Apex North America Breaks Ground on Major Pennsylvania Expansion

“When the flexo marketplace speaks, Apex responds,” remarked Apex North America’s Vice President of Sales Ken Ralton about Apex’s new construction of an 8,000 square-foot addition to its Donora, PA manufacturing plant. “Based on the growing demand for our new GTT series of ink metering rolls, we simply need more room to operate more lasers to engrave these anilox rolls and sleeves.”

Scheduled to open for production mid November 2011, the Donora plant will be one of the largest anilox production sites in North America with space for twelve lasers which can engrave both GTT and conventional hexcell anilox surfaces. The new addition will meet “clean room” fabrication standards; Apex’s current building will be converted to include machining, repair and warehousing functions. Two constant-beam engraving lasers are to be delivered in November. Current laser operators and new laser operations staff will be trained and certified at Apex’s Holland headquarters in Hapert, Netherlands. “Despite the global economic problems some industrial sectors are feeling, packaging and printing continue to grown and look for new technology efficiencies,” observed Ralton. “Apex and its new GTT products deliver cost savings and quality, enabling growth across this sector.”

Going Green
To provide power for lighting and HVAC, Apex has tapped into its own natural gas well beneath its Donora property. “While there’s not enough natural gas for Apex to change businesses and become an energy provider, we can still minimize our carbon footprint by employing our own clean-burning fuel for these basic utilities,” said Ralton.

About Apex North America Based in Donora, PA near Pittsburgh, Apex North America is the fastest-growing subsidiary of Holland-based Apex Group of Companies, the world’s largest manufacturer of anilox rolls for narrow-, wide-web, corrugated, and coating applications. Apex also invented and holds the patent on the Genetic Transfer Technology (GTT) product line, the successor to conventional hexcell
anilox products. With manufacturing and sales operations on six of seven continents, Apex provides further value in supplying customers with end-to-end anilox or GTT solutions including ink measurement devices and proofers, cleaning products, and educational/use-and-care seminars.

Apex is dedicated to enabling its customers to do their best work – consistently and proudly – every day.

Press release November 2011