Charles Conover Receives PLGA Global Lifetime Achievement Award

	Chairman of the PLGA Board of Trustees, Randy Butler, presents Charles Conover with the PLGA Global Lifetime Achievement Award.

March 1, 2010 — Each year, PLGA Global honors an individual who has spent a lifetime in the gravure industry making a difference. This year, the award was presented to Charles “Charlie” Conover by the Chairman of the PLGA Board of Trustees, Randy Butler (Printpack Inc.), at the PLGA Global Operational Conference in Miami, Florida.

Charlie Conover is a native of Richmond, Virginia, and is a graduate of Frederick College where he majored in mechanical engineering. Upon graduation from college, Charlie joined Inta-Roto Machine Company as a project engineer where he specialized in the design of high-speed drying systems for coating and laminating machinery produced by the company.

In 1965, Charlie joined Paper Converting Machine Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as a sales engineer in their Printing, Coating and Laminating Division. He is recognized as being responsible for the development of the first eight-color central impression flexographic printing press, the first CI flexographic press with in-line laminating capability, and the first with the ability to apply a pattern coating in-register with the front-side print. He progressed in responsibility in the sales organization serving as senior sales engineer and sales manager-Printing Coating and Laminating. Charlie left PCMC after more than 23 years to join Magna Graphics Corp as VP Sales, Service & Marketing.

In 2000, he joined Hayssen Manufacturing—a division of Bemis, Inc.—as VP/GM of the Paper Packaging Machinery Division. During his tenure, the division was responsible for developing machinery that changed the way consumers purchased sanitary paper products. The introduction of the servo-driven Ultra-Floe and Multi-Flow packaging machines produced consumer packages from single roll up to the large consumer bundles popular in warehouse clubs. With the sale of the division, Charlie returned to Richmond and became a principle in Richmond Industrial Corporation, later merged into Combined Converting Systems.

Charlie has been with Hurletron, Inc., Libertyville, Illinois, since 2000 where he serves as Director of Sales, Service & Marketing. Hurletron is a recognized supplier of registration, ESA, anti-statics, and product placement machines used in the printing industry.

Charlie has served as co-chair of the FTA Workshop program, 1st VP of CEMA (Converting Equipment Manufactures Association) and has been Secretary/Treasurer of the PLGA Global since 2000. In addition, he is a retired Lt. Colonel U.S. Army, and served the Richmond, VA chapter of MOAA as its 1st VP. He is a member of numerous Masonic bodies and recently completed his term as president of the ACCA Temple Million Dollar Band.

Charlie and his wife Krista currently reside in Richmond, VA.

Randy Butler stated, “Not only has Charlie been a leader in our industry; he has also been one of the leaders of the PLGA. Charlie has been the quiet guiding light who has helped us keep this association on course. This Lifetime Achievement Award is well deserved.”

PLGA Global and the gravure industry congratulate Charlie on his receiving the PLGA Global 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award.