Page 23 - PWM2025_APRIL EBOOK

GLOBAL NEWS

Durst expands Reach CEO Jim Mullen has
IN BRIEF

workflow know-how quit the media group to
join The Jockey Club. On 31
March Reach announced
that Mullen would be
leaving the board with
Durst has acquired preme- and product development”. immediate effect. Chief
dia automation specialist Durst Group CEO and co- revenue officer Piers North
has been appointed as the
Callas Software. Callas was owner Christoph Gamper new CEO, also with imme-
founded 30 years ago and is commented: “This is not just diate effect, and joins the main board. Mullen became CEO
headquartered in Berlin, another step towards digitali- in August 2019 and has overseen significant restructuring
and job losses since, as the group developed its digital
Germany. It has more than offering on the back of its print operations. He will remain
4,000 customers worldwide Durst acquires Callas Software zation – we are actively shap- with the PLC for a short handover period. Mullen comment-
ed: ““I’ll be taking on the role of group chief executive of
and describes its software as of industrial applications ing the future of digital The Jockey Club from 1 June, but I will continue to champion
finding “simple ways to han- including large-format, labels printing. With Callas at our the importance of free-to-access news and the Daily
dle complex PDF chal- and corrugated. The group side, we are making print Record football coverage from the sidelines, and I wish eve-
ryone the best.”
lenges”. also has a Software & software smarter, more con-
Products include pdfTool- Solutions division aimed at nected, and more powerful. A rare book dated 1815-1822
box and pdfaPilot, and it also optimising printing pro- The best solutions arise when and said to be the first
complete Bible in Chinese
supplies OEM software that cesses, which includes Lift strong partners work has sold for over £56,000
is integrated into other sys- ERP/MIS and the Smart together toward a shared at auction after it was
donated to an Oxfam shop.
tems. Adobe, Quark and Shop web-to-print system. vision.” The book, which is trans-
Xerox are among suppliers Durst said the acquisition lated by John Lassar and
that have incorporated Callas would strengthen its offering Callas CEO Dietrich von Joshua Marshman, was
originally found in a pile of
tech into their own solutions. and foster industry connec- Seggern said that maintain- donations at Oxfam’s Chelmsford bookshop in Essex.
Italy-headquartered Durst tivity. ing Callas’ independence Spotted as being potentially valuable by two of the shop’s
volunteers, the Bible was put up for Bonhams’ auction and
is best known for its digital Callas “will remain auton- “was a central requirement” valued at between £600-£800. After two weeks of bidding,
printing systems for a range omous in its management for joining the Durst Group. it sold for £56,280. Nick Reeves, Oxfam Chelmsford’s book-
shop manager, said: “The Bible was originally found by
Mondi’s Schumacher deal some of our brilliant volunteers, Chris Tyrrell and Eleanor
Atack, in a pile of donations, who suspected it could be
worth something.
Mondi’s acquisition of UK site is in Birmingham and “This acquisition signifi- DS Group operations direc-
Schumacher Packaging’s runs a Koenig & Bauer Durst cantly strengthens our corru- tor Tracy Mead has been
Western European business Delta SPC 130 single-pass gated packaging business, appointed as the firm’s
next managing director, as
has successfully completed. inkjet press for corrugated extending our footprint in current managing director
The €634m (£531m) deal packaging. Germany is the Western Europe and offering Allistair Hunter steps back
strong vertical integration
was announced five months biggest part of the operation opportunities. He said he after 20 years at the com-
pany’s helm. From 1 April,
ag o . I t i n cl ud es and is home to two “state-of- was delighted to welcome Hunter, who founded the
Schumacher’s corrugated the-art mega-box plants” at Schumacher Packaging col- Clacton-on-Sea print and mailing firm in 2004, will transi-
converting and solid board Ebersdorf and Greven. leagues to the group. tion into a new role as chairman and director, while con-
tinuing to work on sales for the company. “I still get a buzz
operations in the UK, Mondi Group CEO Mondi had sales of €7.4bn out of sales, and I’m always excited when new projects
Benelux and Germany. The Andrew King commented: last year. come in – so why not stick around?” Hunter said. “We’ve
been working for a year or so. Tracy’s been with us over 18
Sappi inspired by board game years, and it just made sense. “Obviously it will have its
own challenges, being a new role, but hopefully I’ll make it
easier by still being around.

Sappi has been inspired by Arboro, inspired by the Offsite Digital has installed a brand-new Ricoh Pro C7500
the world of board games to Latin word for tree, is digital toner press with neon, white and clear stations,
create a paper showcase described as “a strategic replacing a nearly 10-year-old Ricoh Pro C7100 five-colour
with a difference. The board game that brings the press. Capable of handling a variety of textured stocks from
renewable materials manu- sustainability story of mod- 40-470gsm, and able to print duplex lengths up to
1,030mm, the new printer has opened up new opportuni-
facturer has teamed up with ern papermaking to life ties for Offsite to offer bespoke work and tweak jobs for
board game experts Game through creative gameplay”. clients. “We print some interesting stuff through these
Brewer, French artist Jules Players compete to machines, so we did our due diligence: we looked at eve-
Dubost, and specialist pro- Explores papermaking process become ‘Papermaker of the rything [in the market],” managing director Chris Taylor
duction house Cartamundi FSC-certified paper stocks Month’ by being the best at told Printweek. Arriving in late February, the machine was
to create Arboro – a board for specific functions includ- managing the papermaking up and running quickly thanks to the team’s familiarity
game that deploys different ing paper money. process. with Ricoh’s operating software.

www.printweekmena.com April 2025 PrintWeek MENA 23