Mark Andy Inc invests in hybrid press production and global support networks to boost customer productivity
For nearly 80 years, Mark Andy Inc. (Mark Andy) has been at the forefront of narrow web printing, helping converters keep up as packaging expectations, technology, and production demands evolve. Today, it strikes a balance between honoring its heritage and moving boldly forward; blending engineering expertise with a purposeful, customer-first mindset that shapes its technology leadership and global expansion plans.
Chief Executive Officer Duane Pekar puts customers and their markets at the heart of the Mark Andy story. “Mark Andy manufactures printing presses for the narrow web print and packaging industry,” he says. “Our customers are converters; they take substrates, print on them, and turn them into labels and packaging.” Today, those applications reach far beyond traditional labels, expanding to wrap labels, shrink films, and flexible packaging. And its presses have evolved right alongside them. As Duane puts it: “Don’t think of it as just labels. We’re part of the broader narrow web printing and packaging industry, and that’s where we focus.”
The Mark Andy journey
The Mark Andy journey began almost 80 years ago with founder Mark Andrews, who saw an opportunity to solve local printing challenges and began building machines that ultimately helped shape the industry. What followed was a steady progression from early mechanical equipment to today’s sophisticated, servo-driven platforms built for precision, reliability, and speed. Duane credits that willingness to continually invest as a defining factor in the company’s longevity. “There’s been a lot of brave decisions made along the way, investing in technology that has really helped shape the industry,” he reflects. One standout milestone remains the Performance Series, a product line that Duane calls “the standard in label printing today,” capable of printing at 1000 feet per minute and continually evolving to meet customers’ changing needs.
The business’ commitment to leadership extends to digital technology. Over a decade ago, Mark Andy took another bold step by building its own digital engine, a move that gave it real technology ownership and a true competitive edge with the Digital Series HD product line running at 480 feet per minute with full 1200 DPI resolution. Today, through deep partnerships with Konica Minolta and Domino, the product lineup ranges from entry-level toner presses to mid-tier solutions, high-performance platforms, all in full hybrid configurations. “About half of our revenue comes from equipment, while the other half is all about supporting our customers after the sale,” Duane says, highlighting just how much it values long-term relationships.
“Our support network is one of our biggest strengths, and it’s always growing. Recently, we identified Mexico as a high-growth market and made strengthening our direct presence there a priority. We needed to show our customers we’re here in Mexico to stay. By establishing a dedicated service team, local parts, supplies, and an aftermarket sales structure, we’ve been able to bring proven service models from the US, the UK, and Europe to Mexico. It’s all about showing our commitment to the market and supporting our Mexico customers as they grow.”
Customer support remains critical in established markets, where quick response and proactive lifecycle management are business imperatives. Duane outlines a multi-layered service structure that combines round-the-clock phone support across time zones, on-site technical expertise when needed, and preventive service programs. “We try to offer all of our global customers 24/7 phone support, and if we can’t help the customer solve the problem over the phone, then we put a technician on a plane to their location,” he explains. Alongside installation and training, scheduled maintenance, and responsive repair capability, that approach ensures machines stay productive throughout their lifecycle.
Beyond keeping presses running, Mark Andy is partnering with their customers to use data to enable smarter production decisions. Its ProWorks Analytics platform, combined with what Duane calls “advanced customer support,” allows businesses to connect to their machines, analyze performance, and identify opportunities for improvement. “We help them collect data right off the machines and give them reports as well as views on where their opportunities are for improving,” he explains. “Many of those gains extend beyond the press itself, influencing workflow, scheduling, quality processes, and job planning.” The company’s Mark Andy 360 initiative supports that learning curve, especially for converters transitioning from traditional flexo into hybrid and digital environments. As Duane notes: “When you start to run a hybrid press or digital press, it’s transformational, and the things that made you successful in optimizing a flexo press are not the same things.”
Looking ahead, productivity remains a dominant theme. Duane believes industry dynamics, from consolidation to rising brand expectations, are accelerating the need for faster, smarter, and more efficient production. At the same time, many converters are managing aging machinery. “There’s a lot of equipment out there that is old,” he notes, explaining that while reliability has kept older presses operating for decades, today’s technology allows significant consolidation of capacity. “Replacing multiple older presses with a single modern machine can dramatically reduce operating cost, headcount, and complexity while helping businesses navigate ongoing workforce challenges. Many of our customers have told us that they struggle with finding qualified talent to operate their machines,” Duane reveals, highlighting how automation and smarter systems allow high performance with fewer highly skilled operators.
Hybrid technology sits at the heart of the productivity vision. While parts of the industry grew up separating digital printing and offline finishing, Mark Andy has long focused on bringing digital capability and flexo converting together in-line. “We believe that our Hybrid machines are very much a differentiator,” Duane states. Running high-speed inkjet and flexo processes on a single platform allows converters to capture the quality and agility of digital with the efficiency of in-line converting, reducing steps, time, and cost. “You kind of get the best of both worlds,” he says. “You can get all the benefits of digital and flexo and converting all on one machine while you’re in registration.”
Alongside technology, the strong relationships that have formed over decades of shoulder to shoulder with their customers are the heartbeat of Mark Andy, and the true magic. A recent organizational structure change has helped to reinforce such customer alignment. Duane explains that the new structure was redesigned to give each customer a single point of access across the full Mark Andy portfolio, enabling more meaningful conversations and tailored solutions. That philosophy ties directly to its ambition for the next five years: to be deeply integrated into customers’ business plans, understanding their direction early and developing solutions before they’re needed. “We understand where they’re going, what their needs are, and we’re developing solutions so that when they need them, we’ve got them commercially ready,” he says.
Mark Andy’s approach continues to focus on providing customers with the tools, technology, and expertise needed to operate at maximum performance. As Duane explains, “We surround the customer with the Mark Andy 360 support because we don’t want you to buy one of our machines and then not run it full throttle. We want you to really be able to take advantage of it and be more productive and win more business.” That commitment to support, training, and continuous partnership remains embedded in how Mark Andy operates and in its plans for future development.