Press Releases
July 1, 2008
K-Sun Corporation: Bee Partnerships are a Natural
for K-Sun's Newest Product,
the LABELShop® BEE3™
|
WISBUSINESS.COM
JULY 1, 2008—When Mike Kasun watched a TV program about colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon affecting the world's bee population, he thought his company's new portable label, bar code and heat shrink tube thermal transfer printer, the K-Sun LABELShop® BEE3™, could help out."Biologists and beekeepers are uncertain as to why this is happening, and I thought that bee research and education would be a great area to lend our support," says Kasun, president of KSun Corporation, a leader in professional labeling solutions based in Somerset, Wis., and a member of the American Beekeeping Federation. In June, K-Sun gave a donation to the University of Minnesota's new bee research, education and outreach facility as well as several K-Sun LABELShop® printers to its Bee Lab. In the planning and design stages, the new U of M bee facility will serve as a research and public education center on the St. Paul campus. Moreover, the proposed new U of M Bell Museum of Natural History will be adjacent to the facility, and eventually joint programming, tours and bee-friendly landscaping would connect the museum and the bee facility, says Marla Spivak, a professor in the department of entomology at the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) and director of the Bee Lab. Spivak and a team of researchers are using K-Sun's LABELShop® BEE3™ and the 2011XLB-PC printers in a project isolating the anti-microbial properties of propolis, known as "bee glue." A substance made by bees when they collect sap and resin from trees and shrubs, propolis has been used in natural, traditional medicine around the world for centuries for colds, viruses, oral problems and other common human ailments. The idea to use the bees' own substance to help their immune system occurred when a researcher from the Ukraine working at the U of M medical school found that propolis was effective against the AIDS virus in the laboratory. Spivak reasoned that if it had successful anti-viral properties in the medical lab then it might help the bees themselves and be effective in treating viruses and other diseases of bees, including those implicated in causing CCD. Spivak and other researchers aim to isolate the anti-viral compounds in the propolis, in order to further explore potential efficacy in human therapeutic applications.
"A long-term hope is that after testing propolis components on bee diseases and viruses, we can find components that would be really helpful to treat human viruses, and particularly an inexpensive treatment for HIV in developing nations," says Spivak in a recent issue of the CFANS magazine, Solutions. Celebrating 30 Years of Professional Labeling Solutions K-Sun has also partnered with a local apiary in celebration of the company's 30th anniversary. For a limited time, through its distributors, K-Sun is offering an introductory ‘FREE BEE' kit to introduce the BEE3™ nationally. Every FREE BEE kit also includes a jar of honey from the Wolf Honey Farm located in Baldwin, Wis. Dale and Joyce Wolf have 220 hives in St. Croix County, and Dale is a third-generation beekeeper who at age 8 started learning the business from his father. In 1970, he started his own apiary and gives presentations and classes to many schools and organizations while Joyce runs the store and businesses operations. With the purchase of two supply cartridges, a power adapter, and adjustable wrist strap—a kit valued at $98.65—the $75 BEE3™ printer and six AA batteries are included free. BEE3™ users can select from 60 colors and sizes of polyester labeling tapes and five polyolefin heat-shrink tube combinations at a fraction of the cost of major competitive label printer tape prices. The printer is backed with a three-year unconditional warranty. The BEE3™ LSAD adapter meets requirements for the California Energy Commission's Minimum Efficiency and No-Load Energy Reduction Standards, meaning it draws minimal power meeting or exceeding the new standards when plugged in and the printer is turned off. The printer is composed of non-PVC parts and meets the RoHS Directive, a law enacted in the European Union that bans use of certain hazardous substances likely to pose risks to health and the environment. "It's a honey of a product," says Kasun. "When anyone buys a BEE3™ printer kit, they'll be helping the bees and getting a taste of natural Wisconsin honey and a free printer. What could be sweeter than that?" Founded in 1978, K-Sun Corporation is a unique source for custom labeling, marking, signage and industrial identification and has numerous exclusive electronic labeling machines, software and supplies. The company provides solutions through technology innovations, strong customer support, dedicated professional employees, continued flow of new products, and aggressive distribution partnerships. For more product information, contact Linda Law at K-Sun Corporation, 800.622.6312 ext. 214, visit www.ksun.com or email info@ksun.com. For More Information Contact: Linda Law |
