George, who passed away on 24 September at his home in Leicester, led the business through several periods of great expansion. Last year a £21m 150,000 tonnes-per-annum materials recycling facility was officially opened by recycling minister Lord Taylor of Holbeach. Casepak was also crowed Leicestershire business of the year in 2012. In 1997 Casepak moved to a purpose-built site in Enderby, processing 144,000 tonnes of recycled material every year. This marked a quarter of a century since he launched into cartons by opening his own business with just one lorry. George Albert Edward Smith was born in 1936 in Leicester and on leaving the navy aged 19 worked in a local grocery store. In the early 1960s he acquired the city’s Corn Exchange and ran a bingo hall, gaining the moniker “Bingo George”, which stayed with him for the rest of his life. He joined Vinaflex in Leicester, which used expensive cartons to make soles for shoes, and in a bid to reduce costs, started buying second-hand cartons. In 1972 he launched his own second-hand carton business, employing seven people and called Casepak. He identified another niche by selling his unusable cartons for recycling and saw a large and lucrative opening in recycling. Contracts across the Midlands with box makers, printers and news houses soon followed and business snowballed. He was helped by his eight children, all of whom still work in the business, which now employs more than 200 people. Son and joint managing director Mark Smith said his father was great to work with and for, and always made time for the entire team. “George, my dad, had a real recycling vision. He was one of the first to recognise the opportunities that lay ahead. His drive, determination and inspiration shaped the company to become one of the best independent recyclers in the country. He’s already sadly missed.” A funeral will be held at Leicester Cathedral (St Martin’s) on Friday (4 October)....

The company invested in the 3.2m-wide inkjet machine, which was installed this summer, in response to growing demand for textiles-based soft signage banners, as opposed to those printed on PVC. According to Pixartprinting managing director Alessandro Tenderini, textiles offer a number of “unbeatable advantages” over PVC. “Disposal of the materials is simpler than PVC, the materials are lighter, easily foldable and transportable. They suffer less creasing and may be used more times than PVC banners,” he said. Pixartprinting has produced a range of textiles products, including flags, posters and expo graphics, since 2007, but a recent increase in demand has required the company to boost production capacity at its facility in Quarto d’Altino, near Venice. According to the printer, the Rhotex 320 “was the only system that matched our specific needs, such as around-the-clock productivity, image quality, reliability and process automatisation”. The Rhotex 320 prints in six colours at speeds of up to 110sqm/hr and a resolution of 600dpi. It employs water-based dispersed-dye inks, which Durst says ensures it is an environmentally friendly option. “Many European countries are heavily regulated by environmental laws, which inevitably result in standard PVC materials being replaced by environmentally friendly textiles,” said Tenderini. Durst Italy sales director Alberto Bassanello added: “We are only at the beginning. Textiles printing has still not been fully explored and may have applications in many areas.”...

The company invested in the 3.2m-wide inkjet machine, which was installed this summer, in response to growing demand for textiles-based soft signage banners, as opposed to those printed on PVC. According to Pixartprinting managing director Alessandro Tenderini, textiles offer a number of “unbeatable advantages” over PVC. “Disposal of the materials is simpler than PVC, the materials are lighter, easily foldable and transportable. They suffer less creasing and may be used more times than PVC banners,” he said. Pixartprinting has produced a range of textiles products, including flags, posters and expo graphics, since 2007, but a recent increase in demand has required the company to boost production capacity at its facility in Quarto d’Altino, near Venice. According to the printer, the Rhotex 320 “was the only system that matched our specific needs, such as around-the-clock productivity, image quality, reliability and process automatisation”. The Rhotex 320 prints in six colours at speeds of up to 110sqm/hr and a resolution of 600dpi. It employs water-based dispersed-dye inks, which Durst says ensures it is an environmentally friendly option. “Many European countries are heavily regulated by environmental laws, which inevitably result in standard PVC materials being replaced by environmentally friendly textiles,” said Tenderini. Durst Italy sales director Alberto Bassanello added: “We are only at the beginning. Textiles printing has still not been fully explored and may have applications in many areas.”...

The firm has installed 110 printing units at UK customers since the show took place in May 2012, with most of the individual presses being Speedmaster XL 106 models. Sales director Jim Todd said that the productivity being achieved with the XL and associated automation meant that one press could replace two or even three old presses. “Some of our customers believe the XL could easily achieve 75m impressions a year,” he noted. “And finishing technology now has the automation and performance to match XL presses,” Todd added. Heidelberg UK managing director Gerard Heanue said that after the huge industry shake-out the company now had 3,300 UK customers, compared with 10,000 in 2000. He said results at the company have turned the corner: “Our market share is the highest it has ever been in B1 and B2, and also in finishing. Sales are up and our operating profit is the highest since 2000.” The B3 market has been squeezed in-between B2 and digital presses. Todd described it as “95% down in the last five years and now a very small market.” Todd said the B2-format Anicolor launched at Drupa was likely to begin shipping around the end of the year. “We are seeing a lot of interest in this press from packaging printers due to waste reduction. They can save a lot of sheets of very expensive material, resulting in six-figure savings.” Among the new perfectors in the UK is Heidelberg’s longest B1 press anywhere in the world, a 17-unit XL 106 at Chesapeake East Kilbride fitted with ten printing units, three coaters, four dryers and inline cold foiling....

The firm has installed 110 printing units at UK customers since the show took place in May 2012, with most of the individual presses being Speedmaster XL 106 models. Sales director Jim Todd said that the productivity being achieved with the XL and associated automation meant that one press could replace two or even three old presses. “Some of our customers believe the XL could easily achieve 75m impressions a year,” he noted. “And finishing technology now has the automation and performance to match XL presses,” Todd added. Heidelberg UK managing director Gerard Heanue said that after the huge industry shake-out the company now had 3,300 UK customers, compared with 10,000 in 2000. He said results at the company have turned the corner: “Our market share is the highest it has ever been in B1 and B2, and also in finishing. Sales are up and our operating profit is the highest since 2000.” The B3 market has been squeezed in-between B2 and digital presses. Todd described it as “95% down in the last five years and now a very small market.” Todd said the B2-format Anicolor launched at Drupa was likely to begin shipping around the end of the year. “We are seeing a lot of interest in this press from packaging printers due to waste reduction. They can save a lot of sheets of very expensive material, resulting in six-figure savings.” Among the new perfectors in the UK is Heidelberg’s longest B1 press anywhere in the world, a 17-unit XL 106 at Chesapeake East Kilbride fitted with ten printing units, three coaters, four dryers and inline cold foiling....