John Bird Joins AICC Hall Of Fame (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)
AICC President Mike D’Angelo said Bird joined AICC in 1983 and has been an active and engaged supplier and supporter ever since. To boot, he’s also one of the funniest guys in the world with zero pretense. Bird’s first job was for a printing ink and roller manufacturer in South- fields London, where he installed collars on the end of print rollers. He quickly transferred to the ink labs while going to night school at the Lon- don College of Printing. His knowledge accelerated after that, working for various companies that furthered his knowledge in chemistry, inks and coating techniques, printing, and forced hot air dryers, which had a tremendous impact on the litho industry.
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Driven by a desire to sell and create, Bird was drawn to America and, as he puts it, “It was love at first sight. America was everything. People were honest and they didn’t care where you came from.” Seeing an opportunity to share what he knew about drying and curing, Bird and his family left the UK and came to the US in 1982. In 1998, he founded Westport, Connecticut based JB Machinery, specializing in IR drying and UV curing systems. Today, it is a three-generation, family-owned and operated company. In accepting his induction, Bird said that AICC is one of the most amazing organizations in the world, recalling that his first sale into the corrugated industry — a UV coating system — was to a company he was introduced to through AICC. For his success, Bird gives credit to his wife, Sandra, for keeping the business going and the family together. “She’s been there as the cheer- leader, the mortar, the glue,” he said. “Without her, we wouldn’t be here.” Bird loves to share his knowledge with the next generations. He also thanked his immediate family and their spouses, including his oldest son, Warren Bird, President; daughter, Tanya Bird Rubin, Vice President of Finance and Human Resources; his youngest son, Nathan, Vice Pres- ident of Business Management; and grandson, Spencer Bird, Northeast & Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager, in addition to Dave Burgess, Sales Director, and Jeff DeVries, President of XDS. JB Machinery has grown exponentially over the years with around 110 employees, installations in over 350 facilities worldwide and 800 different products. The company currently provides sales and service in 60 countries. AICC Chairman Jana Harris of Harris Packaging presented John Bird of JB Machinery with the 2023 AICC Hall of Fame Award.
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April 17, 2023
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