Bell and Howell and Otto Kunnecke Announce North American Partnership

DURHAM, N.C., Sept. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bell and Howell, a leading provider of solutions and services for paper-based and digital messaging, and Otto Kunnecke, the leading innovative solutions provider in the credit card, secure ID and PIN-mailing industry, today announced a new North American partnership. Through their agreement, Bell and Howell will serve as the exclusive distributor of Otto Kunnecke systems in the United States and Canada. 

"This exciting partnership allows both companies to achieve our mutual goals of delivering the very best technology, expertise and service to the market. More importantly, our customers now have access to the widest range of card-mailing and secure ID solutions available today," stated Les Stern, Bell and Howell's President and CEO. "Our commitment to delivering best-in-class solutions is our first priority, and Otto Kunnecke's excellent reputation and leadership in this important market makes them the perfect partner."

"I am very excited to be partnered with Bell and Howell. With their outstanding service organization and their 'customer-first' attitude, we will be able to offer the best solutions and service," said Carl Otto Kunnecke, owner and CEO of Otto Kunnecke. "Both companies are totally focused on providing solutions and support that exceed our customers' needs."

Bell and Howell will sell and service the full line of Otto Kunnecke's Card Attachment Secure Systems (CASS), PIN-mailing, secure ID packaging solutions, inspection systems and software. All are engineered to Otto Kunnecke's exacting standards, providing customers with the utmost ease of operation, reliability and scalability.

The Otto Kunnecke card systems will be offered immediately through Bell and Howell in North America, and the new CASSilo system will be featured in the Bell and Howell booth #2610 at GRAPH EXPO, Oct. 7 through Oct. 10 in Chicago.

The card system portfolio includes the following solutions:

• The CASSera system is designed specifically for environments where lower volume processing is needed, and it can also be used as a backup machine for existing card-attachment systems. As the smallest version of the CASS series, it has a compact design and represents the first heavy-duty 24/7 industrial mailing machine in its class. With a throughput of up to 2,000 cards per hour, it is ideal for small to medium-sized applications.
• The new CASSilo solution is designed to meet the card-processing needs of companies that process mid-range volumes. It is engineered to run reliably in a 24/7 environment, supports a wide variety of data inputs, and reaches a throughput of up to 3,000 cards per hour. The CASSilo can also encode cards with unique customer information.
• The CASS C6000 is designed for organizations that require absolute flexibility and uncompromising quality. The CASS C6000 is ideal in environments where high-volume, 24/7 processing is required, or where a large number of small job sizes are processed. The CASS C6000 offers amazing versatility, which allows for the operation of the system without the card channel as a single- or multiple-channel inserting system. This powerful system runs at up to 6,000 cards per hour, and offers the modularity to grow with your operations.

For additional information, contact [email protected] or call 1-800-220-3030. Visit www.bellhowell.net or www.facebook.com/BellandHowell, or follow @bellandhowell on Twitter.

About Bell and Howell

Bell and Howell, LLC is a leading provider of solutions and services for paper-based and digital messaging. The company's portfolio includes products that reduce production and postage costs; increase operational efficiency, message impact and relevancy; and ensure integrity and quality. Supporting these solutions is one of the largest dedicated service organizations in the industry. The company is headquartered in Durham, N.C., and maintains facilities in Wheeling, Ill., Bethlehem, Pa., and Rochester, N.Y. For further information, please visit www.bellhowell.net.

About Otto Kunnecke

Otto Kunnecke is one of the worldwide leading manufacturers of machine solutions for the personalization, sorting and dispatch of security documents like cards, passports and PIN-letters. Long-time expertise and installations speak for the success of the family-owned company. All systems from the product portfolio designed by Otto Kunnecke are highly flexible and made to customer demands and requirements. For further information, please visit www.kuennecke.com.

SOURCE Bell and Howell