Agfa Graphics Named Supplier of the Year by ICG
- Published: April 29, 2014
NEWTOWN, CT | The Independent Carton Group (ICG), an association of 18 independently owned and operated folding carton manufacturers, named Agfa Graphics the Supplier of the Year for 2013. The award was presented to Agfa during the recent ICG general membership meeting in Denver, CO.
According to ICG, one of the benefits of membership is participation in the group purchasing program, which began in 1999. By amassing the collective buying power of its independently owned and operated member companies and negotiating vendor contracts as a group, the ICG can capture volume discounts on the raw materials, supplies, and equipment its members use every day in the production of packaging solutions. The ICG currently maintains contracts with more than 40 reputable suppliers of paperboard, printing plates, inks, coatings, blankets, rollers, presses, and more.
Agfa Graphics was the ICG’s first official supplier. The partnership was spearheaded in 1999 by Andrew Willie, at the time executive director of ICG, and Bruce Wnuk, corporate account executive at Agfa. Reportedly, Agfa’s printing plate business has always been at the heart of the partnership, but it has grown over time to encompass a wide range of prepress, industrial inkjet, pressroom, and package printing products. The expanded portfolio is largely attributed to Agfa’s 2010 acquisition of Pitman, which, coincidentally, was the second supplier to join the ICG’s purchasing program. Pitman now serves as the US distribution arm of Agfa Graphics.
Willie says, “Agfa brought to the table everything we needed in an inaugural supplier—quality products, great service, and a management team with the ingenuity and foresight to see our vision and take a leap of faith with us. The Agfa partnership began with just a handshake, and it was the first major milestone in the history of our purchasing program…. We are pleased to present Agfa with an award that reflects its continued commitment to the ICG.”
“We are honored to receive this award, which represents the high accolades of ICG members as well as our team’s hard work and commitment to customer satisfaction,” says Wnuk. “Our objective is to help our customers be more profitable and grow. We appreciate our long-standing relationship with the ICG, and we look forward to our continued mutual success in the future.”
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