Miraclon launched as new name for Kodak’s flexographic packaging division

Eastman Kodak Company entered into a definitive agreement late last year to sell its flexographic packaging division to Montagu Private Equity.

This has resulted in the creation of Miraclon as a company to fully focus on developing and delivering innovative technologies that will ‘drive the transformation’ of flexo printing. Specifically, Miraclon will concentrate fully on the development, production and sale of Kodak Flexcel technology, including the flagship Kodak Flexcel NX System. Through Miraclon, the Kodak brand will continue to be at the forefront of flexo printing and will be the brand that all Miraclon products carry, but behind the scenes, the new company name and new company logo are very deliberate choices.

Under Montagu’s ownership, Miraclon is identified as being in a great position to leverage the strengths of the former Kodak flexo business, that include an experienced team, a strong patent portfolio and the trusted Kodak brand, coupled with a renewed focus, agility and investment to support customers throughout the world with a constant stream of innovation.  The company intends to further strengthen its role as a technology enabler of change as flexographic printing is transformed into a premium printing process for packaging.

Chris Payne, who has been leading Kodak’s flexographic packaging division since January 2015, is the new company’s CEO and will continue to lead the team responsible for the development and dynamic growth of Kodak’s flexo business.

Payne commented: ‘Customers will experience the same products, same people and same trusted Kodak product brand that they have come to depend upon to support their own business growth. Together with our customers, we’ve played a decisive role in shaping flexo’s evolution over the last ten years, and we’re now looking forward, as Miraclon, to being the driving force behind the next evolution of Kodak Flexcel, and setting new benchmarks for years to come.'

Miraclon is a global company with over 300 employees, an innovative R&D team, and manufacturing operations in the US and Japan. Miraclon has offices in Brussels, Belgium and Rochester, New York, to Guadalajara, Mexico and Singapore. R&D centers in Minnesota, Vancouver and Israel as well as two key manufacturing locations and a global supply chain operation mean it is positioned to support the global packaging industry. This means the Miraclon team, together with a worldwide network of distribution partners, will work to ensure Kodak Flexcel technologies have an effective presence on every continent.

Payne said: ‘My number one priority is always the customer. I know it sounds like a cliché but it’s at the heart of everything we do. We will continue to push back the limits of what is technically possible in flexo printing with innovative Kodak Flexcel solutions, and help our customers grow and be successful.’