Converting expert to head Sigmala’s US operation

Dave Rumson has joined UK-based Sigmala to head up Sigmala USA with the intention of rapidly escalating sales of the company’s flagship product, the SL50 knife holder – a device that does not use pneumatics or hydraulics, just electrically powered embedded servo motors and computer systems. 

The appointment is described as a ‘coup’ for the UK company, which, as a converting equipment think tank and design specialist, has been behind many mainstream innovations in the field. Recently, Sigmala has gone into full scale production in its own right first with its fully servo driven rewind arms and currently with the SL50. A number of embedded servo-driven developments are currently in development. 

Dave Rumson was formerly national sales manager for Dienes Corporation USA,  a manufacturer of industrial knives and automatic positioning systems and, with more than 15 years in the converting industry, he has been a familiar figure in the US converting industry involved with TAPPI,  AIMCAL and CEMA, where he is a board director and been responsible for organizing slitting seminars throughout the US. 

‘I believe the Sigmala knife holder will take web slitting to an entirely new level,’ he said.  ‘Slitting operations will be revolutionized with the ability to set knives to a precise location, program high resolution contact force levels and make minute shear angle adjustments. When quality department personnel begin gathering and analyzing holder data fed back to them, for statistical analysis and systematic implementation, true slitting optimization will be realized.'