Kodak announces expansion plans of new flexo plate line in US

The ceremony featured a ribbon cutting by Jeff Clarke, CEO of Kodak and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, and remarks by flexographic packaging division President Chris Payne apart from Kodak customers.

“Today’s celebration brings a focus on the ‘new face of flexo,'" said Jeff Clarke, CEO, at the ceremony. “Kodak’s differentiated flexo technology is helping our customers to drive growth, break new ground and transform flexographic printing and the packaging industry as a whole. The growth of Flexcel NX speaks to the strength and opportunity of the flexographic packaging market and we’re looking forward to using the expanding facility here in Weatherford to continue helping our customers realise the benefits of Kodak’s flexo technology and what its unique capabilities can do for their business.”

The theme of the event centred on regeneration and the revitalisation and investment of the Weatherford plant in its 50th anniversary year, which was chosen for its strong technical capabilities and existing skilled tenured workforce. The new flexo plate manufacturing line, a sister operation to Kodak’s existing plate manufacturing facility in Yamanashi, Japan, is designed to meet increasing industry demand for higher quality flexographic printed packaging with more cost effective and efficient production processes.

Speaking in the month of March at the company’s quarterly earnings report, Jeff Clarke said that the projections for the packaging market are to grow by 4% between 2017 and 2022, Kodak's 2016 Flexcel NX plate volume growth of 16% was four times that market projection, according to Smithers Pira. “I'm particularly pleased with Kodak's Flexcel NX packaging business, which is our strongest performing product set,” he said.

The $15 million (Rs 96 crores) investment represents one of the company’s largest capital investments since 2000 and underscores the ongoing growth and adoption of Kodak Flexcel NX plates.
The new flexo plate line is expected to be in full production by early 2019 and will initially focus on the supply of Flexcel NX plates to customers in the Unites States, Canada and Latin America. The news represents yet another milestone in the company’s ongoing investment in flexographic printing technology worldwide, which includes the recent opening of Kodak’s Flexo Packaging Technology Center in Shanghai in March 2017.