Honors & Awards
In the 2017 Excellence in Flexography Awards, 121 packages were honored for their overall quality. This total included 39 gold awards (six of which were also named Best of Show), 42 silver awards, 37 bronze awards, two self-promotion awards and one non-traditional flexo award. “If anything, this year’s Excellence in Flexography Awards showed that converters are on the ball. The levels of quality and embellishments were at an all-time high,” said Forum 2017 Chair Paul Teachout, from Nilpeter.
Steve Smiley, principal at SmileyColor & Associates and on the stage at one point or another during just about every FTA event, became the 54th inductee into the FTA Hall of Fame for striving to bring repeatability and consistence to package printing. Steve has not only been a selfless contributor to the FTA through FLEXO Magazine articles, Forum and Fall Conference presentations, and entire chapters of FIRST, but also has championed printing standards for decades, giving presentations in the U.S. and abroad.
There were two recipients of the FTA President’s Award. Jean Engelke, of RR Donnelley and the program chair of the Flexo Quality 
Consortium (FQC), was honored for her commitment to and support of technical research as a means of driving the industry forward. El Señor Luis Novaro, of Distribuidora Gráfica Novaro, was recognized for creating a strong bond between FTA member companies in the U.S. and Mexico, Central and South America.
Three technologies from three different companies were each awarded a Technical Innovation Award:
- The XPS Crystal 5080 from Esko, a digitally controlled UV LED exposure unit that provides both main and back exposure
- EkoCure ANCORA Ink from Flint Group, which successfully marries UV LED and low-migration ink properties
- The Digital Series Hybrid Press from Mark Andy, Inc., which combines the strengths of flexography and UV inkjet
Two companies were honored with a Sustainability Excellence Award: Artcraft Label, for its ProPETE recycling solution, and Polymount International, for its Polymount Film Cleaner, in which printed film is cleaned and can be reused for the next setup of a new job. Heritage Envelopes earned an honorable mention for PackMail, its alternative packing solution for envelopes.
Appalachian State University was named the overall winner in The Phoenix Challenge College Competition. Its team consisted of Lorna Galloway, Savannah Cyzick, Sunny Turner, Erin Donohue and Grant Murry, overseen by advisor Tom Reeves. Two students from Knox High School—Michael Poindexter and Riley Pingel—won the high school competition.
Thomas Koester of Clemson University was awarded the $13,000, first-place FFTA Rossini North America Flexographic Research Scholarship prize for his proposed examination of how well variable repeats can work as a security measure.
The newly endowed Gary Hilliard FQC Scholarship was awarded to Chris Teachout of Central Piedmont Community College. The scholarship was established to honor the late Gary Hilliard, a long-time supporter and advocate of FTA and the flexographic printing industry.
FTA recognized 22 50-year members for being a part of the association for a half-century.
Signature Events
The second-annual Emerging Leaders Golf Outing teed off April 29 at the Raven Golf Club in Phoenix, AZ. Improving on last year’s record-setting attendance, a total of 115 flexographers played 18 holes on a sunny, 80-degree day.
Forum & INFOFLEX took place April 30 to May 3, welcoming thousands of flexographers to Phoenix, AZ to learn about industry trends, technologies and how to prepare for the future. Paul Teachout from Nilpeter returned as chair, with Bob Coomes from Plastic Packaging Technologies as co-chair. Attendees praised the event for being well organized with “informative presentations, great networking, and a beautiful venue/city,” and speakers who were “knowledgeable on their presentations.” Attendee feedback also indicated:
- 97 percent rated speakers as good or excellent
- 85 percent rated the topics as good or excellent
- 85 percent rated the entire event as good or excellent
Attendees also had good things to say about INFOFLEX. “Attendees tend to be an excellent collection of prospective customer and customer base for our company. One-stop shopping for new contacts and cementing old relationships,” said one event participant. Other survey results indicated:
- 96 percent of attendees said they were able to network and conduct business effectively at the exhibits
- 89 percent said they met a new vendor at INFOFLEX they would consider doing business with in the near future
- 96 percent said their presence at INFOFLEX was a benefit to them and their organization
The Solutions Theater, which allows attendees to listen to educational presentations, featured 15 individual discussions touching on all segments.
The third-annual Gary Hilliard Memorial Golf Tournament, which coincided with Fall Conference for the first time, welcomed golfers on Oct. 8 at Gateway National Golf Links in St. Louis, MO. Following an afternoon on the links, participants returned to the club house for a dinner reception.
Nearly 400 flexographers attended Fall Conference 2017, which took place at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch for three days of events under the theme, “The Gateway to Technology.” Chair Rory Marsoun of Esko presided over an itinerary that included informative sessions, educational presentations and valuable networking.
Looking Ahead to 2018
With more coverage of topics crucial to readers, insights from experts and technical articles for which it’s known; with a strong line-up of events, publications and resources; and with continued advancements that further strengthen its package printing dominance, FLEXO, FTA and flexography all are poised for a year even stronger than 2017.
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