News

March 2011: Allegheny introduces new card with detachable key tag products. Eight new custom shaped products feature durable drop on demand inkjet technology and feature one, two or three detachable key tags, making them ideal for loyalty and membership marketing applications. “The average household belongs to multiple loyalty programs making it the fastest growing segment of the plastic card industry. Until recent advances in ink jet technology, these products were typically made of a synthetic paper, such as Teslin®, that protected the numeric and bar code data under a film but would split and delaminate over time, says Paul Friedrich, Vice President of Sales. “Our new PVC products feature credit card print image and edge quality. Whether it’s for an airline, hotel, supermarket, or club member card, Allegheny card/key tag products will showcase your brand and hold up over time.” Options include new or recycled PVC, high gloss or matte laminated finishes, magnetic stripe encoding, high resolution bar coding, numbering, signature panels and labeling. For details, click here.

November 2010: Allegheny Becomes ICMA EcoLabel Licensee. Allegheny Printed Plastics, a leading producer of plastic cards and related services, affirms its commitment to provide environmentally friendly card solutions by becoming one of the initial licensees of the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) EcoLabel Standard Program. Allegheny customers now have the ability to label qualifying cards with the ICMA EcoLabel logo. ICMA created the EcoLabel Standard Program to help evaluate the environmental performance of a manufacturer’s cards through a third-party ecolabeling certification program. ICMA’s Green Task Force developed the Standard through an open process involving card manufacturers, personalizers, suppliers and issuers from around the world. The Standard initiates measurable criteria for assessing the environmental impact of cards for ICMA EcoLabel certification and conforms to global ISO principles for environmental labeling. In general, the current ICMA EcoLabel criteria include reduced materials (minimum of 25%), recycled content (minimum 25% threshold) and compostability (municipal and home). Click here for more on Allegheny’s corporate wide commitment towards environmental sustainability.

January 2010: Allegheny Printed Plastics Commissions Architect to Design Plant Expansion. Studio A, Inc., an award-winning architectural firm headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, has been commissioned to design a Green building addition to the Cranberry, PA facility. The 15,000 sq. ft. expansion will provide additional card manufacturing space and allow for relocation of Allegheny’s secure card personalization and fulfillment operations. Citing a recent McKinsey Report that unequivocally asserted that Green, or sustainable and energy-efficient building is an economic and environmental imperative, Studio A’s principal, Whitney Powers, AIA, praised Allegheny for its decision to design with sensitivity to energy efficiency and the environment, which she feels is especially critical for a manufacturing plant. The McKinsey Report, issued by the U.S. Green Building Council, asserts: “Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.”

““Our decision to expand in this challenging economic climate is evidence of our confidence both in our business model and commitment to meeting the needs of our growing customer base. This expansion is part of an aggressive multi-year investment strategy that most recently included installation of an eight color offset printing press, new roll feed collation equipment and several high speed die cut machines featuring integrated automated camera inspection systems. Building an environmentally friendly facility further demonstrates our dedication to sustainability, employee well-being and energy efficiency. It’s about balancing the needs of the business with being a responsible corporate citizen”, said Don Ranalli, President. This effort puts Allegheny squarely among those companies that have voluntarily adopted the “triple bottom line” concept, whereby social, economic and environmental benefits are the hallmarks of measuring a company’s success. Click here for full News Release.

March 2009: Allegheny Printed Plastics Achieves Independent Validation to ISO Standard for Color Management. Printing Industries of America has confirmed Allegheny’s ability to consistently produce and control color reproduction, referencing international printing standards, based on ISO 12647-2 which demonstrates proper control of color workflow from proof to print. Click here for full News Release.

November 2008: Allegheny introduces biodegradable PVC cards as part of our ongoing commitment to provide more environmentally friendly product alternatives. The biodegradable core card stock and overlay laminate material perform just like standard PVC and is ideal for gift, loyalty, membership, phone, hotel key and many other card applications. The biodegradation process begins when the product is introduced into a fertile environment and works in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The absence of oxygen or water will not keep the product from biodegrading. All that is needed are the presence of microorganisms which consume the plastic over a period of nine months to five years, with complete disintegration taking place. For more information on the substrate, see BioPVC, Inc .

April 2008: Jim Ward achieves ACE certification by successfully passing the icma’s Advanced Card Education (ACE) Exam. The ACE designation is for card manufacturing professionals who have demonstrated abilities and knowledge in technologies and processes in specific card manufacturing areas. It’s awarded to people with a broad and detailed knowledge of the industry who successfully complete a rigorous exam. ACE-M covers manufacturing topics, including lamination, materials, inks, die cutting, mag stripes, ISO standards and printing. Jim’s achievement is not only public recognition of his competence, dedication and commitment, but it is one more reason for customers to continue to rely on Allegheny for state of the art card program solutions.

November 2007: Allegheny has introduced a plastic card that is manufactured in part using pre-consumer recycled PVC as an alternative to standard plastic cards. The rPVC card is virtually identical to traditional plastic cards in appearance and functionality. Both large and small retailers are developing green initiatives and the recycled card offers an alternative to traditional plastics for gift, loyalty, membership and other card applications. Research has proven that very few products degrade in a landfill, where most cards end up today. As a result, we have focused our product development efforts along with our substrate material supplier, towards reusing the PVC waste material generated in card production. The program keeps discards out of landfills. This product launch furthers Allegheny’s corporate wide commitment towards environmental sustainability.

May 2007: We are pleased to announce that Allegheny has signed a Patent License Agreement with Advanced Card Technologies LLC. The Agreement grants Allegheny the right to produce and sell products covered by U.S. patent nos. 5,720,158 and 5,921,584 in North America. These products consist of card packages in which a magnetic stripe card is connected to and selectively detachable from the card carrier, commonly referred to as hangtag cards. For more information on these patents see www.advanced-card.com.

August 2006: Allegheny Printed Plastics' Secure Card Personalization and Fulfillment Solutions (SPFS) business unit receives certification by Chase Paymentech Solutions. Following a recent compliance audit, the newly constructed and equipped card personalization facility at Allegheny's headquarters in Cranberry, PA, has been certified to the rigid Card Vendor Security Requirements of Chase Paymentech Solutions, LLC, of Dallas, TX. Chase Paymentech Solutions is the world's leading provider of electronic payment processing. ( www.chasepaymentechsolutions.com).

January 2006: Allegheny Printed Plastics promotes Paul Friedrich to Vice President of Sales. Paul Friedrich assumes the role of Vice President of Sales after two years with Allegheny in a key account development role. Prior to joining Allegheny Paul was Assistant Sales Manager at the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers (AISE). Paul was instrumental in making the Iron and Steel Exposition® the world's largest international trade show in the Steel Industry. Paul was responsible for increasing the advertising pages by 100% in the Associations monthly trade journal. Prior to joining the AISE, Paul was a licensed securities broker and a principal at SusquehannaMC Corporation, an investment and consulting firm.

July 2005: Allegheny Board of Directors approves a $3 million capital investment program. The ten month investment program will include installation of the latest lamination, die cutting and automated inspection equipment technologies. In addition, a Secure Card Personalization facility will be constructed and equipped with state of the art thermal and high speed inkjet print and encoding equipment. "Although these investments will certainly increase our capacity to keep pace with our rapid growth rate, they are intended to accelerate our commitment to highly productive manufacturing work cell teams. The combination of best in class technology with a motivated team environment will continue to position Allegheny as the industry leader for fast turn times." Don Ranalli, President.

February 2005: Allegheny Printed Plastics Quality Assurance Manager receives Six Sigma Black Belt. Allegheny Printed Plastic's Quality Assurance Manager, Jim Ward, has earned his Six Sigma Black Belt. Six Sigma is a disciplined data driven approach to improving business processes by minimizing defects, reducing cycle times and eliminating waste. "Jim will continue to lead our Lean Manufacturing/Six Sigma efforts to identify and eliminate costs that add no value to our customers", says Don Ranalli, Company President.

April 2004: Allegheny Plastics, Inc. Board appoints new President for Allegheny Printed Plastics. Don Ranalli joins Allegheny after a highly successful career with Hankison International, an industrial equipment manufacturer headquartered near Pittsburgh, Pa. Don began his career as CPA with Touche Ross & Co. (now Deloitte & Touche) in 1980. He joined Hankison in 1986 and held various finance, sales and marketing positions. Don became President in 1994, a position he held until the company's sale in 2002 to SPX Corporation. Don's most recent position was Vice President and General Manager with SPX leading the integration of Hankison into SPX. Don brings a strong growth orientation to our business as well as a commitment to teamwork and dedication to customer focus. He will be a valuable asset to the management team at Allegheny.