KBA North America appoints Edward Walsh and Mark Duke, veterans to the flexographic industry, to sales force promoting Flexotecnica line of CI Flexo presses for growing flexible packaging market

Aimee Bellah

LEXINGTON, Kentucky , May 8, 2014 (press release) – KBA North America is bolstering its sales force for its new subsidiary, KBA-Flexotecnica, with the announcement that Edward (Ned) Walsh and Mark Duke have been appointed to represent the Flexotecnica line of CI Flexo presses for the wide-web flexible packaging market. Walsh will be calling on customers along the East Coast and national key accounts while Duke has been assigned to cover the Midwest and Western states.

Walsh recently held the position of national sales manager for grafikAmerica, a York, PA-firm specializing in pressroom systems for rotogravure, flexographic, and offset printing. In this position Walsh developed a deep knowledge and experience in all aspects of the flexography industry. As the national sales manager, he improved sales policies and practices, managed and maintained international supplier relations, sustained continuous customer relations, and was responsible for sales and the sales teams in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to entering the industry, Walsh served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He holds a Bachelor Degree from Penn State University in business and sales management.

Duke, an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in the flexographic printing and converting markets, has an impressive record in sales and management. He brings to his position a strong manufacturing background, with expertise in packaging printing, having built significant success at several leading companies where he managed and developed flexo printing and converting operations for new growth. More recently, he has leveraged his technical and operational knowledge in territory sales and new business development management for various international suppliers to the industry.

“We welcome both Ned and Mark to KBA North America and we’re confident with their experience and education that they will proudly represent KBA and Flexotecnica products,” says Mark Hischar, president and CEO of KBA North America. “Flexible packaging is a key growing print market for us. We are tasking Ned and Mark to expand KBA’s strong market position in the folding carton market into this new packaging segment. They will be leading our efforts throughout the U.S. into this important market and promoting our well-known high-level of service, expertise and parts support to Flexotecnica’s current customer base.”

KBA North America assumed the distributorship for the Flexotecnica presses on January 1, shortly after the acquisition of that company by the KBA Group. The new subsidiary, KBA-Flexotecnica, is an Italian flexographic press manufacturer specializing in presses for printing on film, paperboard and other substrates in the growing market for flexible packaging.

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