Technology

SGS & Co and SGK unite to become Propelis – a global agency built for brand impact

Published

1 year ago

May 6, 2025

Propelis family of brands created to serve wide range of client needs across the globe, with the packaging graphics and print solutions teams from SGS & Co and SGK combining into SGX

CHICAGO, May 6, 2025 /CNW/ — Two of the world’s most respected names in brand creative, packaging, print solutions, branded environments, and content production have officially joined forces. Today, SGS & Co and SGK announce the finalization of their merger to become the Propelis family of brands – a next-generation global agency designed to move brands forward with greater speed, clarity, and confidence.

With a combined legacy spanning more than 150 years, Propelis commences operations with 10,000 employees in 30+ countries, nearly $1 billion in annual sales, and a diverse client base of over 2,000 leading companies. Offering fully integrated solutions spanning creative, brand production, and technology, Propelis combines the strengths of SGK and SGS & Co into an unprecedented go-to-market ecosystem of talent, services and technology-enabled solutions for brands, retailers, and printers.

Clients will benefit through attentive local service in more markets, backed by a global delivery platform; by combined economies of scale; and through access to a larger, more diverse network of creative, production, and technology expertise. Furthermore, combined investments in cloud-smart, AI-enabled content and packaging automation technology will accelerate scaled delivery capabilities to help clients meet the rapidly growing consumer demand for all kinds of content.

The Propelis name symbolizes upward momentum, integration, and purposeful innovation. To bring focused expertise to every stage of the brand journey, Propelis will deliver its integrated solutions through a family of specialist brands:

SGX – industry-leading packaging graphic production, flexo plate, rotogravure cylinder, and metal deco solutions that combine the rich history and unique expertise of SGK and SGSMarks & Equator – delivering creative, strategy, digital commerce, experiential marketing, engineering, and creative content productionCollide – experts in store signage; large format, digital, and sheetfed printing; packaging mockups, influencer kits, and samples; fabrication; merchandising; and distribution5Flow – unified, cloud-smart platforms powering content and packaging automation and workflows

Gary Kohl, formerly President of SGK, has been appointed CEO of Propelis. Matt Gresge, previously CEO of SGS & Co, will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board.

Gary Kohl said: “This is a defining moment for our industry, our clients, and our people. I’m thrilled to be leading Propelis, the new entity created from the recently completed merger of SGK and SGS & Co. With exponentially greater resources, expanded global reach, and a world-class team united around a single vision, we are entering this next chapter with purpose and momentum. From day one, our focus is clear: to meet the evolving go-to-market needs of our clients faster, better, and more efficiently, while envisioning new, creative ways for their brands to build stronger consumer connections.”

Matt Gresge added: “The formation of Propelis is a bold step into the future of our industry. We’re building something new: a unified, agile agency model that is uniquely equipped to solve our clients’ biggest challenges and drive meaningful change in how brands engage with their customers. With our combined capabilities, Propelis is poised to become the go-to global partner for brands that want to lead with creativity, move with precision, and grow with purpose.”

Through SGX, Marks, Equator, Collide, and 5Flow, the Propelis family of brands will continue to serve clients across industries, including CPG, food and beverage, personal care and beauty, retail and private label, technology, sports and entertainment culture, and travel and hospitality, with the agility, creativity, and global scale needed to lead in today’s dynamic, fast-moving market.

To learn more, visit: www.propelis.com.

ABOUT PROPELIS
Propelis is a go-to-market ecosystem that enables marketers to move their brands forward with greater speed, clarity, and confidence. Our broad range of integrated solutions include brand creative, packaging, print solutions, branded environments, and content production. Services are delivered through our family of brands: SGX, Marks, Equator, Collide, and 5Flow. With a combined legacy spanning more than 150 years, Propelis commences operations with 10,000 employees in 30+ countries, nearly $1 billion in annual sales, and a diverse client base of over 2,000 leading companies. For more information about Propelis, visit propelis.com.

PROPELIS HEADQUARTERS
1330 W Fulton Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60607

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Technology

BlueNexus Technologies Unveils AquaX Hub at SIWW 2026 — AI Autonomous Operations Extended to Legacy Water Assets

Published

2 hours ago

June 21, 2026

SINGAPORE, June 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2026, BlueNexus Technologies unveiled the global debut of AquaX Hub™ — a compact plug-and-play edge device that brings full AI-powered autonomous operation to standalone water equipment and legacy treatment plants. The launch drew sustained engagement from utilities, industrial operators and engineering firms.

The water sector confronts converging pressures: aging infrastructure, a critical shortage of skilled technicians, and relentless operational cost escalation. AquaX Hub™ answers these directly — extending the AI autonomous operation already proven plant-wide by AquaX Robot™ to a single asset, and delivering comparable monitoring and operational management without a control-system overhaul.

“The industry cannot hire its way out of this problem,” said Jack Zhang, CEO of BlueNexus Technologies. “AI autonomous operation is no longer a future concept — the barrier to entry is gone.”

The AquaX Ecosystem

BlueNexus has built the industry’s first fully integrated AI autonomous water operation platform, spanning three complementary pillars:

AquaX Robot™ is the flagship plant-wide AI agent, built on large language models with proprietary vision, acoustic and infrared multimodal sensing. It optimizes treatment processes 24/7 and predicts equipment failures. Live deployments show up to 90% reduction in on-site staffing, a 50% drop in equipment breakdowns, and approximately 35% lower O&M costs.

AquaX Hub™, making its global debut at SIWW 2026, is a lightweight edge terminal extending that capability to any water system. With an independent local processing module, it monitors and inspects equipment through multimodal sensing and runs a self-contained processing loop. The device integrates seamlessly with existing SCADA, cloud and enterprise platforms via standardized APIs.

i-WaterHub™, the company’s standardized modular treatment plant, operated autonomously by AquaX Robot, delivers 2,500 to 40,000 m³/day for municipal and industrial applications.

Market Momentum

SIWW 2026 convened nearly 500 exhibitors from over 65 countries. BlueNexus has identified priority markets for AquaX Hub™ in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. “The conversations this week have already translated into concrete business opportunities and we expect rapid deployment in the coming months.” Zhang confirmed.

About BlueNexus Technologies

BlueNexus Technologies is a Singapore-based water-technology company building intelligent, AI-operated systems for the world’s most water-intensive industries. We design and deliver modular water treatment infrastructure that is smarter to run, faster to deploy, and built to operate autonomously.

Web: www.bluenexus.tech

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SOURCE BlueNexus Technologies

Technology

VIVATECH 2026 CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH A RECORD EDITION SURPASSING 200,000 VISITORS

Published

10 hours ago

June 20, 2026

With the presence of Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

PARIS, June 20, 2026 /CNW/ — From June 17 to 20, 2026 at Paris Porte de Versailles, VivaTech celebrated its 10th edition, surpassing the exceptional milestone of 200,000 visitors from 165 nationalities, with more than 15,000 startups present, 1,155 speakers and over 5 billion cumulative impressions on social media. Europe’s largest tech and innovation event has reached a new dimension, consolidating its status as an unmissable global gathering.

Exceptional speakers

VivaTech welcomed the greatest figures in global tech: Jeff Bezos (Amazon & Blue Origin), Dave Limp (Blue Origin), Bernard Arnault (LVMH), Henna Virkkunen (European Commission), Ekaterina Zaharieva (European Commission). Germany, Country of the Year 2026, was represented by a ministerial delegation, while India, AI Country Partner 2026, was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a continuation of the AI Summit in New Delhi.

Innovation and business at the heart of the event

More than 4,500 exhibitors, 61% of whom were international, showcased their latest innovations. Among the standout innovations: the smart contact lens by XPANCEO, the thought-controlled humanoid robot by Unitree x HABS, and the 3D-printed resorbable implants by Lattice Medical. New formats such as the Business Plaza and Investors Office Hours further accelerated business connections.

The VivaTech x Bloomberg Awards

For the first time, VivaTech presented the VivaTech x Bloomberg Awards, recognising the most influential figures in global tech, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee (Visionary Award), Joe Tsai (Leadership Award) and Yann LeCun (Momentum Award).

Innovation open to all

VivaTech also took over the Champs-Élysées on June 14th for an open-air technology showcase, before opening its doors to the general public on June 20th with astronaut Thomas Pesquet as guest star.

“This 10th edition was not a celebration of the 9 previous years, but the opening of a new decade full of promise.” — Maurice Lévy, Michèle Benbunan & François Bitouzet, VivaTech

See you from June 16 to 19, 2027 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles for VivaTech 2027!

About VivaTech

VivaTech accelerates innovation by connecting startups, tech leaders, major companies, and investors responding to our world’s biggest challenges.

Each year, over four exciting days in Paris, VivaTech creates Europe’s biggest startup and tech event, exploring the most disruptive topics in tech with world-premiere demos, launches, and conferences in a collaborative ecosystem. This is where business meets innovation. Join us for the eleventh edition of VivaTech 16-19 June 2027.

For more information go to our website at https://vivatech.com/media or follow us on social media @VivaTech.

Contact
press@vivatechnology.com

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SOURCE VivaTech

Technology

Pope Leo XIV embraces paediatric patients at CNAO in Pavia

Published

13 hours ago

June 20, 2026

PAVIA, Italy, June 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO) served as the first stop today during Pope Leo XIV’s pastoral visit to the city of Pavia. His choice to begin his journey at this center reflects a profound commitment to fostering meaningful dialogue between advanced scientific progress and the alleviation of human suffering.

CNAO President Gianluca Vago and General Manager Sandro Rossi received His Holiness, illustrating the center’s distinctive capabilities. CNAO stands out as a unique reality in Italy, remaining one of the very few facilities worldwide capable of delivering hadrontherapy using both protons and carbon ions. The technological core of the facility is its synchrotron, a subatomic particle accelerator that generates ultra-high-precision beams to treat complex, inoperable and radioresistant tumours. This cutting-edge technology allows for the targeted eradication of diseased cells while meticulously preserving surrounding healthy tissues, drastically improving patients’ survival and quality of life.

Furthermore, CNAO is expanding its capabilities as a premier multi-center utilizing new ion species, like Helium, later Oxygen and Neon. Soon, treatments will incorporate the Leo Cancer Care upright positioning and imaging system. The immediate future also includes beginning therapies with a Hitachi dedicated proton accelerator and gantry and a BNCT system for metastatic diseases, equipped with an electrostatic accelerator produced by TAE Life Science. With these new technologies, CNAO will become one of the most technologically advanced center in the world.

To date, over six thousand individuals, including approximately three hundred children and adolescents, have benefited from these life-saving treatments.

During his visit, the Pope engaged with CNAO’s Board of Directors, a collaborative body uniting national universities, clinical institutions, and research centers. He also extended his heartfelt greetings to the two hundred employees of the center. These doctors, physicists, engineers, and researchers tirelessly operate the advanced technologies in the service of oncology patients.

The emotional pinnacle of the day was the Holy Father’s private gathering with a delegation of young children who underwent treatment. The paediatric patients and their families shared a deeply touching moment of closeness, receiving the Pope’s comforting embrace.

“The visit of Pope Leo XIV honours us and represents a moment of extraordinary human value”, stated CNAO President Gianluca Vago. “In his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, the Holy Father emphasizes the necessity of a science that constantly safeguards the centrality of the person and directs technology toward the common good. In a time marked by global tensions, CNAO testifies daily how the incredible power of the atom can be used not to destroy, but to heal. The particle beams we utilize against disease are, symbolically, Rays of Hope, sharing and supporting the IAEA project bearing this name. The embrace the Holy Father reserved for our children reminds us that scientific research finds its most authentic purpose when it encounters listening, compassion, and hope”.

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