations—we anticipated a full house, but having 200+ visitors walk through our door is more than we dreamed of. We thank everyone who took time to visit our new facility, and also our respected partners who made this possible.”
Tara Halpin from Steinhauser shared her experience in purchasing their new 12-color fully automated 20-in. EF Flexo press on opening day. Tara Halpin named the MPS press “Bobby,” a tribute to her late father and third-generation owner, Robert “Bobby” Steinhauser.
On day two of the Grand Opening, Tom Staib of DWS Printing Associates Inc explained the benefits and advantages he has experienced with hybrid technology from the purchase of an MPS/Domino Printing EF SYMJET hybrid press.
MPS Systems North America moved to the Philadelphia area as it provides a more central hub than its previous North American home in Green Bay, WI. Michael Weyermann, VP of sales and marketing further explains: “Levittown, our new home, is conveniently situated between two major hub airports, Philadelphia and Newark. Additionally, the move allows MPS to share a facility with our partner Imageworx, a label and packaging prepress specialist. We’re really excited about this next chapter for MPS in North America.”
In the new facility, MPS offers live demonstrations on the hybrid EF SYMJET press, a machine that combines MPS’ robust flexo technology with Domino’s digital N610i unit for hybrid printing and converting in one pass.
Demonstrating supporting technology from MPS partners is also as ongoing feature, with prepress specialist Imageworx as well as connectivity connections with Label Traxx and Esko. De Jong added: “Thanks to these partnerships, we can offer label printers an end-to-end demonstration experience that includes all services that extend beyond the machine.”
MPS was joined at the grand opening by a host of industry partners, including Cyngient, Domino, Esko, Flexo Wash, Imageworx, Kocher + Beck, Label Traxx, Miraclon (Kodak), Prati, Twisted Rope, UPM Raflatac, Zeller+Gmelin and more.
In keeping with the event’s “Labels Connected” theme, MPS personnel explained their goals of making label printing more automated. The next phase includes the improvement of prepress and plate making. The stream of data needs to flow from marketing and the front of the house all the way to the press and the final product. This reality has been realized with Talk to Me, a connectivity platform designed to sync the press with all operator functions throughout the printing process.
“We are connecting all of our machines, which are ready to send information to the cloud,” added Atze Bosma, CEO of MPS. “We want to be able to analyze all aspects of the process. With data, information and intelligence, we can revolutionize flexo. These are the steps we’re taking in the upcoming years, and we are willing to work with customers to make sure these results are achieved.”
As of Jan. 6, the new address for MPS Systems North America Inc is:
8400 Bristol Pike, Building A
Levittown, PA 19057-5117