FINAT REVEALS 2015 RECYCLING AWARDS WINNERS
HELF ETIKETTEN AND BEL LEERDAMMER CHEESE RECOGNIZED FOR PAPER AND FILM RELEASE LINER RECYCLING
FINAT, the international association for the self-adhesive labelling industry, announces Helf Etiketten (Austria) and Bel Leerdammer Cheese (The Netherlands) are the winners of the second FINAT Recycling Awards Competition. Both winners were honoured during an awards ceremony at the recent European Label Forum in Amsterdam.
FINAT recycling consultant Jacques van Leeuwen chaired the jury, supported by Andreas Faul of INGEDE (Paper deinking industry) and Peter Sundt of EPRO (the European organisation of plastics recycling). "The second edition of our Recycling awards saw another strong field of contestants, with a number of returning participants putting in even stronger performances. We congratulate both winners and the other contenders with their accomplishments and look forward to the next edition of the FINAT recycling awards competition in 2016," commented Van Leeuwen.
Converter Category winner – Helf Etiketten
The converter category saw a number of entries and the winner Helf Etiketten impressed the jury with the 100% liner recycling rate. The judges also commented on the sustainable ethos with the collection of liners from customers and the ongoing implementations of a complete management system.
"In the hotly-contested converter category, the honours went to first-time participant Helf Etiketten with a particularly strong showing. The jury unanimously agreed that the maximum-capacity recycling of liner and the commitment of the company to communication on recycling internally and externally, backed up by press releases and newsletters, were exemplary. Combined with the great efforts by the company to reduce matrix waste and to trace the secondary material, the jury was happy to give the award to Helf Etiketten,” Van Leeuwen details.
End-user Category Winner
In the end-user category Bel Leerdammer Cheese stood out for building on ongoing efforts through developing successful pilots in 2013 and recycling 100% of paper liners in 2014. It also incorporated recycling into its operation wide quality system and strengthened internal and external communication regarding its release liner recycling efforts.
“While the number of entries in the end-user category was markedly lower than in the converter category, the jury was convinced by Bel Leerdammer Cheese strong entry and in particular by its strong strides forward since 2014. Not only did the company more than triple the tonnage of its recycled paper liner compared to the previous year, it also included release liner recycling as part of a certified quality system and stepped up its communication efforts,” explains Van Leeuwen.
Supporting recycling efforts
The FINAT Recycling Awards Competition recognises companies that have their paper and/or film release liners recycled. The goal is to raise awareness for the growing number of sustainable and economically-viable recycling programmes. These offer companies site-specific solutions for the collection and recycling of used release liners, allowing them to reduce both their carbon footprint and landfilling costs.
For more information, visit the FINAT recycling portal atFinat.com/en/Sustainability/Recycling-PortalFINAT’s president Kurt Walker has been chosen as the recipient of the R. Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Label Industry Global Awards. Judging for the 12th annual awards program took place during the FINAT European Label Forum (ELF) in Amsterdam, where the judging panel met to consider nominations across this and three additional award categories.
Sponsored by Avery Dennison, the R. Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award, is bestowed upon an individual who has made a substantial and key contribution to the label industry over a minimum of 25 years. After graduating from university, Walker entered the printing industry where he has held various positions in sales and marketing. In 1988 he joined the label industry and acted, until his retirement in 2012, as CEO of tesa Bandfix in Switzerland. Walker became a member of the FINAT board in 1999 and has also served as vice-president, membership committee member and treasurer before being appointed president of the worldwide association for the self-adhesive labeling industry in 2011.
Known for being innovative and forward thinking, Walker has been influential in unifying the wider global label industry. A significant supporter of the L7, now L9, Walker has been instrumental in helping grow the alliance’s profile and importance, whilst also helping secure and ensure the ongoing success of FINAT’s Young Managers Club. Walker joins the ranks of eminent and distinguished past winners including: Suzanne Zaccone of GSI Technologies, Tomas Rink of Ritrama, RotoMetric’s Steve Lee, Helmut Schreiner, Nilpeter’s Lars Eriksen and FLEXcon’s Neil McDonough.
During the same meeting, the judging panel also announced details of the finalists for the three other categories. The 2015 finalists are:
The Award for Innovation (for companies with more than 300 employees), sponsored by Flint Group Narrow Web (in alphabetical order):
* Esko
* HP Indigo
* Revo
* Super Film
* Xeikon
The Award for Innovation (for companies with up to 300 employees), sponsored by Flint Group Narrow Web (in alphabetical order):
* Any Graphics
* GEW
* Hybrid Software
* Iwata
* Lake Image Systems
* Rotas
* Troika Systems
* Web Resources
The Award for Sustainability, sponsored by Xeikon (in alphabetical order):
* Avery Dennison
* Bio4life
* Lintec
* Dr Fischer
Mike Fairley, chair of the judges explained: “Kurt Walker was the unanimous choice of the judging panel. His impressive long-term industry pedigree as CEO of tesa Bandfix, as well as terms as treasurer, vice-president and president of FINAT - where he encouraged and built global links and supported the establishment and growth of the highly successful Young Managers Club - made him the stand-out choice for this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. We look forward to honoring Kurt and the other winners in person at the awards ceremony in September.”
Judges for this year’s awards, under the chairmanship of Mike Fairley were: Thomas Hagmaier, upcoming president of FINAT, Andy Thomas, group managing editor of Labels & Labeling, Armin Karl Geiger, editor of NarrowWebTech, Steve Katz, editor of Label & Narrow Web and Anthony White, label industry consultant.
The winners will be announced at the Label Industry Global Awards ceremony and dinner on 29 September, where Walker will also officially be presented with the award. Held as part of Labelexpo Europe in Brussels, limited tickets are still available to purchase at www.labelawards.com.