Eastman Kodak Co.'s bankruptcy, finally and officially, is over. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Allan Gropper last week approved a motion closing the Chapter 11 case. The move is largely administrative, as Kodak's bankruptcy reorganization was approved in September 2013.
Eastman Kodak Co.
Kodak has established a new organizational structure to make the company faster-moving, more competitive and more entrepreneurial. The company will have five market-focused business divisions: Print Systems; Enterprise Inkjet Systems; Micro 3D Printing and Packaging; Software and Solutions; and Consumer and Film.
By some key mileposts, Eastman Kodak likely won't look much different this year than it did in 2013. But while sales and operational earnings will be flat to somewhat down, CEO Jeff Clarke said, where that money comes from will be changing radically.
"You see a transformation," Clarke told a Manhattan conference room of shareholders Wednesday as the company held its annual shareholder meeting-its first in three years.
John McMullen has been named executive vice president and CFO of Kodak, effective June 15, 2014. The board of directors has elected McMullen a corporate officer of Kodak, and he will become a member of the company's Executive Council. McMullen will report to Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke.
Allen-Bailey Tag & Label Inc., Caledonia, N.Y., has added two new members to its sales team, Tom Kehoe and John Kilcoyne.
Kehoe has an extensive background in sales and business development. He spent many years at Kodak, and most recently worked in pharmaceutical sales.
The Eastman Kodak Co. board of directors elected Jeffrey J. Clarke as CEO and board member. “Jeff is the right person to lead Kodak forward,” said James V. Continenza, Kodak's chairman of the board. "His combination of strengths and experience in technology, transformation, finance, operations and international business is precisely what we set out to find in the next leader of Kodak."
A federal judge in Ohio has temporarily stopped Eastman Kodak Co. from charging different prices for refurbishing a piece of printing equipment depending on whether those customers use Kodak-made ink or a competitor's.
Collins Inkjet Corp. of Ohio sued Kodak in September, alleging the Rochester printing technology company was unfairly trying to claim all the Versamark ink business by telling users of the Kodak-made printing press line that getting printheads refurbished would cost more if they used non-Kodak inks.
Eastman Kodak said it is ending production of Sonora printing plates at its Leeds, U.K. plant by next year and will look for a new site to meet demand in the Americas.
Additionally, Kodak said it's selecting another site for printing plate production to serve customers in the Americas.
Meanwhile, Kodak has invested in upgrading its high-speed Sonora plate manufacturing in its Osterode, Germany, plant. The Osterode plant started shipping Sonora plates in November, and Kodak said volume is increasing every month.
The company also said it upgraded its Xiamen, China, plant to produce the plates.
Kodak's SONORA Process Free Plate technology could lead to impressive water savings for the commercial printing industry. The forecast is based on new adoption data for the process-free plates, which remove the need for a plate processor in the prepress stage of a print operation.
Once one of Eastman Kodak Co.’s key suppliers, Collins Ink Corp. has turned into a considerable legal adversary.
In a federal lawsuit filed two weeks ago, Collins Inkjet Corp. alleges that the Rochester-based printing and imaging company is illegally trying to stifle inkjet ink competition.