Bluestar Silicones has launched 3 new Solventless Thermal products specifically designed for the coating of PET film, Silcolease(R) POLY 330, Silcolease(R) POLY 334 and Silcolease(R) ADD 380. These solventless thermal silicone products are aimed to coat untreated PET film for label applications such as beer bottle labelling.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100308/381098 )

The challenges for Solventless Thermal silicones to coat PET are many and today can be summarised as follows for the "Clear on Clear/No Label Look" label applications:

    - Good cure and immediate anchorage on non surface treated
      (chemically etc.) PET films

    - With or without corona treatment

    - Anchorage with ageing under difficult storage conditions (vs
      water based adhesives, high humidity, high temperature)

    - Premium Release

    - Modifiable release

    - Low silicone transfer/good final label printability

Bluestar Silicones PET range comprises 3 Silcolease(R) products specifically dedicated to PET film coating:

    * Silcolease(R) POLY 330

    - Excellent anchorage giving possibility to run without anchorage
      additive for many applications. Of great interest for food contact
      labels, medical applications etc.
    - Very Flat release profile
    - Low blocking potential
    - Medium slow speed release
    - Low co-efficient of friction

    * Silcolease(R) POLY 334

    - Flat release profile
    - Easy slow speed release

    * Silcolease(R) ADD 380

    - Additive to maintain good anchorage under difficult ageing
      conditions such as high temperature, humidity and vs. aggressive
      tackified adhesives

Sean Duffy, Global Market Manager for the Silcolease(R) range commented: "These products illustrate our dynamic attitude towards the release coating segment. Thanks to their high performance and Bluestar Silicones' expertise, these products will allow our customers to improve their level of competitiveness: POLY 330 is optimised for anchorage and cure speed and POLY 334 is best suited for lower release requirements. We intend to complement this existing range with new crosslinker and additives from our soon to be launched Optima II range of systems to offer even better performance on PET and other filmic substrates."

Bluestar Silicones is a global supplier of silicones with turnover of EUR600m and manufacturing sites in every region of the world. With over 50 years' experience in silicones, Bluestar Silicones offers a complete range of silicone products in the fields of release coatings, specialty elastomers, health products, specialty fluids, emulsions and resins.

SOURCE BLUESTAR SILICONES

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The National Puerto Rican Coalition today praised an amendment by Florida Senator George LeMieux to ensure that future revenues to the U.S. Territories from the so-called "rum cover-over" will be distributed on the basis of population, rather than rum production.

"Senator LeMieux's bold new approach assures equity, revenue stability and economic diversification in both Territories," said NPRC Chairman Miguel Lausell. "Instead of enabling corporate rum producers to pit one Territory against the other, Senator LeMieux's approach will distribute this vital source of revenue in a fair and neutral manner that puts people first."

"Both U.S. Territories suffer chronic poverty and high unemployment, and the $470 million in federal excise tax revenues is an important source of funding for both Territories," noted NPRC President Rafael Fantauzzi. "By basing distribution on population instead of production, Senator LeMieux's amendment ensures that the money is distributed in an even-handed way to those who need it most."

Under current law, federal excise taxes collected on rum are rebated back to the Territories based on the respective place of production. The arrangement has recently led to abuse, with the current government of the U.S. Virgin Islands agreeing to share nearly 50 percent of its proceeds with British multinational Diageo, which produces Captain Morgan Rum, and with another distiller, Cruzan. In the case of Diageo, the corporation's share of the proceeds is estimated to be $2.7 billion over 30 years -- tax dollars that Congress intended to be used for education, health care and other social needs.

"Sen. LeMieux's amendment is desperately needed to avoid a 'bidding war' between the Territories, a war whose casualties will be the poor, sick and aged of both Territories, and whose only victors will be some of the world's largest liquor producers," asserted Lausell.

The LeMieux proposal will be offered to the Jobs Bill, previous versions of which previously passed both the Senate and the House, and is expected to come before the Senate for final consideration next week, Fantauzzi noted.

SOURCE National Puerto Rican Coalition

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Wines of Washington Promotion, an interactive and integrated marketing agency based in Seattle, created special on- and off-premise, traffic building, point-of-purchase floor and end-aisle displays: (http://bit.ly/9srRXU) to celebrate March Washington State Wine Month at grocery stores, convenience stores and wine shops.

Wines of Washington Promotion, working to help increase the brand awareness of Barnard Griffin, developed creative materials based around the winery's tulip theme for this month-long promotion.  

Barnard Griffin is recognized as one of Washington State's most renowned family-owned wineries.  Barnard Griffin is located in Richland, WA. www.BarnardGriffin.com.

In addition, Wines of Washington Promotion develops marketing, advertising, public relations, publicity and WOM activities in support of the winery's wine clubs, affiliations, participations, sponsorships and special events including, WineYakimaValley.com, Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau, Washington Wine Commission, Wine Clubs and Affiliates, AmericanWinery.com, Taste Washington, Experience Washington, and 20something Wine Event as well as the Wine Bloggers' Conference to be held in Walla Walla in June.  The agency has set up a digital countdown clock for this event on its web landing page: www.WOWpromotion.com.

Creating and promoting Crush and Tasting Room events and activities is another area of strength for the agency.  These hospitality and destination marketing activities include: "Wines on the Nines," the "CRUSHtacean Celebration" and many more.  Support includes concepting and copy for the winery's monthly eNewsletters and PR/publicity campaigns.  The agency also creates digital and print merchandising and PR support for remote market winemaker's appearances, winery tastings, winemaker's dinners, chef wine-food pairing events and bottle signings.

The agency has created and placed print and digital advertising for the Barnard Griffin Tulip and Reserve brands in WINE ENTHUSIAST, ExperienceWA Travel Planner, TRI-CITY HERALD'S Escape to Wine Country, WINE PRESS NORTHWEST Magazine, WINO Magazine, MID-COLUMBIAN Magazine, Washington Wine Commission's WINE TOURING GUIDE, WASHINGTON TASTING ROOM Magazine, and SEATTLE WEEKLY.

Past client projects include: collateral for the Prosser Art Walk & Wine Gala and Jones of Washington Wines' eCommerce website and Oenotourism (Wine Tourism) rack cards.

"This is a challenging time for Washington State wines.  While sales are slightly up in some price categories, there continues to be downward pressure on pricing due to consumer concerns over the economy.  We suggest that this is an excellent time for wineries to focus on their marketing foundations and infrastructure so they are poised and ready to take maximum advantage of the inevitable rebound in the marketplace," says Bruce Bieber, Chief Marketing Officer of the agency.

Wines of Washington Promotion's expertise in building and bootstrapping brands with affordable design, marketing and promotion is key to helping winemakers so they can devote the majority of their time to what they do best -- making great wine.

About Wines of Washington Promotion

Wines of Washington Promotion, offers a full range of strategic and tactical touchpoint marketing and design services to wineries and AVA's, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blog and Vlogs, web design, eCommerce wine stores, on- and off-premise promotions, point-of-purchase retail display design and sourcing, label and packaging design, website creative, distributor & wholesaler marketing communications, retail sales collateral, trade communications, public relations and publicity.  

Collateral design elements include wine bottle photography, online digital and print brochures, rack cards, shelf talkers, back cards, easel cards, posters, banners, neckers and neck hangers, wine notes, metal racks, wooden racks, wood barrel displays, special end-aisle displays

The agency provides eMarketing, eNewsletters, eBlasts, wine naming, marketing communications, digital and print advertising, sales promotion, merchandising, production and printing; including on- and off-premise promotion, wine tourism, vineyard and agri-marketing, trademarking, wine copywriting, wine notes, wine tasting booth design, fleet graphics, shopper marketing, account specific marketing, retail & channel marketing & promotion, media promotion, corporate tie-ins, value-added promotions, couponing, sweepstakes & contests, internet, viral, buzz & stealth marketing, special events, mobile, hospitality and destination marketing, festival marketing, and trade promotions.

www.WOWpromotion.com

Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/perpetual

Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Bruce.Bieber

3,500 Tweeters follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/WINESofWA

SOURCE Wines of Washington Promotion

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RELATED LINKS
http://www.wowpromotion.com

As part of the newly expanded series of sailing competitions leading up to the eighty-three year tradition of the BACARDI® Cup, the inaugural BACARDI® Miami Sailing Week will proudly begin March 8th at 12:00 p.m. noon on Biscayne Bay with the Star Class regatta. The Star Class regatta will kick off the first day of sailing and as part of BACARDI® Miami Sailing Week other newly added Viper, Melges 20, Melges 24 and J24 classes will also be competing at various times throughout the week. With more than four-hundred local, national, and international competitors from ten countries coming together in the grand spirit of competition and camaraderie that the event was founded on in 1927, BACARDI® Miami Sailing Week is the perfect prelude to a sailing tradition eight decades in the making.

"Over the years, the BACARDI® Cup has become an international sailing tradition of the highest order that Olympic level competitors come from across the world to enter to compete among the very best sailors around," comments Bill Allen, President of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association. "The Star Class is honored to be here again this year and start off a new tradition in BACARDI® Miami Sailing Week. We couldn't be more pleased to participate in the opening regatta on March 8th in what promises to be one of Miami's most memorable weeks in sailing ever."

The prestigious Coral Reef Yacht Club will continue to be the organizing authority for the Star Class and will coordinate all on-water activities in collaboration with Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and Coconut Grove Sailing Club. The U.S. Sailing Center and Shake-A-Leg will also support the event. Regattas will be held on three different courses approximately two miles out on Biscayne Bay. Miami Sailing Week is a STUDIOMILANO creation and BACARDI® is the event title sponsor. BACARDI® Miami Sailing Week and the BACARDI® Cup would like to warmly thank the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and all sponsors helping make these events possible.

Jose "Tito" Argamasilla Bacardi, the great grandson of the founder of BACARDI®, which is the title sponsor of both BACARDI® Miami Sailing Week and the BACARDI® Cup comments, "The Trofeo BACARDI® has always been an exciting event, one that unites the sailing community through stimulating competition, unrivaled hospitality, and above all camaraderie among participants. The start of the Star Class competition at BACARDI® Miami Sailing Week marks the 83rd anniversary of the running of this regatta, and, as always, we are excited to watch the exhilarating series of events unfold at Biscayne Bay."

For more information on the 83rd BACARDI® Cup and BACARDI® Miami Sailing Week, please visit www.MiamiSailingWeek.com.

About BACARDI® Rums:

In 1862, in Santiago de Cuba, BACARDI® revolutionized the spirits industry when founder Don Facundo BACARDI® began producing his remarkable light-bodied, smooth rum – BACARDI® , the world's favorite premium rum brand and the world's most awarded premium rum. Today, BACARDI® Rum is produced in Puerto Rico, following the production legacy set forth by Don Facundo – crafted in a five step distillation process, aged in American white oak barrels, and filtered five times for unparalleled quality and smoothness.

About BACARDI® U.S.A., Inc.:

BACARDI® U.S.A., Inc. is the United States import, sales and marketing arm of one of the world's leading spirits and wine producers. The company boasts a portfolio of some of the most recognized and top-selling spirits brands in the United States including BACARDI® rum, the world's favorite and best-selling premium rum, as well as the world's most awarded premium rum; GREY GOOSE® vodka, the world-leader in super-premium vodka; DEWAR'S® Blended Scotch Whisky, the number-one selling blended Scotch whisky in the United States; BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin, the top-valued premium gin in the world; CAZADORES® blue agave tequila, the number-one premium tequila in the world; MARTINI® vermouth, the world-leader in vermouth; and other leading and emerging brands.

SOURCE BACARDI

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RELATED LINKS
http://www.miamisailingweek.com/

The National Puerto Rican Coalition welcomes tomorrow's meeting of President Obama's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status, but expressed concern about remarks by a Task Force member, Assistant Interior Secretary Anthony Barbauta, who in November praised the $2.7 billion Rum cover-over giveaway to British liquor giant Diageo, LLC.

"In his speech before the U.S. Virgin Islands' Legislature on November 19, Assistant Secretary Barbauta lavishly praised the excessive and irresponsible diversion of billions of badly-needed dollars to Captain Morgan and Cruzan Rums," said NPRC Chairman Miguel Lausell. "I hope that during his visit to our Island, he looks into the faces of the 16 percent of Puerto Ricans who are unemployed, and the 1 in 3 Puerto Ricans who are living in poverty. Maybe he will reconsider whether these billions of dollars are better spent to meet social needs – or to line the pockets of the world's biggest and richest corporations."

In his speech to the Virgin Islands Legislature on November 19, Barbauta praised Virgin Islands politicians for their "foresight and ingenuity" in diverting half their Rum cover-over revenues to the distillers themselves. "We must promote business in order to create new jobs and to provide the funds needed for the ambitious projects of the local government," he added.

"With all due respect to Assistant Secretary Barbauta, the Captain Morgan deal shows recklessness, not 'foresight and ingenuity,'" said NPRC President Rafael Fantauzzi. "Nobody doubts the importance of economic development, but to give Diageo twice as much as it costs them to make their product is both excessive and irresponsible. It's one thing to encourage business to create jobs, but quite another to close your eyes to the real needs of poor people in both Territories. We are each facing an economic meltdown, and can't afford to give billions to corporations that don't need it."

Lausell again urged the Task Force to "develop a government-wide 'Marshall Plan'" to rebuild the Island's economy. "Puerto Rico is in economic crisis, and while questions of status divide us, all Puerto Ricans stand together on the need for jobs, economic growth – and the restoration of $6 billion in revenues that will be lost if the Captain Morgan scheme goes forward."

SOURCE National Puerto Rican Coalition

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