In the busy world of converting, industry professionals can be hard-pressed to stay on top of the most recent developments in the industry. That is why so many return each year to the Converters Expo for a concentrated show that allows them to see the latest converting technology and services that will help them meet their daily challenges.

Converters Expo, now in its 13th year, returns to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI, on April 29-30. Converters Expo has long been the best source for converting solutions, from packaging and bags to tissues and diapers. While previous Expos have drawn crowds from the converter-heavy upper Midwest, many industry professional from across the country are also attending the event, accounting for its continued growth in attendance. Converters Expo is also the ideal opportunity to network with hundreds of prospective business partners and industry associates.

“The Green Bay-to-Chicago area has the nation’s largest concentration of converters,” says Glen Gudino, group publisher for BNP Media Packaging Group. “The expo is the perfect place for converting professionals to learn about new technologies and equipment; product developers looking for converters and manufacturers to create product; buyers looking to source or outsource a converting step or process; and manufacturers procuring production line equipment or parts.”

Converters Expo follows the successful Feb. 12 completion of Converters Expo South in Charlotte, NC, which drew record crowds and exhibitors to the show for converters in the Southeast region.

PCMC Plant Tour Offered

This year, Converters Expo will kick off on Wednesday, April 29 with a 2:00-5:00 pm tour of the Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC) facilities in Green Bay. PCMC is a leader in tissue converting, packaging, flexographic printing, bag converting and nonwovens technology. The tour will feature live demos of PCMC’s Fusion C flexographic printing press and Meridian Elite laser anilox cleaner.

Following that, attendees are invited to attend a welcome reception from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in the hallowed halls of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, where they can enjoy an array of Packers memorabilia, network with prospective business partners and catch up with friends and associates.

The one-day expo will be open from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm in the Lambeau Field Atrium, and nearly 700 industry professionals are expected to attend the one-stop shop for all things converting. More than 140 companies will be exhibiting on two floors during the expo. Registration includes a lunch buffet at noon and happy hour from 2:30 - 3:30 pm in the exhibition hall.

Range of Products Featured

With exhibitors featuring products such as slitting/rewinding, inks, printing, automation and handling, and testing and inspection, there is a wide variety of companies for attendees available for interaction. The exhibitors include platinum sponsor, BankFirst; silver sponsors, COREX and Rol-Tec Sleeve Solutions and bronze sponsors, AccuWeb / BST North America, Paper Converting Machine Company, PRECO, and Valley Grinding & Mfg.

Be sure to check out www.convertersexpo.com for a full list of exhibitors and to register. In addition, here is a look at the range of exhibitors and some of the innovative products and technologies that companies will have on display at Converters Expo:

AccuWeb / BST NA (Booth 20): Whether you make food or pharmaceutical packaging, building materials, pressure sensitive tapes, light sensitive films, printed circuit boards, or virtually any web-to-web converted product, AccuWeb has the appropriate web guide and the experience to help maximize your productivity while ensuring environmental compliance. These closed-loop web guide systems are engineered to withstand the harshest raw materials or environmental conditions.

Alphasonics USA (Booth 149): The Melanie range from Alphasonics USA, provides the very best anilox cleaning standards available in a bench top unit. Fully automated, it uses medical grade advanced ultrasonics to guarantee 100 percent anilox cleanliness and safety. Coupled with numerous customizable options such as rinsing stations, filtration, chemical monitoring, Melanie provides an opportunity to achieve the highest possible standards of cleanliness at any budget.

Catbridge Machinery (Booth 46): The Catbridge 900-M offers flexibility, value and exceptional performance. This duplex center winder can handle all primary films, flexible packaging and papers. These machines safely and effectively increase throughput, improve finished roll quality, and reduce waste. From unwind to rewind, all models integrate innovative technologies that deliver results.

Chase Machine and Engineering, Inc. (Booth 39): Founded in 1954, Chase Machine and Engineering designs and builds custom converting equipment for film, foil and woven-nonwoven fabrics. The company utilizes 3-D modeling software to design equipment such as unwinds/rewinds, slitters and laminators, festooners, blockers and spoolers/traverse winders, while integrating technologies such as ultrasonics, glue dispensing and thermal bonding.

Festo (Booth 9): The DPCA compact cylinder is designed to support for short stroke, low profile pneumatic actuators with space constraints. Features like protective anodized coating, solid aluminum construction and smooth exterior protect against tough environments. The DPCA is available with a variety of options to meet the need of most applications.

GOEBEL IMS (Booth 110): GOEBEL IMS, founded in 1851, is a provider of slitter rewinders, automatic unwinders and winders, as well as inspection machines for a wide range of materials. The high-performance machines convert alufoil, liquid aseptic packaging, film, flexible packaging, paper and board, tobacco and other special materials.

Kampf USA (Booth 87): Slitting and winding technology has been Kampf’s core competence for almost 100 years. Based on its experience and expertise, Kampf advises and supports customers in the selection of the right machine and the appropriate solution for your requirements. Test your materials in the Goebel demo center.

Monarch Instrument (Booth 125): Monarch Instrument’s illumiNova fixed mount LED stroboscopic inspection systems are designed for continuous use in high speed process applications that require crisp, clear stop-motion quality inspection. The systems are available in lengths from 6 inches to 8 feet.

OMET Americas, Inc. (Booth 64): OMET XJet printing press is the result of the combination between OMET flexo quality and DURST digital inkjet technology. Available in 13”, 17” and 20” widths and with a speed up to 328 ft/min, it is an ideal press for almost every application including shrink sleeves.

Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC) (Booth 49): The Meridian laser anilox cleaner deep cleans the anilox cells using a powerful laser that vaporizes deposited particles inside of the cells. It deeply cleans chrome and ceramic rolls of any line screen. The result is superior cleaning, improved print quality and a longer life for anilox rolls.

CONVERTERS EXPO

When: April 29-30

Where: Lambeau Field Atrium, Green Bay, Wisconsin

What: A one-day trade show on April 30 that brings together converters and suppliers of paper, film, plastics and nonwovens. Expo features PCMC facilities tour and pre-event Welcome Reception on April 29.

More info: www.convertersexpo.com