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UPM Paster Mate awarded the ERA Innovation Prize

Monday 18. October 2010 - The UPM Paster Mate, a tool that improves the efficiency of a gravure press, was awarded the Innovation Prize at the 2010 European Publication Gravure Awards. The award ceremony was held on 27 September in Zurich, Switzerland, during the Annual Conference of the European Rotogravure Association.

The UPM Paster Mate allows splicing tape to be used across the whole width of
the web, improving quality and reliability. The quality of a splice is very
important factor for a successful roll change, because even the slightest
unevenness can result in missed pasters and web breaks. “With UPM Paster Mate
the splice can be prepared evenly across the whole web width, including under
the belts, with tape using protection”, explains Erik Ohls, Technical Sales
Director from UPM.

The UPM Paster Mate was originally developed by Veli-Pekka Johansson, Production
Engineer from Helprint and has been further developed with UPM’s Technical Sales
function. The UPM Paster Mate has been in use at Helprint in Finland since 2007
and is installed on three press lines. The latest installation of the system is
being piloted at Didier Mary sur Marne in France.

Panu Torniainen, Production Manager from Helprint says: “With the UPM Paster
Mate ribbon breaks have decreased massively, the web is steadier during the
paster cycle and less waste is produced. On the whole UPM Paster Mate has made
the work much easier at both the paster and across the entire press”.

There were several categories in the competition and according to ERA the
Innovation Prize had eight entries from both suppliers and printers – more than
have been entered for several years.

“The UPM Paster Mate is a great example of successful cooperation between UPM
and printers. It contains all the elements of a good innovation; out-of-the-box
approach, cooperation and testing with customers, not giving up and finally
putting it into practice. I am very proud of the Technical Sales team for this
achievement”, says Kari Ylönen, Head of Marketing from UPM.

The European Publication Gravure Award is jointly organised by the European
Rotogravure Association and the Eurographic Press, the association of leading
trade journals for the graphic arts industry in sixteen European countries.


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