Packaging MEA June 2013

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vol 2, issue 3. june 2013

High expectations for Middle East labels The region’s label converters expect growing business opportunities and are gearing for expansion with mergers that may spur a switch to digital, reports Catherine Diamond. p49

Rotary offset for packaging gains momentum. p52

Bobst takes on its Asian rivals at GPP. p31

Future Film aims for growth with a lower footprint. p38

Gulf Carton Factory picks Esko prepress kit. p12

‘Studies show metal containers will maintain steady growth’ Deb Debabrata p54

EFI-AD-V2-Final.pdf

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Editorial Comment GPP 2013 confirmed packaging’s growth, but we are still learning how to meet our region’s new demands

advertising enquiries ben@packagingmea.com +971-55-109 1889

Dear reader, This year’s Gulf Print & Pack was eventful for many of its participants – as you can read in this issue of Packaging MEA – but I doubt that anyone was having more fun than me.

Packaging MEA is now in its third issue and it was a delight to attend the show for the first time as the editor of what I am sure will become the indispensible guide to our industry.

As the editor of a packaging magazine, it was also fascinating to see how the sector dominated this year’s Gulf Print & Pack.

On the surface, this change is

driven by a migration of printers from commercial print. In fact, the underlying driver is the emergence of the fast-growing economies of the Middle East and Africa.

As countries like the UAE develop, their consumers become more sophisticated and domestic rather than foreign producers start to cater for their tastes.

And that is a very exciting moment for all of us. For nobody can yet say what technologies and designs will hold the most appeal for markets that are so young and developing so fast.

But the features in this issue cover many areas where packaging

firms can look to carve out a niche in the unending contest for market share: colour management, rotary offset, metal decoration, cold foiling and labelling.

In line with the sector, Packaging MEA will also be developing some exciting new aspects over the coming months.

But, for reasons nobody in this highly competitive industry will need to be given, I’m keeping these under wraps for now…

Benjamin Daniel Chief Editor

editorial enquiries usha@packagingmea.com +971-55-109 1889 published by JJ Media Fz LLC BIZ, Fuj Creative City PO Box 391186 The Iridium, Al Barsha Dubai, United Arab Emirates Phone +971-4-387 3575 printed by Emirates Printing Press Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Benjamin Daniel

Piers Grimley Evans

Deb Debabatra

George Simonian

Chief Editor

Editor

Technology Editor

Contributing Editor

© copyright 2013 PMEA all rights reserved.

While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors

Nick Coombes

Wayne Peachey

Usha Benjamin

Contributing Editor

Contributing Editor

Publisher

therein.

may-june 2013

03

Manufacturers of branded goods want their products to have emotive appeal. Help them achieve this by producing results with a truly human touch on your press. Use finishing techniques to transform feelings and original ideas into visual and haptic experiences.

We offer you the ideal solutions to boost your profitability while offering your customers a multisensory experience that satisfies their every wish.

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Contents

20 Regional News 06-18 Regional news

47

12

Gulf Print & Pack 2013 20-21 Organiser’s comment 22-33 Exhibitors report 34-35 New products launched

Interview 38-39 Future Film (ENPI Group)

13

17

Technology Features 36-37 Plasma treatment 52-53

Rotary offset

54-57

Metal decoration

Business Feature 49-51 Middle East label markets

13

54

24

International News 40-46 International news

DIPA Awards 2013 47-48 DIPA 2013 report

52

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Contents Page 5 Folder.indd 3

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11/06/2013 16:10

News Regional

news brief SABIC recently awarded to Tecnimont Spa an EPCC (engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning) contract to build an ACP bimodal HDPE pilot plant. The plant will be built at the SABIC Technology Centre (STC) Jubail, with commissioning scheduled for February 2014. Teams from STC and engineering and procurement departments participated in the kick-off meeting held at the Tecnimont offices in Milan, Italy, in February. The new facility is expected to be instrumental in driving research and development efforts towards achieving the ambitious SABIC bimodal HDPE business goals.

McDonald’s Arabia has said that more than 360 of its restaurants in the GCC will carry nutrition labelling directly on food packaging, as part of a commitment to promote balanced lifestyles. Already being rolled out across all restaurants in all GCC markets, nutrition information will be displayed on most McDonald’s food packaging on easy-to-read labels. The move is designed to make the information more accessible and visible, and to help customers make informed choices. Nutrition information has been available in McDonald’s restaurants and to its customers since 2002 on tray-mats and fliers, and is also posted on its website.

Yousif Abdulghani, managing director, McDonald’s Middle East and Africa, said the company is delighted to step in as ‘the first quick service restaurant in the region to proactively post nutrition information on its packaging’.

06

APP spotlights MEA’s food packaging risks in a campaign to promote its Foopak board UAE To support its recent move into food packaging, Asia Pulp & Pack (APP) aims to educate the region’s consumers and regulators about the health hazards from eating off normal board, says Anil Sharma, general manager of APP’s Product Entrepreneur Department.

APP launched a portfolio of products under the Foopak brand in Dubai last year. But the company is still pushing to educate the region on the need to use specialised products for food packaging, Sharma told Packaging MEA. ‘I still find people in Dubai eating food on normal packaging boards, which in my view is not safe,’ he said. ‘There are carcinogenic chemicals and chemicals that may affect your eyesight, memory, and could affect the kidney, heart or liver.’

While APP generated interest and orders for Foopak products at Dubai’s recent Gulf Print & Pack exhibition, further efforts are still required to convince buyers of the range’s benefits, he added.

‘It is still taking time to convince them of the importance of this board for food packaging, because they are not used to it,’ he said.

‘Normal and even educated customers are still not aware of migration of inks and its harm.

People still use recycled paperboard, which has not been surface treated and that is even more dangerous because it contains harmful chemicals.’

APP has held roadshows to educate customers and is also looking to government regulations to ban the use of cheaper but less safe alternative food packaging.

‘In Asia it will still take time for the awareness to spread, yet

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Eating off normal board is ‘not safe’, says APP’s Anil Sharma

eventually people will realise,’ he said.

‘The price of this board is higher than normal board and nobody is interested to pay that much. So if the government regularises the use of food grade packaging then it will help... I feel government regulations will work faster than educating the customer. In fact both these steps should go in parallel.’

APP describes Foopak as a 100% food grade product, certified by US FDA and ISEGA, which is safe when directly contacting with food. Foopak is being promoted as preserving food’s quality and taste, while being 100% food grade and OBA free.

In addition, Foopak is heat and grease resistance; applicable for oven, microwave and freezer; environmental preferable; easily recycled without the need for additional treatment, according to APP. Intended applications for Foopak include french fries pockets, donut holders, bakpao/ bun bags and food trays.

Foopak is also designed to provide burger wrappers, hotdog wrappers, meat wrappers, bakery bags and take away bag. Other uses include street snack bags and cool olive oil containers. The range also covers popcorn bags and baking paper.

In Dubai, APP has also launched two uncoated paper products: X-Brite and HighBrite Pre-print paper from Paravan mill.

X-Brite is a photocopy paper with a high bulk. HighBrite paper is used for offset, digital and a combination as well. It has 98% brightness and 165-grade whiteness.

APP is among the world’s leading manufacturers of paper, board and tissues. Its Guanxi Jingui mill, with a capacity of 1.2 million tons, has recently started production in China, while a new mill in Indonesia has just brought another 500,000 tons of capacity online.

APP is also active in converting, including for stationery, printing, converted packaging and tissue converting.

News Regional

news brief RPI Riyadh Polytechnic Institute executive director Ahmad Al Bakri signed an agreement with the director general of education in Hail, Hamad Bin Mansour Al Omran, at the third Educational Exhibition and Forum held last February in Riyadh. The agreement aims to develop technical and vocational skills of Hail National Students who completed secondary school but are unable to join Saudi universities. RPI will accept all applying students promptly.

Obeikan Investment Group is the leading partner with the institute and has signed to employ all graduates at its 25 packaging and educational companies and to provide them with a basic salary plus a standard transportation, medical and accommodation allowance.

Mondi has started operations in Sulaimaniyah, in the north of Iraq, at what it describes as the country’s first industrial bags plant, which will supply a growing cement industry. Together with its local partner, Kaso Group, the greenfield project is set to strengthen Mondi’s industrial bags business in MENA. The plant started operating this year and is set to support industrial bags customers as they expand in emerging markets such as Iraq. The plant is specialised in valve bags for the cement and building materials industries. Mondi’s portfolio of industrial bags includes ultra-strong bags for high-speed filling and airpermeable bags with sophisticated closure techniques such as hermetic sealing and vacuum sealing, as well as barrier liners.

08

Future Pack buys two OMET narrow web flexo presses to supply its export markets UAE Future Pack, a division of ENPI Group, has extended its range of packaging solutions with the purchase of two narrow web flexo presses from OMET which it will use in the selfadhesive, wrap around, shrink sleeve and tag printing segments.

The company said it picked the presses as innovative high-technology machines that can offer short set-up times, reduced waste and top-level register controls.

A first 10-colour XFlex X6 430mm was installed in October 2012, said Future Pack managing director Chinnadurai Natarajan.

‘We have already had good savings on the make-ready time and in process waste,’ he said.

‘We have also seen worthy improvement in productivity compared to the gear presses we have always worked with. We are planning to use this first XFlex for short and medium job runs and make good use of its fully automated

UAE market booming: Nair

registration, quick set-up times and job changeover.

‘This will help us increase savings of wastage and time and stay competitive in today’s market. The XFlex will be used also for the printing of wraparound labels and shrink sleeves taking full advantage of its features of high speed and productivity.’

The company is adding an OMET 10-colour XFlex X6 530, to be installed in May 2013, and a full-colour digital press

with in-line finishing. The two machines are expected to raise Future Pack’s print capacity by 20% in 2013.

General manager Gopalan Nair said the UAE market is booming after a short slowdown. ‘The UAE attracts international investors thanks to its modern infrastructure and for the safety and security for the business community.

Keeping in line with the market growth, ENPI Group, and Future Pack, keep their expansion pace.’

Due to its export-oriented business, Future Pack aims to keep its internal processes streamlined and efficient and to follow strict procedures to meet international standards of health, safety, security and quality, said the firm.

The XFlex X6 lets Future Pack cut setup times and waste and handle any kind of order, from just-in-time deliveries to long print runs, without a major impact on the machine’s operation, which is quickly set up and ready to print, said the firm.

Octal unveils DPET-PE packaging trays to cut costs in Gulf’s booming poultry sector Oman Octal claims its new DPET-PE trays will revolutionise poultry packaging by improving processes and cost efficiency while maintaining maximum freshness for longer-lasting shelf appeal.

Patented DPET sheet from Octal is leading a wholesale market shift from traditional packaging methods to PET, said the firm.

Octal’s latest poultry packaging offers high definition thermoforming for a variety of shapes and sizes and the directto-sheet process enables the most energy-consuming and defectprone processes to use a fraction

may-june 2013

of the energy previously required, claims the firm.

Independent researchers Intertek Expert Services and Renewable Choice Energy have verified that Octal’s DPET uses 65% less purchased electricity and 28% less on-site thermal energy with 18% lower global warming potential and a 30% lower cradleto-gate environmental footprint compared to conventional APET, said Octal.

Five of the top 10 chicken consumers in the world come from the Gulf, said Maurice Abou Zeid, business manager

MENA, said. ‘Poultry imports to the Middle East and Africa is a booming industry,’ he said. ‘Our DPET sheet has set the global standard in the manufacturing of uniform high-quality packaging products and is perfectly suited to serve a growing market through its process efficiency that combines strength with flexibility and consistency to offer a superior grade packaging solution.’

Octal’s DPET sheet is calibrated specifically for high speed production lines to make the formfill-seal process more efficient and eliminate defects, he added.

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News Regional SABIC has signed a TDI (toluenediisocyanate) and MDI (methylene diphenyl di-isocyanate) technology licence agreement with Mitsui Chemicals, paving the way for the company to penetrate the global polyurethane market.

Under the agreement, SABIC will secure Mitsui manufacturing technology for two raw materials to produce polyurethane (PU).

The agreement is in line with SABIC’s strategic plan to be a global leader in polyurethane and serve its customers with value-added services, solutions and products. The agreement also provides for joint technology development in TDI/MDI. The agreement was signed by Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC vice chairman and CEO, and Toshikazu Tanaka, Mitsui Chemicals president and CEO, at the SABIC headquarters in Riyadh on 26 February.

Al-Mady said the deal will lead to strategic collaboration between the two companies to explore future possibilities to collaborate in the polyurethane (PU) business.

‘The agreement will spur our strategic business plan to penetrate the global polyurethane market as well as power the ambition and competitive advantage of our customers for the long term,’ he said.

‘It will also enable the fast development of PU application industries in Saudi Arabia, especially with regards to thermal insulation which will contribute to employment creation as well as energy savings.’

Tanaka described the agreement as ‘the largest and most extensive’ agreement Mitsui Chemicals has ever made. ‘We will support this project full force on every front and are committed to its success. I hope that it will be just the first step in a future business partnership with SABIC, which may include the establishment of a strategic supply base for competitive TDI/MDI.’

10

OMET picks Printech ME its Gulf dealer as it aims to grow market for ‘high-end’ label kit GCC Italy-based OMET Srl is responding to the Gulf’s increasing demand for sophisticated labelprinting technology by partnering with Printech Middle East, said OMET export sales manager Paolo Grasso.

Arter being active for eight years in the Gulf region, OMET has only now found a partner with the right focus, he told Packaging MEA. ‘Till today we could not find a suitable partner/distributor completely focused on the labels industry,’ he said.

‘When heavy industrialisation set in, we had some experiences with agents who were also active in other fields of business, which were more interesting than the labels. Today the picture has completely changed again and we experience more and more conventional printers who look into the possibility to differentiate their business and to enter into labels.’

OMET now sees Printech ME as the ideal partner to realise sales from printers seeking either to diversify their output or to optimise their production, he said.

‘The meeting with Printech ME has definetly fallen at the right time and it sounds like a great chance for both,’ he said.

‘Printech is a well known local partner of the label industry and OMET is among the top machine manufacturers. The result can be a perfect combination of local market knowledge with an international approach to the technology and the solutions which we can bring.’

In the last two years, OMET is seeing a shift towards sales to companies already active in labelling but aiming to cut costs or enhance production, he added.

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‘A perfect combination of market knowhow with global technology’

‘After an initial set of installations in the region to customers who were more into an approach towards diversification across packaging, folding cartons and labels, OMET has recently restarted installed a couple of high-end top-of-the-range presses at one of the biggest label printers in UAE,’ he said.

OMET can meet the demands of specialised label printers through a ‘unique mix of technology’, he said.

‘We can say that today’s label machines can compete with the digital presses thanks to the limited amount of set-up time and waste that they require,’ he said.

‘Everything happens fully automatically and the operators don’t need high skill any more.’

Over the coming year, OMET now aims to introduce more top-end solutions to the Gulf, he added.

‘The target of OMET is to invest in higher and higher technology to bring all the end users into an area of unique competition skill that differentiates them not only by the final quality but really by the final cost-management of their products,’

he said.

‘This trend is so important because it’s the tendency of the brand owners: becoming more cost-effective, with the same quality standards and with a greener approach too. From Europe – one of the most competitive markets – we see how competition is becoming tight and how the market demands shorter runs with the same expectation of profitability.’

OMET is working to automate the most critical and complex aspects of set-up, he added But Printech ME and OMET will partner the label industry, providing free consultancy as well as making sales, said Pankaj Patel, founder and CEO of Printech ME. ‘Sharing a long experience in the industry we approach the market not simply to sell machines and products but to offer the best for everyone needs,’ he said. ‘Even if not all the end users can afford a press like this, it’s not a problem: we would be there to provide our free-of-charge consultancy and to wait for them to grow till the day they will need a piece of technology.’

News Regional

Kimoha installs ‘the region’s first’ Gallus ECS 340 ‘granite’ flexo press with eight UV-flexo print stations and cold foil Jebel Ali A Gallus ECS 340, often known as the ‘granite press’, has been installed at Kimoha Entrepreneurs Ltd in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, bringing up to 23 the number of Gallus narrow web label presses installed in the Middle East, where the Swiss manufacturer is represented by Heidelberg ME. The press was also the first of its type in the region, said Kimoha managing director Vinesh Bhimani.

At Kimoha, the new flexo line joins two other Gallus presses. An eight-colour water-based Gallus EM 510 was installed in 2006, with a specification that includes corona treater and web cleaning, chill drums, three die cutting stations (including the sheeter), laminating, web tension control, and automatic

The new granite based Gallus ECS 340 Flexo Press at Kimoha

registration.

In 2008 Kimoha then installed an eight-colour water-based Gallus EM 280 with a cold foil unit and two die cutting stations, which Bhimani describes as ‘the ideal press to cater for falling run

lengths, because it cut make ready times by half’.

The new Gallus ECS 340 offers yet another web width along with a shorter web path for reduced waste, and the use of sleeve technology, which automates make-ready and

speeds up job changes.

Specified with eight UV-flexo print stations, the Gallus ECS 340 has a cold foil facility and two die stations, and runs typically at about 100m/min on most work.

As an early production machine, it was not without some start-up issues. But Bhimani said his good personal relationship with Gallus in Switzerland helped clear these issues – ‘and the pride we felt in being the first label converter in the region to install the “granite press” was worth the start up problems!’

‘Our three Gallus presses give us a broad range of capabilities, and this is proving to be a real bonus in handling the variety of work we undertake,’ he said.

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may-june 2013

15 11

News Regional Al Bayder International, a UAEbased food packaging specialist, has launched its tOWERPAC line of containers designed for the UAE and the wider Middle East. tOWERPAC caters to the needs of the region’s $20bn food and beverage industry – from hotel chains and niche restaurants to gourmet catering houses and international airlines.

Designed to interlock via an ingenious screw mechanism, tOWERPAC is also available in a retail shelf friendly flat bottom version.

The containers range in size from 1oz to 24oz and are the perfect food packaging solution for a growing F&B industry.

A new production line for the tOWERPAC range was inaugurated by Ibrahim Al Janahi, chief commercial officer of Economic Zones World, the holding company of Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA).

The production line was built with a AED15m investment, part of an AED80m outlay to meet market growth, said Al Bayader International group CEO Nidal Haddad.

‘Our overall and continuing investment addresses the economic growth forecast for the region,’ he said.

Market research by Business Monitor International forecasts double-digit growth for the food packaging industry.

‘We strongly believe that the tOWERPAC range will result in huge savings on inventory costs, more efficient utilisation of shelf space and easy access to products for retailers,’ he said.

Retail sales in the UAE are expected to touch AED151bn by 2015, while the UAE’s mass grocery retail (MGR) sector is one of the Gulf region’s largest by value, accounting for 69.2% of its total food and drink market.

Food sales in the UAE are expected to rise by 36.1% to AED38.3bn by 2015, said Al Bayader.

12

Gulf Carton Factory (GCF) invests in Esko packaging software and converting kit KSA Saudi Arabia-based Gulf Carton Factory (GCF) has invested in Esko packaging prepress software and equipment.

The investment includes ArtiosCAD solution, lllustrator addons, Plato Basic and Power Stepper, Digital Flexo Suite, image editing tools, workflow automation, proofing solution and colour management.

GCF has also installed Witron ERP software – Corrugated Packaging Management System (CPMS) – earlier in the year, said Eng. Meshari Al Jabr, general manager of Gulf Carton Factory.

‘All the activities from order entry to invoicing are now being done through CPMS,’ he told Packaging MEA. ‘The software helps us in efficient production scheduling and order tracking.’

In hardware, the company has invested in an Esko Cyrel Digital Imager Spark 4835 as well as a Kongsberg cutting table XN24, he added.

‘We chose Esko after doing a lot of market research,’ he said. ‘Esko’s agent, iTM (Dubai), made more than two detailed presentations at our factory with their team of engineers and they demonstrated the software to us.

‘This was followed up by an Esko customer site visit in Germany, where we saw the CDI and Kongsberg table in an actual production environment.We also met Esko representatives at Drupa 2012 in Düsseldorf and had detailed technical discussions. After all these experiences we confidently went ahead with Esko.’

In converting equipment, the company has recently installed a Martin 924 flexo folder gluer from Bobst, he said.

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Eng. Meshari Al Jabr, General Manager of Gulf Carton Factory

The series of purchases is aimed mainly at improving service and quality, said Al Jabr.

‘Investments in Esko products have helped us in improving printing quality, whereas investments in software and the new machine have helped us in improving our service to our clients.’ Saudi Arabia’s corrugated packaging market is growing steadily in line with GDP, he said.

Many items that were previously imported to Saudi Arabia are now being manufactured locally, which is helping to increase demand.

Meanwhile fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) and food industries are also expanding, driving a general rise in demand for packaging.

GCF offers ISO-certified service for boxboard and other Kraft liner packaging materials. The company aims to reach out to its clients so that it can respond fast to their needs, according to Al Jabr.

The GCF plant was purposebuilt in 1994 by a group of local businessmen. Located in Al Ahsa Industrial City, it occupies a plot of 40,780sqm, with a covered area

of 20,000sqm, for the production and conversion of paper corrugated items.

The company produces both white top and brown top corrugated boxes for almost all kinds of designs using corrugator machines that can tailor sheets to packaging needs.

Products include corrugated sheets, regular slotted container (RSC), non-RSC products, core tubes and special designs.

‘Since its inception the company has commited itself to developing high standards of quality, technical expertise and, most importantly, customer care,’ said Al Jabr.

‘This is being achieved by constant investment in technology, machinery and people, including a Saudization policy. Coupled with this is an all encompassing quality culture guided under the umbrella of our ISO 9001 system and total quality management.’

We found Esko having a good record in the region as well as they are leader in the world when it comes to corrugated pre-press workflow solutions.

News Regional

Al Shurook Group invests in two Heidelberg Speedmaster presses and a Suprasetter Jordan Amman-based packaging printer Al Shurook Group has further expanded its production capacity by investing ¤3.5m in a suite of Heidelberg machinery.

The purchase includes a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL-105 6-colour +L (X3) combi sheetfed offset press and a Heidelberg Speed Master SM-52-6-colour +L combi sheetfed offset press.

In prepress, the company has gone for a Heidelberg Suprasetter A 105 Thermal platesetter with inline Glunz & Jensen Quartz with a Supreme Post-Bake Oven 85.

Managing director Maamoun Kotob told Packaging MEA that the firm specialises in packaging with a major role in food and detergent packaging with a specialised

Expecting new business: Kotob

laminating board application that forms ‘a landmark in our production line’.

‘Lately there is decrease in the packaging industry here in Jordan although it was very good in the past,’ he said. ‘This reduction is due to competition not only from

local markets but also from outside, which influences local industry packaging demand.’

Many commercial printing companies ‘with modest expertise and technology’ have transferred into packaging, which has cut price and quality while fuelling competition, he added.

‘We aren’t getting any extra jobs from the neighbouring countries except for some small jobs for the Iraqi market,’ he said.

But Kotob was optimistic that new investments can add quality and productivity to his firm’s production, keeping packaging print jobs in Jordan and helping the firm remain a top quality printer and converter for local packaging markets.

Majan Printing & Packaging streamlines its management to react to market shifts UAE Ras Al Khaimah-based Majan Printing & Packaging has restructured to stay ahead of the market as commercial offset printers move into packaging.

In addition, over the next five years, Majan is planning a AED100m expansion in terms of new premises, machinery and packaging solutions.

CEO Khalid Yousef told Packaging MEA that the firm is adjusting its services and structure to safeguard its growth.

‘We are restructuring our management style by streamlining our approach to our customers and restructuring/updating our services as per market trend,’ he said.

‘With this approach, we feel that we got an additional added value to

Khalid Yousef: Majan CEO

our competitors, who cannot be as flexible as we are.’

But the company remains committed to a continuing investment in new machinery, he said. ‘We are not hesitant to upgrade and have machines in the printing field that will give our customer

a variety of printing solutions bearing in mind the complexity of designs and substrate to exceed our customer’s satisfaction,’ he said.

Despite an increasingly challenging market, Majan continues to grow by 20% a year, he added. ‘In line with our company vision to be the global leading provider in innovative packaging solutions, we assure our consumers of a partnership in maximising their product values,’ he said.

‘We stand not just a mere supplier but a strong partner to our suppliers for their individual packaging needs.

Our quality monitoring system has been restructured to report directly to the CEO so our quality indicators beat the market benchmark of the printing industry.’

Bric data report The UAE packaging industry is poised to continue its steady growth, which has made it the MENA region’s fourth fastest-growing packaging industry, concludes an analysis of the market by UK-based BRICdata.

Growth is largely driven by the country’s growing domestic consumption and diversified exports market, according to the research company.

GDP per capita in the UAE topped $50,000 in 2009, and is projected to hit $80,084 in 2016.

As a result, spending on processed food and consumer durable goods is set to rise, which will propel growth in the packaging industry.

While paper and board is the largest packaging category in the UAE, food and beverages is the key end-user market, accounting for 55% of the consumption of packaging products in 2011.

Annual consumer expenditure on food is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.12% to hit $33.7bn in 2016. The UAE is a large consumer of ready-made foods, which are supplied to consumers in packaging.

But the UAE packaging industry relies heavily on exports and the long-term sustainability of the industry is linked to international demand, finds BRICdata.

The UAE has emerged as a prime market for re-exporting products that are imported from neighbouring nations to developed markets such as the US and Europe, finds the report.

The country’s trade agreements with developed nations and geographical proximity to Europe are driving this activity.

The UAE packaging industry totalled $1.84bn in 2011 but is on line to hit $2.3bn in 2016.

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13 15

News Regional

Kimoha celebrates its 25th anniversary with top officials from Jafza, where the firm started in 1988 with three staff UAE Kimoha Entrepreneurs Limited, a market leader in self-adhesive labels and Auto ID solutions, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary in Jafza.

The ceremony was attended

by HE Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb, CEO of Economic Zones World (EZW), the parent company of Jafza, Ibrahim Al Janahi, Dy. CEO of Jafza and chief commercial officer of EZW, Kiran Asher, chairman of Kimoha Group, Vinesh K Bhimani, managing director of Kimoha Entrepreneurs Limited and senior Jafza and Kimoha officials.

Kimoha was established in 1988 in Jafza. The company started from a modest 18sqm office with just three people. In

Kimoha has become ‘a key pillar’ of Jafza: HE Salma Ali Saif Bin

1989, Kimoha established its production facility in a 500sqm light industrial unit in Jafza to produce fax and telex rolls.

In 2011, Kimoha built and moved to a 20,000sqm environment-friendly headquarters in Jafza South, which has has won gold

certification from the United States Green Building Council.

Over 25 years of its operations, Kimoha has seen a 60-fold growth in its facilities, increasing from about 500sqm in 1989 to over 30,000sqm in 2013, alongside a more than 80fold increase in its direct staff

strength, growing from three in 1988 to 240 today, and a 100 fold increase in its capital assets to over AED100m.

Kimoha’s products extend from paper rolls to self-adhesive labels, baggage tags and airline boarding passes.

HE Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb described Kimoha as ‘a key pillar of this vibrant community’. ‘Their innovative and flexible approach has helped them achieve such a fast and sustained growth during good and not so good economic times,’ she said.

Kiran Asher and Vinesh Bhimani in their welcome address expressed deep admiration for Jafza’s continued support.

Al Sidra moves into packaging with Lombardi Flexoline and VINSAK Flexo Tower purchased from Secure Print UAE Al Sidra, a Sharjah-based commercial printer enters has expanded into packaging printing with a Lombardi Flexoline and Vinsak Flexo Tower.

Al Sidra clinched a deal to buy the kit from Secure Print Equipment Suppliers FZE on the third day of Gulf Print & Pack 2013.

The Flexoline is a five-colour press for printing self-adhesive, light board, film, card, plastic and other packaging labels.

The Vinsak Flexo Tower is a plate exposing and cleaning system for solvent and water washable photopolymer plates.

Al Sidra managing director P Joseph said the firm is shifting

14

Al Sidra is shifting to new sectors: Joseph

to new sectors as ‘commercial printing is being slow whereas packaging is a good space to be in’.

‘We used to be in computer form printing for a long time and now it’s time to enter into

may-june 2013

packaging as well. Since we maintain a good client base across the UAE, Muscat and Oman therefore it will be easy entry for us.’

While many similar machines are available in the market, the

Flexoline stood out for various features and an exceptional print quality, he added.

‘Lombardi Flexoline and Vinsak Flexo Tower are very good, economical and high end machines without compromising on the quality,’ he said.

‘We strive to give the best solutions to the customers on competitive price without compromise with quality.’

Secure Print Equipment Supplier FZE supplies Vinsak solutions as part of a vision to offer solutions that are innovative, high quality and, more critically, an ideal fit for businesses to succeed in today’s competitive environment, said the firm.

News Regional

Emirates Trans Graphics raises its focus on packaging with Gulf dealerships from Rossini and UTECO UAE Dubai-based Emirates Trans Graphics (ETG) has announced that is now representing Rossini and Uteco.

With Rossini, an agreement signed at Converflex/ Grafitalia in Milan covers Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries such as Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, said ETG CEO Mohammed Al Hashemi.

‘We have signed with Rossini as their sole agent in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar with our office in Riyadh, which is under the name Alhashemi Printing Equiments & Material Suppliers and will be known as Rossini-Saudi Arabia,’ he told Packaging MEA. ‘We will be handing flexo

Rossini’s team with ETG’s Mohammed Alhashemi and Jayaprakash

sleeves and carrier adaptors for flexo machines, wide/narrow Speedwell rotogravure sleeves with ESA system, special rubber rollers for coating laminators for solvent-less dry lamination and hot melt and wax processes and various other affiliates.’ With

Uteco, an agreement initially covers Saudi Arabia, where ETG will be the Italian company’s sole distributor for: wide flexographic printing presses, stack presses, CI presses, inline presses, laminators, solvent-less, solventbased, multiple type or dual

coating lines, gravure printing presses, coating machines and special units. The new dealerships will help position the company more strongly in the packaging sector, he added.

‘Our company aims to focus and concentrate especially in the packaging industry and digital printing and security printing,’ he said.

‘We believe the packaging industry , even when hit hard by recession, has registered growth and will continue to grow for a few more years to come.’

‘Another agreement for narrow flexo solutions from a European manufacturer will also be signed soon,’ added Al Hashemi.

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News Regional

YESS invests in a Gallus EM 280 8-colour flexo press with accessories in shift to high-quality labels

Shift in focus for YESS

UAE Jebel Ali-based YESS Packaging has invested in a Gallus EM 280 8-colour flexo press with inline coldfoil, lamination and other allied state-of-theart accessories as the company has moved on from producing bland labels to high-quality label printing and converting.

Managing partners Shankar and Sandeep Kumar told Packaging MEA that they had picked the Gallus EM 280 after investigating alternative options.

The speciality of an open, modular design for ease of operation and the flexible use and

expansion of printing units was a key factor in their decision, they said.

Excellent register accuracy, infinitely variable length register and the fact that all working positions in the cross-register can be adjusted by +/- 5 mm also contributed to the decision to pick the Gallus machine.

YESS Packaging is now shifting its focus towards labels for cosmetic, lube, retail as well as industrial applications, said Shankar and Sandeep Kumar.

‘Although there is a big market out there, we are focusing on a

very small area and would like to grow with our speciality and strength,’ said Shankar.

Before making its latest investment in the Gallus EM 280 last year, the company had invested in a Rotoflex VSI 330 inspection, slitting and rewinding machine integrated with the latest web transport – eDrive – web inspection and finishing technologies.

YESS Packaging plans to further expand with more printing and converting facilities in the near future, said Shankar and Sandeep Kumar.

Reprotronics claims market leadership as it marks its 20th anniversary as a prepress service provider in the region

Many firsts in the region: Lonth

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UAE Reprotronics is celebrating its 20th anniversary since the firm was first established.

Now based in a 10,000sqm facility in Dubai Investment Park, the company has achieved its goal of delivering quality prepress service through state-of-the-art technologies, skilled staff and excellent infrastructure, Sebastian Louth told Packaging MEA. In 1993, Repriotronics was started as an electronic montage and colour separation service provider, he said.

‘The company grew from this level to have many firsts in the region,’ he

may-june 2013

said.

‘To name a few, the company was the first in the region to go for an Esko CDI flexo platemaking system, first to have the Flint Next technology and so on. Today, we offer a one-stop shop premedia and prepress solution to the graphic communications industry.’

In premedia and prepress, Sebastian claims the firm is now the market leader for packaging prepress and pre-production.

‘We offer the most complete label and packaging workflow,’ he said.

‘Our packaging specialists collate all

elements together, transforming your design into vibrant printable artwork for any process from offset, gravure or flexography printing. With a proven track record, our dedicated team has the experience and creative vision to do it right.’

Reprotronics provides solutions to industries such as display packaging, luxury packaging, flexible packaging and aluminium, foil printing, self-adhesive label manufacturers, corrugated packaging, dry offset, packaging offset, complex step and repeats, emboss and deboss dies, coating plates for specialised offset.

News Regional

NDigitec offshoot X60 launches ‘region’s first’ computer-generated imagery (CGI) studio in Dubai

X60 is hunting for talent

UAE X60, an offshoot of NDigitec, has launched what it claims is the region’s first computer-generated imagery (CGI) studio.

Rob Marinissen, X60 creative director, told Packaging MEA that the firm aims ‘to design and create 3D models of packaging as well as all other graphic communication models with photorealistic rendering’ at its Centre for CGI Research at Dubai International Media Production Zone (IMPZ).

‘I believe that in the next 10 years commercial photography will be largely replaced by CGI,’ he

said. Based in Dubai, the X60 CGI studio will serve the Gulf, Europe and Russia, he said.

In anticipation of a surge in demand for computer-generated photography, he hopes to employ talent from across the world within the next two years, he said. ‘The biggest challenge is to find talent.

Therefore X60 is committed to develop and support initiatives in Dubai that can contribute to making Dubai a No.1 hotspot for digital image creation,’ he said.

Marinissen, a former head of photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the Hague, in

the Netherlands, will develop a programme for four CGI artists in 2013 and eight in 2014.

‘In June 2013 and in October 2013, together with commercial partners, X60 will organise The Reality of CGI, two symposia with lectures by international specialists,’ he said.

‘Two symposia will be planned for 2014. Later this year X60 will release details on a CGI award competition, an award show and an annual Art Buyer’s Guide to Great CGI.’ X60 is now seeking sponsors and academic partners.

Delta Printing Press enters a joint venture on Dubai label facility at Al Quoz with Kumar Labels

Arjun Bhargava of Kumar Labels

UAE Dubai-based commercial and packaging printer Delta Printing Press has signed a joint venture agreement with New Delhi-based narrow label printer Kumar Labels to set up a labelling production facility in Dubai.

Kabeer Jalaluddin, chairman of Delta Printing Press, told Packaging MEA that the the joint venture is ‘a good marriage of our regional market know-how and relationships coupled with Kumar Labels’ production and converting expertise’.

‘The new narrow web flexo investment comprises an 8-colour flexo press with inline coldfoil

and die-cutting capabilities with allied slitting and other converting machinery, while we would outsource prepress,’ he said. The new facility will be at Delta Printing Press’s plant in Al Quoz, Dubai.

Delta plans to expand into the African markets with production facilities in Ghana and Sudan in the near future, he added.

Anuj Bhargava of Kumar Labels said his firm had a clear plan of finding a local partner in the Gulf.

‘When we visited Dubai in 2011 and had a study on the labelling market, we found that the market had a lot

of success and frustrations as well.

Although the market here in Dubai and the GCC is very mature with state-of-the-art machinery, we found that the products produced were very monotonous and mediocure in innovation.

‘For example, we could not find any printer with different inline effects whilst no one was doing anything offline. Innovation was limited and so was the price range as well. As Kumar Labels, we specialise in offline work starting with letterpress, silkscreen as well as flexography processes.’

IMPZ, D65 Mezzanine floor, P.O. Box: 500779, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Ph: +971 4 4355919 Fax: +971 4 4355918 info@ndigitec.com www.ndigitec.com

may-june 2013

15 17

News Regional

Kodak holds its Kick-Off event in Dubai for its partners across the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe UAE Kodak underlined its commitment to its Middle Eastern, African, Russian and East European partners at its annual Kick-Off event in Dubai.

More than 38 partners from 30 countries attended the two-day event on 26–27 March, at which Kodak’s senior management team detailed its strategy for growing its partners’ businesses, while product experts spoke on Kodak’s latest print solutions.

In line with the theme ‘Together to the Top’, partners stayed at the world’s tallest hotel, the JW Marriott Marquis, while the event was staged at The Palace Downtown Dubai, under the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

Kodak’s Kick-Off had the team ‘Together to the Top’

UAE-based commercial printer Spectrum Printing discussed how it has increased productivity and broadened its portfolio by using the Kodak NexPress digital production colour press. Turkey-based Dereli

Graphics talked about its successful implementation of the Kodak FlexCel NX System.

Morocco-based partner, Amigraph was also on hand to discuss how it is helping its

customers to increase their output and enhance their green credentials using Kodak Sonora XP process free plates.

Kodak’s marketing, operations and customer support teams also ran sessions to explain the changes taking place at the company, and highlighted how Kodak can help them become a more efficient operations.

Komal Sharma, MD and VP Sales for Kodak in the MEAF region, said the partners were particularly impressed by the new Kodak NexPress gold dry ink, which guarantees high-impact print products, as well as the FlexCel NX Direct System for direct engraving, and Sonora XP process free plates.

Perfect Pack invests in a thermal platesetter and thermal plate processor from VINSAK to help scale up its business UAE Sharjah-based packaging printer Perfect Pack has invested in a VINSAK TPS 1160 thermal platesetter and a VINSAK TPP thermal plate processor from Secure Print Equipment Suppliers FZE. Perfect Pack director Anil Kumar said a switch from conventional processes in the company’s commercial printing business with a new thermal CTP will scale up the firm’s existing business to a new level.

‘We are a commercial and packaging printer. With this thermal CTP, which is an efficient and fast technology, we can produce results that comply with our stringent schedules,’ he said.

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l-r: Naveen Singh , Anil Kumar and Sankarshanan

‘The Vinsak CTP system has very good features along with the warranty and competitive price from Secure Print. The new CTP system will help us in cost reduction, improving efficiencies

may-june 2013

and timely delivery to the customer.

‘Vinsak was our choice for many reasons and I am glad that I can get the service and spares available at a short notice, which is very

important thing for a business like ours.’

Naveen Singh, sales manager at Secure Print Equipment Supplier FZE, said his company’s customers are interested in the latest thermal imaging technology from companies that can provide good after sales support that can support their efficient operation ‘Our products are latest, high end, reliable and have low running costs backed by strong service support,’ he said.

Over the last past seven years, Secure Print has provided customised solutions to customers ranging from large and wellestablished brands to new entities, said the firm.

Gulf Print & Pack 2013 Organisers’ Comment

Gulf Print & Pack 2013 was dominated by packaging The recent edition of Gulf Print & Pack revealed ‘a point of change’ for the industry as it adjusts towards shorter runs, greater versioning and rising costs, Roger Pellow of the Tarsus Group tells Packaging MEA. GPP 2013, held in Dubai on 8–11 April, spotlighted a series of technological shifts that print and packaging professionals cannot afford to ignore, according to Roger Pellow of the Tarsas Group, which organised the tradeshow.

‘I think the industry is in a point of change,’ he told Packaging MEA. ‘Just like a climate change, a print change is happening.’

In his view, packaging converters must now adjust to a slew of changes or risk going out of business.

‘There’s a lot of things impacting the print industry today, which are causing people to have to change the way they do things. Those that do will survive and those that don’t, like dinosaurs, will be extinguished.’

Digital gathers pace A shift towards digital is just one element of the print industry’s new context.

‘We’re all being affected by digital in the print market. That’s one thing. The second thing is, we all know there are shorter runs. Well, what’s causing shorter runs? It’s being caused by the versioning changing. There are more SKU’s, more versioning, more promotions and more just-in-times going on today.’

In response to the new demands, printers must reassess the presses they run and how they run them, he added.

Meanwhile, costs are ratcheting up. ‘Costs are rising. The cost of consumables like raw material and inks are going up because they’re petrochemical based and the cost of petrochemicals is never going to go down.’

In his view, printing and packaging companies must now reassess their activities amid the ‘perfect storm’.

‘A printer today cannot just be a manufacturer of flyers, books or labels. They’ve

20

may-june 2013

GPP registered a 14.9% rise with 9,408 key industry professionals visiting the four day show.

got to be a sales and marketing organisation as well because they’ve got to find a solution for the brand.’

Connecting print to web In meeting brands’ objectives, printers and converters must also heed the gathering trend

of interaction from print to web or from web to print.

‘Today it’s very important that the mailing piece, the label, the book or whatever you print has some way of working with the consumer.

The mobile device is becoming the form of communication,’ said Pellow

News Regional

Tanzania Printers invests in a FA-4 Nilpeter flexo press and considers expansion into pressure-sensitive labels Tanzania The East African Dar es Salaam-based label printer, Tanzania Printers, has acquired its first Nilpeter flexo press, an FA-4.

With more than 40 years of experience in the business, Tanzania Printers is known for high quality value-adding labels.

‘The backbone of our company is to strive for excellence and to extend our portfolio of products,’ said general manager Mark Harvey.

‘We only invest in innovative, state-of-the-art printing equipment to maintain our growth curve.’

Tanzania Printers’ main market is wet-glue labels for multi-national corporations such as: SABMiller, Diageo, Pepsi, and Distell with brands that include Guinness, Tusker, Castle and Peroni.

FA-4 Nilpeter flexo press with a range of inline applications

Printers in East Africa have to be versatile but because the competition stays limited, the potential for growth is huge, according to Tanzania Printers. In South Africa, for instance, annual per-capita beer consumption is

57 litres across a population of 50 million. In Tanzania, though, consumption totals 7 litres across a population of 45 million.

Tanzania Printers acquired a Nilpeter FA-4 with UV and hot air drying, hot foil, cold foil, three

die-cutting stations, sheeting, de-/relamination, web turn bar, auto register and gravure to boost its production of wine and spirits labels with value-adding embossing. The press supports multi-substrates, including unsupported film and cardboard.

‘The next step for us is to move into pressure-sensitive labels,’ said Harvey. ‘Our customers are standing by with the business, but we need a press to handle the highend quality labels.’

Tanzania Printers had been on the lookout for a combination press with multi-substrate capabilities and value-adding features. ‘We are convinced that our new Nilpeter press can do everything we need it to do,’ said Harvey.

Edale supplies Gamma flexo press to South Africa-based secure print solutions specialist firm Morvest Mithratech South Africa South Africabased Morvest Mithratech has installed a high specification Edale Gamma configured for scratch card production.

Founded in 2005, Morvest Mithratech’s core business is providing secure print solutions for the telecommunications, banking and hospitality industries.

The firm describes the purchase of the 8-colour Edale Gamma 430 line as a natural progression in growing the business.

Managing executive Faheem Varachia said the ability for all printing and finishing operations to be produced in one operation gives Morvest Mithratech ‘a tremendous technical advantage and commercial competitive edge’.

L-R: Neville Lewis, Production Operation Manager, Faheem Varachia

While Morvest Mithratech’s primary business is producing recharge voucher solutions including scratch off telecom recharge cards, pre-paid electricity solutions and novelty scratch cards, installing the Gamma will

enable the firm to enhance its PIN mailer offerings and diversify into niche packaging solutions.

The fully servo-driven Edale Gamma caters for web widths of 430mm or 510mm (Morvest Mithratech opted for 430mm) and

can print a variety of substrates from 12µm unsupported film up to 600µm carton board at up to 200m/min, and can produce all formats of scratch card from single CR80 pin to multi pin cards and sheets.

Morvest Mithratech’s machine includes a large unwind with web cleaning, insetting for pre-printed webs, multiple flexo print stations with IR/Air and UV drying and combination drying for conventional printing, varnishing, scratch off ink printing, a personalisation unit with Domino inkjet heads as well as hot foiling, die cutting, perforating and sheeting finishing stations with reel to reel or reel to finished sheet production.

may-june 2013

19 15

s

Post show report ‘Even today I’ve noticed that a lot of people haven’t still got a QR code on their promotion stuff. It’s so easy to create one. Yes you have to have a website to go to or a landing page with something of interest in.’

Interacting with consumers can be done with QR codes, snap tags, near field connections (NFCs), RFIDs and augmented reality (AR), he said.

‘So the whole industry is changing in such a degree that you really have to think about how you move today,’ he said.

And digital is clearly a key strand in the

Print for packaging grows For packaging, GPP highlighted the sector’s rising importance, said events manager, Mike Simmonds.

‘This show had 48% of packaging,’ he told Packaging MEA. ‘Worldwide, package printing grows worldwide at 100% at an average. This is a far higher growth figure than commercial print.

The show too reflects that. Within the show package printing will continue to grow as a segment.’

Emerging markets also came to the fore

Many of the 300 exhibitors also announced major sales. Canon Middle East, the largest exhibitor, announced that it had signed seven deals worth 7m dirhams ($1.9m) on the first day alone, while Nilpeter ME valued its onsite sales and new business leads at being worth about $5 million.

Visitors came from 93 countries – up from 83 in 2011 and 65 in 2009 – underlining the show’s growing importance in the wider MENA region. With a sharp rise in visitors from Egypt, Nigeria and Turkey, 48% of attendees came from outside the UAE.

Sales at GPP 2013

Roger Pellow, chairman, Gulf Print & Pack

how.

sector’s future. A fifth of packaging printers are going digital, added Pellow.

‘Around 1,700 label presses are sold in the market and 290 are digital. The maximum sold ones are Xeikon and EFI, with about 50 or more. Stork have sold close to 14 or 15.’

during the tradeshow, he added.

‘In the show we had a lot of printers coming from Saudi, Africa and Egypt. We have had an 8% growth since the last show.’

Overall, GPP registered a 14.9% rise on the 2011 edition, with 9,408 key industry professionals visiting the four day show.

Many companies also reported closing significant sales during the event.

For Canon Middle East, marketing director Hendrik Verbrugghe said the show had resulted in about 600 strong leads from the Middle East and Africa region. ‘This represents around a 63% increase compared to our participation in 2011,’ he said.

GPP provided an excellent opportunity for EFI to highlight its technology with its local partners Sara Manufacturing and Saga Digital, said Paul Cripps. ‘Many of our customers came from throughout the Middle East and Africa to attend this event and had the opportunity to preview our latest software technology, our Jetrion 4900ML digital label press and our award-winning GS2000LX LED cool-cure super wide format printer for the first time in this region of the world,’ he said.

‘It is clear the region is rebounding quite well after the financial crisis and that we expect to generate a solid return from our investment at this event.’

Ian Bendy of Itec said the London-based machinery dealer had closed sales of at least two machines at its stand and had ‘a significant amount of quality leads to follow up which I am sure will lead to more sales’.

Prestige Graphics Trading closed deals for five folding systems of various sizes, four cutting machines, two stitching systems and two perfect binding systems, said Jabir Jabbar. ‘We also generated a huge number of leads that are sure to keep us busy for a few months.’

The next edition of Gulf Print & Pack will take place from 13 - 16 April 2015 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).

may-june 2013

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Gulf Print & Pack 2013

Kodak showcases Flexcel NX technology at GPP stand MEA Kodak Middle East and Africa targeted packaging industry professionals by displaying ‘visibly challenging’ samples of its Flexcel NX technology at its stand at Gulf Print & Pack 2013.

Managing director Komal Sharma told Packaging MEA that visitors recognised the quality of the work on show.

‘We displayed some visibly challenging samples of Kodak Flexcel NX technology, which handles Kodak Flexcel NX plates up to 1067x1524mm (42x60in), having an appealing shelf impact – and that is what everybody who visited our stand appreciated.’

Overall, Kodak had ‘a good show’, with an unexpectedly high number of Saudi visitors at the stand.

Kodak featured samples with ‘appealing shelf impact’

‘Besides visitors from UAE and the lower Gulf, we also had a strong visitor presence from Saudi Arabia, East and West Africa, Iraq,’ he said.

‘Although we expected large numbers of visitors from the region in general, we were more

than surprised at the number of visitors from Saudi Arabia.’

At GPP, Kodak promoted its wide portfolio of products for the graphics arts industy and aimed to demonstrate the benefits of the company’s flagship Kodak Flexcel NX packaging solution.

‘Flexcel NX technology can add so much value to brand owners, flexible packaging printers as well as converters,’ he said.

‘In addition to delivering quality equal to offset and rotogravure printing, Kodak Flexcel NX plates significantly improve pressroom efficiency, due to their wide colour gamut, efficient ink transfer, and better print stability than traditional digital flexographic plates.’

Sharma described the show as an opportunity to meet customers and prospects to understand their challenges and see which products suit their needs.

‘We also explore new ways they can increase revenue and drive profitability,’ he said.

Nilpeter takes part in GPP to spotlight its growing range of finishing equipment as well as narrow-web machines MEA Nilpeter Middle East exhibited at GPP 2013 to inform the market about its finishing kit as well as its range of narrow- and mid-web printing presses for producing self-adhesive labels and flexible packaging.

The company now offers new portfolio of finishing solutions, said managing director Shyam Babu.

‘We have had an overwhelming response from customers in the region and were asked to provide additional solutions such as finishing and more,’ he told Packaging MEA. In its self-adhesive label and flexible packaging press range, Nilpeter featured its FA-Line of UV-flexo combination presses, a

22

Nilpeter has responded to market demand by offering finishing kit

high-performance FB-3 UV-flexo press, 420mm wide, servo-driven MO-4 offset-based platform press with sleeve technology for both flexo and offset printing and also the CASLON print system

may-june 2013

mounted on an FA-4 platform that combines digital printing with UV-InkJet for CMYK and spot colour with UV-flexo printing.

As a distributor for AB Graphic International, the company also

promotes the Vectra range of turret rewinders and the Omega and Flytec slitter/inspection systems.

Nilpeter ME is also licensed to sell the Omega Digicon converting line, which can operate inline with Nilpeter’s hybrid flexo and inkjet CASLON label printing module, in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, and Oman.

In addition, Nilpeter ME partners with Quote & Print Software from Sydney, Australia, in software for estimating, quoting, job bags, pre & post costing, scheduling, manufacturing, inventory and invoicing.

Gulf Print & Pack 2013

Printech Middle East closes orders at GPP for five Prati machines as well as kit from Eltex, Minipack and Robopac GCC Printech Middle East thanks its customers for the great support and response received from them at the Printech stand at Gulf Print & Pack 2013 exhibition.

Printech ME’s sales at the event included five new label finishing machines from Prati SrL, Italy.

These were sold at the exhibition to Kimoha Entrepreneurs, Raqam International Labels & Ribbons Factory-KSA, Natural Fragrances LLC and Sticker Products Company (Lawaseq).

The OMET label printing press also generated great interest at the exhibition, with many new enquiries from Middle East customers for detailed offers, said Printech Middle East.

Eltex, Germany, also attracted a

Printech ME reports several sales at GPP

lot of enquiries as well as two orders from the Middle East for ESA (electrostatic print assist) systems.

The new Basix discharging system also sparked considerable interest, said Printech Middle East.

Innnovative GTT Technology

metering (anilox) rolls from Apex Europe b.v. were another focus for visitors to the stand. Printech ME said the market was very interested to hear about the product’s great reception in Europe and several enquiries were made from across

the Middle East.

In its new range of end-of-line industrial packaging machines, Printech ME reported a great response from customers, with sales of three shrink wrapping machines, and one mail bagger or magazine packaging machine sold to Abu Dhabi Printing & Publishing Group, both from Minipack, Italy. Two automatic carton taping machines from Robopac, Italy, were sold at the show, including one to Total Lubricants Blending UAE. At the Printech ME stand, Mosca, Germany, sold a Uatri pallet strapping machine to National Co. for Sponge and Plastic Industry, Yemen, and two RO TRP5 carton bundling machines to Gulf Carton Factory.

Prati makes Saudi sale at GPP and sees rising interest as the Middle East catches up with European technology GCC Prati, which has attended Gulf Print & Pack since 2007, had its best response so far at this year’s event, said Chiara Prati, sales director, Prati.

‘Every two years it gives us something more. It becomes more and more worthy to attend this show,’ he told Packaging MEA. ‘At this show we have sold a machine to a big company in Saudi. We are happy to be their partner and help them to grow because if they grow we grow. This show opened to us many new sales and customers and new projects.’

The Middle East is a key market for Italy-based Prati, he added. ‘We are working in this region since 2007, and since then we have been selling around 30–35 units serving

24

Prati sees the Middle East as a key market.

the top companies like Pacman, Future Pack and Kimoha in the UAE, Digital Labels in Jordan, Modern Adhesive in Saudi, Jamael, ElAmana, Label Plus in Lebanon and even in Oman, Egypt and Iran.’

may-june 2013

Prati started business in 1973 as the third company in its sector worldwide, he added.

‘Prati is the longest established company with the longest experience in the finishing and converting industry, owned by the

same family,’ he said.

Since 1980, the firm has made finishing machines for self-adhesive labels and film substrates, which is its core business.

Prati has also set up a company in the US called Prati Automation and is opening Prati-Latin America for the South American market.

Prati’s machines offer advanced technology that appeals in the Middle East as it catches up with Europe, he said.

‘The gap is very small. The reason is that in Europe there are many old companies with knowhow but old equipment. This market, being new, has all the new latest technology,’ he said.

Post show exhibitors report

Creed Engineers debuts at GPP under its new Vinsak brand with a focus on prepress and brand protection solutions GCC One-year-old brand Vinsak appeared at GPP for the first time with prepress and brand protection products.

Vinsak is formed by India’s Creed Engineers, which is about 20 years old, and the Middle East’s Secure Print, which has operated for about 10 years, said marketing director Ranesh Bajaj.

‘We have subsidiaries in Sri Lanka and the US and we are going to start in Eastern Europe as well,’ he told Packaging MEA. ‘Earlier we were doing a lot of reselling as a distributor. We then wanted to be manufacturers where our selling will be under the brand of Vinsak. We have trading and manufacturing companies, but we felt we needed a brand, Vinsak, to

and packaging is our fastest growing segment. In Asia packaging is growing at about 20% per annum, labels at about 30–35%.’

At GPP, Vinsak signed several deals through preparation before the show, he said. ‘The show was in general good for us.

Qualitatively we have made new contacts at the show, but not quantitatively.’

The Middle East and Africa offers potential for RFID and track & trace labels, he added. ‘I see a potential here. Africa seems to be a growing market. In India because of huge cases of counterfeiting, brand owners are worried... In India, 50% of the medicines are fake and in Africa 70% are fake.’

Vinsak signed deals at GPP through pre-show preparation

be global.’

For prepress, the company covers offset, flexo, letterpress, rotary screen. In brand protection, Vinsak solutions solutions extend from security machines to inks, software, high-end solutions for

complete track and trace.

Vinsak is also active in digital and labels andß packaging, said Bajaj. ‘Within digital we are focusing on high volume transactional and high volume business colour. Further, labels

D. W. Renzmann targets Middle East at GPP in response to interest from the Arab world at its stand at Drupa 2012 ME While it already holds a strong market share in Europe, Germany-based cleaning and solvent recovery specialist D. W. Renzmann is now looking to the Middle East and Africa for growth, said managing director Michael Schneiss.

D. W. Renzamann participated in GPP as part of a new strategy to target the region, where it is has also boosted its local presence, he said.

‘We decided about this market only in Drupa 2012,’ he said. ‘We realised that we had many more Arab visitors at our booth than others, so we decided not to wait any longer and to go to them with a local distributor.’

D. W. Renzmann has extended

D. W. Renzmann is working with TCS to expand in the Gulf

its collaboration with its regional dealer Techno Converting Services (TCS) from Egypt to Syria and Dubai, he added.

‘We have around 30–35 installations in the Middle East region, which still has potential

to grow as the Gulf now has manufacturing,’ he said.

‘We have just closed a deal with an Abu Dhabi-based customer for a washing machine to clean all the parts. On the other hand, many other customers prefer a compact

cleaning and washing machine.

So we have a big range of sizes and specifications of washing machines.’

This company, set up by D. W. Rezamann in 1969, produces 75% of its production for export but manufactures entirely at its plant near Frankfurt. All products are tailored to the specific customer.

‘Our products include washing machines for anilox rollers,’ said Schneiss. ‘We mainly wash the flammable solvents but we also design our machines to operate on water-based media, aquiline solution. For solvent-based washing machines we have solvent distillation systems to recover, to be able to use it again, so it’s like a closed loop cycle.

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AV Flexologic presents advanced flexo plate mounting machines at GPP designed to improve on repeatability Germany Netherlands-based AV Flexologic – a firm specialised in prepress equipment, platemaking equipment, mounting equipment, viscosity controllers and some allied special solutions – participated at GPP 2013 with advanced machines to mount flexo plates in the register.

But AV Flexologic also manufactures machines ranging from basic models where variables are positioned manually to a fully automatic high-end machines where movement of the cameras and sleeve rotation are automatic, said export sales manager Mark Helmond.

‘Here in the show we have advanced machines where the variables are positioned

AV Flexologic exhibited its middle range in terms of automation

automatically and computer controlled, which is good for the repeatability of the job, reaching a higher accuracy and higher speed,’ he told Packaging MEA. In the firm’s high-end machines, not shown at GPP, mounting is

done through pressure rollers and plates are also fixed automatically.

‘The finger feelings of the operator on the machine are taken away, which means that you can improve the accuracy and the speed,’ he said. ‘The camera reel, when

calibrated mechanically, can help reduce errors up to 100µm but we do a special software calibration that is new and patented by AV Flexologic, with which we can reduce the error to only 10µm.’

For plate making, the company manufactures equipment for water washable plates, he said.

‘This kind is very popular for the narrow web market in Europe. In the Middle East we have installed a machine at Al Tayer in Saudi Arabia and one in Bahrain,’ he said.

With more than 40 years of experience in the flexographic industry, AV Flexologic has been on the edge of innovation, making it a global leader in high-end, high-precision, and high-quality products,’ said Helmond.

JM Heaford sees rising market for computer Al Dana runs controlled mounting and proofing in the ME live demo UK UK-based mounting and proofing machine manufacturer JM Heaford, represented in the GCC by the UAE’s Anoop Plastics, sees a growing market for computer controlled machines and sleeve technology in the Gulf.

The export market represents about 90–95% of the firm’s production, said area sales manager Nigel Heaford.

‘The Middle East has always been a customer for us. In Saudi Arabia we have around 15–20 installations, in Syria about 8, in the UAE about 12–15, Egypt 12–15 units.’

So far, the region has been a gravure market for the firm but the flexo market is growing, he said.

The firm designs and manufactures all its machines in

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Heaford focuses on quality

the UK without sub-contracting, he said.

‘We build machines that are very rigid and solid in their construction and design with top quality parts so they can perform day-in and dayout,’ he said.

‘With around 3,000 machines sold around the world, we don’t

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want to provide an annual service so we design them to be easy to maintain. We have machines installed even in the Middle East 20 years ago that are still in daily production.’ Newer machines have internet connections for remote service, he said.

The firm is now moving more into computer controlled machines and server drives, he added.

‘We’ve developed the new flat table system for narrow web printer, which again minimises operator input,’ he said.

JM Heaford now has wide machines in the mid- to wide-web flexible packaging paper markets.

About 95% of the new flexo presses for the mid to wide web are sleeve dedicated, he added.

UAE Sharjah-based Dl Dana Decor displayed a full range of products and machinery at GPP. A live demo featured most of the firm’s machinery including: automatic case maker, full automatic rigid box making machine, single-head wire book stitcher, paper embossing machine, creasing and cutting machine, automatic corner cutter machine. Managing director Ammar Taha said the company received a good response from both existing and new customers. The fully automatic rigid box making machine was a star attraction at the show with many visitors, he said. Al Dana sales executives travel throughout GCC to meet customer needs while engineers offer onsite support to customers, he added.

Post show exhibitors report

Carta Plus launches products at GPP as it expands with offset printing plate unit and relocates Dubai warehouse Italy Carta Plus, a group of companies from the north of Italy, introduced its new Vela line of offset printing plates at GPP. The group – with a branch office in Morocco and a sister company in Dubai – works mainly in the two sectors of paper and consumables, said marketing manager Emidio Ciotola.

‘Paper is divided in three minor business lines, namely packaging, security and graphic,’ he said.

‘In consumables we have recently acquired a production unit in Italy for offset printing plates called Vela. These are thermal, conventional, violet and CTP plates.’

Carta Plus can supply the complete range of consumables

blankets by TecnoRulli, an Italian family business specialised in rollers for offset and textile industries,’ he said.

‘We are also going to deal in their pressroom chemicals.

This is very good for us because it is a solution from the roller and blanket manufacturers themselves.’

The group represents paper brands from Italy as well as flexible packaging substrates for gravure and flexo applications.

‘Our main products are MG Kraft one-side coated papers, Paperplus PE, MG Bleeds craft paper, label papers, release papers, twisting papers for toffees and other flexible packaging papers, said Ciotola.

Carta Plus team: l-r: E. Ciotola, M. Shahid and Noel

such as plates, blankets and other printing materials, he added.

At GPP, the group met traders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria and introduced Vela as a new line, he said.

The group’s operation in Dubai

has moved to a new office in the Jumeraih Lake Towers (JLT) free zone and relocated its warehouse from Al Qusais to Al Quoz, where it stocks paper, BOPP, consumables and plates.

‘We also stock rollers and

SpectroDens Zeller Inks sees stricter laws on inks for goes on show food packaging as opportunity to expand USA Techkon, a manufacturer of colour measuring instruments for printing and packaging, has presented its new generation of the SpectroDens handheld spectrodensitometers at GPP. SpectroDens features a colour display showing the measured hue of the ink and offers a scan function that helps cut the time needed for quality control. Single measurements can be made within a second, according to Techkon. A menu-driven user interface is intuitively designed.

Through the latest LED technology, the instrument meets ISO 13655 and offers the measuring conditions M0–M3 for judging printing substrates with optical brightener agents (OBA). The instrument can also be equipped with a Wi-Fi board.

Germany Zeller Inks, which specialises in energy-curable printing inks and UV-curing and electron beam-curing varnishes, sees safety regulations for inks for food packaging as ‘a big chance’, says sales director Marcus Ruckstadter.

‘The legal requirements for food packaging also have been growing, especially in Europe,’ he told Packaging MEA. ‘In Europe they have a very keen eye on the consumer and packaging safety and therefore a lot of legal regulations are having their impact now on how we develop and manufacture printing inks. We rate this as a big chance instead of seeing a big threat in it.’

Zeller Inks, represented by UAE-based Anoop Plastics, has

Zeller sees ‘a big chance’

been active in the Middle East since 2010 but is currently seeking a distibution partner in Saudi Arabia.

‘Legal requirements will continue to grow because in Germany we have some legislative process going on which will be completed by 2014,’ he said.

‘So we have to be very careful in selecting our raw materials, making our formulas to meet these legal requirements and still have ink which is technically giving our customers what they need in terms of press performance, colour strength, adhesion to various substrates.’

But, despite the challenge in formulation, the company is doing well, especially with low migration products, he said.

‘We have just built part of our new manufacturing unit in Germany. This helps improve our production methods to make sure that everything is safe and sound in terms of good manufacturing practice. This new facility will be fully automated by end of the year.’

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XOL introduces Berhalter die-cutting machine plus LED stroboscope inspection and static control with bluetooth Lebanon XOL Automation, an engineering company specialised in web handling equipment, presented products at GPP that fit on the main presses as well as innovations in finishing, both for die-cutting and hot-foil stamping technology.

At the recent exhibition, the company also sold a state-of-theart Berhalter die-cutter to Napco, said chairman Marcel Hage.

‘It has been a good show,’ he said. ‘We participated at the last show and it was good then as well.

This time not only did we bring engineering products but we brought machines too.’

At the event, XOL debuted the Berhalter die-cutting machine, new-generation LED stroboscope

Customers can’t afford any more to have a sub-standard produce: Hage

inspection, and industrial-grade static control with built-in bluetooth.

Within the Middle East, the company has been very successful through its personnel as well as its brands, said Hage.

‘These brands not only build our credibility as an organisation, but they also help our customers run faster, better and smarter,’ he said.

‘We have a series of engineers that cover the MENA region. They

are all technically trained and certified by companies in Europe and North America, the US to be more specific.’ In his view, customers in the Middle East recognise that improved uptime is worth a greater initial investment in engineering products.

‘Customers can’t afford any more in this region to have a sub-standard product with an initial cost that is lower than a quality product, because one hour of downtime is a lot more money than they actually paid for that product,’ he said.

‘So when you buy an engineered product and you want to put it on a press, you can’t save a few dollars and put the press down for an hour. That will cost you more.’

UPM Raflatac presents Proliner PP30 liner Eltete makes solutions at GPP as it targets ME expansion its GPP debut Turkey UPM Raflatac, part of UPM’s Engineered Materials business group, used GPP to highlight its CSR initiatives with a strong commitment to sustainability initiatives and introduced its Proliner PP30 liner solution as well as its VIP, Prime and A4 labelling stocks.

With a global service network of 14 factories on six continents and a broad network of sales offices and slitting and distribution terminals worldwide, UPM Raflatac has a clear plan to increase its market presence here in the ME region, said area sales manager Cem Karabayur.

‘The Middle East is a very important market for us and we are keen to make our presence all

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UPM targets SMEs at Dubai

the more strong,’ he told Packaging MEA. ‘This show has enabled us to be more connected to small and medium-sized label printers and converters who are not that much familiar with our products. Most of the key packaging printers and converters are our loyal customers

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and we wish to extend this reach to many more in the region.’

At GPP, the firm displayed a range of A4 films: PE, Polylaser white, transparent, gloss white, gloss clear, matt silver and Polyjet label substrates.

In its sales and marketing in the Middle East, UPM Raflatac prefers to deal directly with the market rather than through a dealer or distributor, said Karabayur.

‘In a market where pricing is so crucial, it becomes very difficult to be competitive with our quality products and at the same time pass on the thin profit margins to dealers and distributors,’ he said.

The company aims to increase its market share by direct market penetration, he added.

GCC Eltete Middle East FZ LLC made its first appearance at GPP to present its 100% recyclable packaging material. At the event it displayed a range of innovative and high-quality packaging solutions designed by combining various compact carton board products.

General manager Wasef Shakaa said environmental thinking and continuous product development are important parts of the firm’s activity. ‘Out of our production facility in iMPZ Dubai, we produce edge boards and recycled paper packaging solutions for the ME region,’ he said. ‘Sustainable products, our experience, innovative professionals and in-house product development... make us unique in the field.’

Post show exhibitors report

3M Gulf uses GPP to raise the profile in the Middle East of its adhesive and tape portfolio for print and packaging MEA 3M Gulf, a prominent industrial and household brand, showcased its industrial adhesives and tapes portfolio for the print and packaging industry at GPP. While these products are already familiar on global markets, they are less well-known in the Middle East, said Mohamad Skeini, division manager, 3M Industrial Adhesives and Tapes.

‘These products are renowned worldwide but we are introducing them here in the ME region now with more local presence, although some of our key clients in the region are already using most of our industrial adhesives and tapes,’ he said.

The company plans to educate

3M aims to educate the Middle East market about its products

the market of its diverse range of products in the near future with a series of seminars and training sessions at the technology and innovation centre in Dubai Media City, he said.

3M Gulf solutions on display at GPP included 3M ScotchPad Carry Product Handles Matrix, 3M Flexographic Plate Mounting Systems and 3M Splicing Tapes.

In addition, the 3M exhibit also

featured various products from its adhesives, foams and tapes portfolio.

‘As a global market leader, we are looking at the Middle East as a fast growing market,’ said Skeini.

3M Flexographic Plate Mounting Tapes offers a selection of adhesives, foams and thickness to enable optimum print quality, he said 3M Splicing Tapes provide different backings and adhesives for optimum strength on every type of splice, flying, overlap, butt and general purpose for paper mills, converters, newspapers and web printers.

3M ScotchPad Carry Product is a solution for consumers to handle bulky packages or multi-packs.

Innovia bags Percept Print Solutions holds live demos on deal at GPP GMG colour management solutions at GPP UK European flexible substrate maker Innovia Films Ltd, a major producer of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and cellulose (NatureFlex & Cellophane) films showcased at GPP products for packaging and converting with labels, security films, coated packaging, overwrap and renewable and compostable films. Area sales manager Peter van Belle said the show was a great opportunity for Innovia Films to do business with existing and new customers. ‘One of our on-stand meetings resulted in us making a sale that paid for the exhibition costs,’ he said. The firm focuses on high quality specialty products, with strong customer relationships, R&D, and unsurpassed service.

GCC Fast-growing regional print and packaging industry solutions provider Percept Print Solutions showcased its strong software, premedia, prepress and print production products, at GPP. Director Afsal Kottal told Packaging MEA that live demos on GMG Color Management solutions, MIS, colour management, Print Smart and Elpical drew many Kottal: serious customers at GPP existing and potential clients to the company’s stand. the field of advertising, printing, ‘The response was very good. packaging and publishing. We offer Much more than quantity, we total solutions, in the areas of MIS, witnessed serious customers colour management, digital work who were interested in real-time flow, customised software solutions. solutions to their daily production ‘The high-end solutions we needs,’ he said. recommend help our customers to ‘We are committed to work meet the exacting standards and with cutting edge technologies in emerging needs of the printing,

packaging, publishing and advertising industry, on a turnkey basis.’

The firm’s personnel use stateof-the-art equipment to identify bottlenecks, eliminate problems, fine tune workflow and help to minimise wastage of time and consumables, he said.

‘We ensure smooth and efficient workflow by evaluating the needs of your company and by sourcing and implementing the best available products from the leading solution providers with whom we have extensive tie-ups.’

Percept Print Solutions’ preferred partnerships with hardware suppliers like Eizo, Epson and HP have further reinforced its professional credentials, he said.

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API targets MEA for growth as cold foiling technology advances and regional firms invest in large machines UK API, a manufacturer of specialised materials for packaging including holographic and laminate products, is eyeing the Middle East for further growth with a focus on cold foil, says area sales manager Simon Moorhouse.

While the firm has its manufacturing base in the UK, the company has been active in the Middle East for several years and now sees new opportunities from regional investments in emerging cold foil technology, he told Packaging MEA. ‘We’re beginning to see new machines,’ he said.

‘In Drupa 2012 we saw some new presses that came out with very high speed and high

API is aiming to deliver ‘eye-catching packaging’

production runs with cold foiling that gives outstanding special effects for the end users.

Companies in the Middle East have made investments in such big machines. So we’re looking at them.’

With cold foil as its key product for the packaging industry, API aims to work with Middle East firm in creating ‘eye-catching packaging’, he said.

‘In developing our foils, API strives for “workability”,

the means to operate across a series of different applications.

And we don’t just sell the foils.

We work hard with printers and converters to achieve the technical standards required and brand owners and designers to develop eye-catching packaging.’

In the Middle East, API has been working with Printech ME for the last two to three years, he added. ‘They are very well positioned and the foil fits very nicely within the product portfolio they’re offering, whether it’s machines or consumables,’ he said.

‘We think it works very well.

They are obviously well known in the industry. So it’s been a good relationship.’

AGE focuses on packaging solutions at GPP Flint Group with live demo of FFEI and linked software scales up GCC AGE Graphic Equipment FZC, a Sharjah-based graphic arts equipment supplier, chose to highlight its packaging solutions at GPP 2013.

Although the company offers many commercial print solutions, AGE opted for a launch and live demo of FFEI – Workflow and Packaging software, overview3D Packager and the packager toolkit.

The company also demonstrated its DI solutions in Presstek-CTP Systems, chemistry free plates and digital offset presses and Duplo finishing equipment for the digital and offset industry.

AGE has the largest installed base of true chemistry free CTP systems in the UAE, with a reputation for providing

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A good response at show: Krishna

environment-friendly solutions to the GCC print industry, said sales manager Jay Krishna.

‘We have received a very good response at the show and we are sure that quite a few of these will materialise into orders,’ he said.

‘We have recently installed the FFEI packaging software suite at

may-june 2013

two of our Dubai-based customer sites and they are very satisfied with its performance. We are also working on a total solution kit for colour management for gravure, flexo and offset packaging applications.’

As well as delivering machines and products, AGE assesses its clients’ needs to offer them appropriate products, while providing 24/7 service support, he said.

For AGE, another priority is to provide the print and packaging community with increasingly environment-friendly products that can help make the UAE a more eco-friendly place in line with the policies of the UAE government, he added.

UAE Flint Group Middle East’s Packaging and Narrow Web division aimed to underline its regional market dominance at GPP as it expands its production and storage capacity, said commercial director and general manager, packaging and narrow web, Anthony Murphy. ‘We are in the process of expanding our production and storage capacity whilst we have also invested in people to meet both the commercial and technical needs of our clients,’ he said. ‘With the new setup we will be able to serve both local customers but also the Middle East sites of international packaging and label printing groups in a more effective way.’

Post show exhibitors report

Bobst underscores its Swiss engineering news brief as competition from Asian rivals intensifies Reprotronics showcased MEA Bobst Africa & Middle East enjoyed a successful GPP, finalising an order from the region, said managing director Samir Khoudja.

‘We had a good impression this time at GPP 2013, better than what we expected,’ told Packaging MEA. ‘We finalised an order, for a Bobst die-cutter and folder gluer to Ghana. Dubai is improving and we had many customers from many countries, which is promising and good.’

For sales manager Moez Jebali, GPP also reflected how Dubai is now acting as a hub also for Asia and East Africa.

‘We received many visitors from Saudi Arabia and customers from Africa, which is a new turn,’ he said.

But the exhibition also demonstrated the rising challenge for the company – a leader in machinery and services for packaging manufacturers in the folding carton, corrugated board and flexible material industries – from Asian manufacturers, some of whom were present without exhibiting equipment.

To defend its market, Khoudja said that Bobst Middle East & Africa would stress added value through service.

‘We have to face competition and we need to be strong... We emphasise on service. Even for the web fed division, we added new staff based in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. We add human resources even locally. For instance, a person from Bobst India has joined us here. So now we have gone forward in our service. This will give us the possibility to add value to our customers.’

But Bobst can also offer superior quality, said Jebali.

Team Bobst MEA at Gulf Print & Pack 2013

‘Service is one thing but talking about our product itself, Bobst coming from, let’s say China or India or Brazil, is not a Chinese or Indian product,’ he said.

‘The engineering is still done in Switzerland, which is the headquarters. We then transfer all the engineering know-how and the engineering of the die-cutters to be produced in remote factories in China, India or Brazil. So the product is the same all over.’

Rather than manufacture to different standards, Bobst tailors its machines to different markets with varying operating specifications, he added.

‘Today the quality requirements set at the level of engineering in our headquarters in Switzerland are the same for the die-cutters coming from Switzerland or China or Brazil. The only difference is in the specifications,’ he said.

‘There are different specifications of speed, sheet format performance or applications. But quality-wise, we don’t make grade A and grade B. In all these countries the factories are Bobst factories.’

For a machine made in a Bobst factory in a country such as China

or India, specific elements such as the gripper bar or crankshaft would also come from Switzerland, he added.

‘For example, the folder-gluer would come from India but the Accubraille and Accucheck would come from Switzerland,’ he said.

‘Only the assembling is done there. Due to legalities the certificate of origin mentions China or India. But Bobst factories in India are managed and run the same as Bobst factories in Switzerland. A Novacut that comes from China is not a Chinese machine.’

While Bobst offers its Eterna range of products for customers looking at a lower price point, the company is not aiming to compete on price with the cheapest Asian manufacturers, he said.

‘Bobst has a position in this industry and also in the history of packaging. We have dominated this industry as a supplier and the most important thing for Bobst is to offer a very competitive product against its value. Bobst has no plans to produce a product to compete with the $200,000 Chinese die-cutter.

Bobst doesn’t even know how to do it.’

its prepress and premedia services for offset and flexo, high quality magnesium embossing and foil blocks, micro foiling dies, personalised plastic cards production, commercia§l offset printing, short run digital printing, wide format digital printing and designed display solutions at GPP. Display samples presented the firm’s entire gamut of solutions.

Reprotronics specialises in highend flexo plates with flat-topped dots through new upgrades with Esko’s HD flexo and Flint Next technologies. The company also showed conventional packaging solutions such as magnesium embossing and foiling dies, photopolymer embossing dies, special coating application plates for offset packaging preproduction and HD flexo digital dry offset plates.

NDigitec launched its X60 offshoot at GPP. X60 is a new CGI Studio and Centre for CGI (computer generated imagery) research. Through this innovative and ground breaking technology X60 is looking at addressing the needs of 3D models for packaging as well as all other graphic communication models with photorealistic rendering, NDigitec CEO Vatche Kavlakian told Packaging MEA. Besides these new initiatives, the company is also abreast with all the new technologies and software regarding flexo prepress, where it can offer certified HD flexo and many other similar technologies to enhance the print quality of flexo printers, he said. At GPP, the firm demonstrated its range of prepress and premedia solutions especially for narrow web.

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Mark Andy distributor FIG makes its first appearance at GPP and plans to ramp up its operations in the Middle East GCC Flexo Image Graphics (FIG), regional distributor for Mark Andy – a leader in narrow web printing kit – and for Rotoflex inspection, slitting and rewinding equipment for label printing, participated in GPP for the first time on 8–11 April as it plans a Middle East expansion.

For FIG, the tradeshow was a key marketing opportunity, said managing director Gourav Roy. ‘Joining this show was an important marketing activity for us to reach out to the MENA region,’ he told Packaging MEA. In the Middle East, the firm is now aiming to step up its headcount, he said.

‘We are planning to expand our operations in the region by

Joining GPP was an ‘important marketing activity’ for FIG hiring more sales and service staff enabling us to increase the focus on this untapped market and also to give 24/7 attention and support to our existing customers,’ he said.

‘With the change in the economic condition of MEA you will find FIG very active in this

market.’

FIG’s strategy for the region will hinge on developing relationships with customers, he said.

‘Building and maintaining strong customer relationship has always been a number one goal at FIG, which will be more focused with

our local presence in MEA,’ he said.

‘As a one-stop solution provider and with the backing of the largest installation base in India and subcontinent, customers’ best interest is always in our mind by providing them with the highest level of equipment, its reliability and uptime at all times.’

The resurgence of the Middle East market was apparent at the recent edition of GPP, he added.

‘We met many new potential customers and we are really pleased to see the show is growing faster every year. A good turnout at our booth shows that the region is rebounding quite well after the financial crisis and that we expect to generate a solid return from our investment at this event.’

Daetwyler Graphics sees growing market for gravure in the Middle East and Africa despite flexo’s rise in quality MEA Gravure specialist Daetwyler Graphics is growing in the Middle East, where it sees huge potential demand even though flexo technology is now competing in quality, says Christian Karg, vice president, marketing and sales.

‘Whereas the European market is saturated we see the Middle East market as absolutely growing for us,’ he told Packaging MEA. ‘There are big potentials. Dubai has always been good but Saudi is still a growing market. This year we have a big installation at Obeikan, Saudi Arabia. The details will be announced shortly.

We have five customers in Dubai.

‘We are well established in Egypt. Egypt is one of

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Middle East is ‘absolutely growing’ for Daetwyler

the first countries to go into gravure cylinder production.

Unfortunately due to the situation in the country it’s slowed down a bit. So the potential here in the Middle East is good.’

Daetwyler has co-operated

may-june 2013

with HELL Gravure Systems and K. Walter since 2009 and also now operates under the Heliograph Holding banner.

In the Gulf, the firm is represented by TCS for engravers from HELL, laser machines, Daetwyler machines,

consumables and everything for gravure.

For Karg, improvements in flexo technology pose no threat for expanding in the Middle East and Africa, he said.

‘We thought at the beginning that there would be some shifting, which happened,’ he said.

‘Flexo is growing, no doubt about it, but we don’t see this as a threat to be frank... Even if flexo increases and catches up there is still a huge demand for gravure cylinders.

‘The Middle East and the Far East are huge markets for us.

Africa hasn’t even been touched yet. We have printers down there in masses.’

Post show exhibitors report

Manugraph offshoot Mercongraphics makes ‘showpiece’ Masterwork installation as it targets MEA with Chinese kit GCC Mercongraphic FZC, an offshoot of India’s web offset press manufacturer Manugraph, is seeking to expand in packaging in the Middle East, where it is launching products from China’s Masterwork Machinery (MK) .

Manugraph managing director Pradeep Shah told Packaging MEA that he is confident the Chinese brand can overcome any negative perceptions of the quality and reliability of the country’s products.

‘It’s very simple. The race has begun. China, Manugraph and MK have teamed up to enter this part of the world. So let the best horse win,’ he said.

Within the Middle East, Mercongraphics will be engaged in marketing, selling, installation, after sales and servicing for printing and packaging machines, he said.

As well as for Manugraph India web offset printing machines, the company is the authorised distributor for MK and Autoprint India packaging machines.

‘We have recently signed distributorship agreements with Chinsese die-cutting and converting manufacturers of sheetfed offset presses, computer stationery printing presses and finishing/post press equipment,’ he added.

Manugraph began its partnership with MK by distributing its products in the Indian market.

‘We are fortunate that MK is strong and helps us in our activities,’ he said. ‘Based on this we’ve expanded the territories to the Middle East now.’

Within a few months of the

For Manugraph, ‘the race has begun’ for Middle East markets

collaboration in the Middle East, the ‘first breakthrough’ has come with the first order for a die-cutter and a folder gluer from Express Printing Press,’ he said.

‘This installation would be our showpiece to launch further aggressively into the Middle East market, he said.

‘We are using Dubai as a base for expanding into the entire Middle East. We will also venture into the African countries gradually. We have already sold a machine in Nigeria.’

While continuing its core business of manufacturing newspaper presses, Manugraph aims for further partnerships with manufacturers to address all segments of the packaging industry and expand its trading activities, he added.

‘In order to look at growth this is one of the areas we want to emphasise. We want to grow and also help other Indian and Chinese companies to partner with us and use our local expertise and infrastructure that we have created here in Dubai, Kenya or Nigeria. We are starting an office in Johannesburg too shortly.’

MK sales chief Michael

Gao said his company offers strong after sales service to win customers. ‘The after sales service not only includes the machine repair and maintenance but also we provide our engineers to train our customers to optimise the use of our machines,’ he said. ‘We can offer our engineers to help them finish their jobs in case they have problems.’

Manugraph’s Shah said MK shares his company’s approach in seeking a sustainable business model.

‘It isn’t that we sell a machine and run away,’ he said. ‘A company like Manugraph is not purely interested in commission for one machine. We want to create a business model that will survive for years to come.

We want to make this as a stable business for years to come.’

In his view, any doubts in the Middle East market over the reliability of Chinese technoloy will be overcome through positive feedback on installations.

‘Once they see a couple of installations running people will realise about our technology,’ he said.

‘Wherever we have had

installations running in Europe, UK or Thailand, sales have gone up tremendously after that.

This is because of the customer feedback about their experience of the product. We believe this will happen even in the Middle East.

‘We have experienced this in the past with Manugraph in many countries. Fifteen years ago there was not a single Manugraph press in the Middle East. And today we have a sizeable market share in the entire Middle East.

I’m sure that MK will have the same success 10 years from now.

They will be able to withstand the toughest competitions and come out as a winner.’

In the Middle East, the packaging sector is also expanding, he added.

‘Certain countries in the Middle East region still have a demand in the packaging business because these countries are genuinely growing,’ he said.

‘The demand as an industry is growing. That said, people need to work with reliable suppliers and reliable suppliers come from using a high quality press, high quality service, a professional approach to selling.’

But Manugraph is not yet looking to extend its packaging portfolio into printing, he said.

‘We are not yet looking more on the printing part,’ he said.

‘We are looking more at the post-printing, finishing and converting. We might get into a few consumables, but that might be just niche oriented depending upon the market and our customers’ needs but not for our business market.’

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Tec Lighting UV-coating machines debut in MEA with Colour Byte launch at GPP 2013

Unpacking the world of packaging

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‘Unpacking the world of packaging’

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USA Colour Byte LLC has launched Tec Lighting UV-coating machines in the MEA by featuring the product at its stand at Gulf Print & Pack at Dubai on 8–11 April.

Tec Lighting’s machines are designed to coat any printed material – inkjet, toner, offset, screen print, UV or solvent – with a variety of coatings at far less cost per print than traditional film based alternatives, said David Hodhod president of Tec Lighting Inc. Through innovative coating systems, a combination of both UV and IR curing methods can be used on most printed media, including rigid and flexible, both before and after cutting to shape, according to Tec Lighting.

Colour Byte managing director Ralph Busselot said the machine attracted plenty of interest at GPP. ‘I think the response has been very positive and we see customers coming to us with applications and very specific questions, which shows that they understand how this could fit into their workflow,’ he said.

‘Tec Lighting adds the possibilities to printers to add value to their printed products in a very distinct, cost effective and easy to operate way as compared to their competitors.’

The TecLighting range starts at 35cm (14 inch) width for A4/ A3 digital prints and extends to 160cm (63 inch) for large format digital graphics, which can open new markets for printers seeking to diversify their offering.

‘Numerous applications are possible by changing the liquid coatings in the machine,’ said David Hodhod.

‘It opens doors to new markets

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Tec Lighting brings a variety of texture finishing for packaging: Busselot

which all printers are looking for.

With our product you have so much flexibiblity where you can do glass finish, satin finish or matt finish.

We have gluable dry inks, plaster coating, there is so much that can be done.

‘We like to tell the customer that if they bring us their issues our huge netwok of dealers with years of experience could solve it for you.’

Available coatings include matt, satin and gloss as well as special coatings, which feature properties such as anti-bacterial for hospitals interiors, anti-fungal for food safe environments, smell absorbing for fast food outlets and public toilets.

Other properties include antiabrasion, anti-graffiti and anti-slip.

A key benefit is the quality improvement that the UV coating process provides, through giving ‘pop’ to prints, brings colours to life, according to Tec Lighting.

Shadow areas are instantly denser, which brings a secondary benefit of ink saving for volume printers. Ink costs can be cut be more than 10% by reducing maximum ink coverage

and using UV coating to compensate for the reduced density, said the firm.

The systems’ many configurations include handfed, inline, sheetfed.

Different sheet sizes are supported such as A3+, A2, A1, 50x70cm, 70x100cm. Five different designs of textured rollers are available.

Coating rollers adjust automatically to the thickness of printed media and the system can even coat aluminium and brass plates. The rollers can easily be changed for textured or engraved rollers to apply a texture or custom watermark UV varnish on any print.

High productivity can be achieved with speeds of up to 20m/min, or 4,800 sheets per hour.

A Quick Roller Changeover featured at GPP demostrates the technology’s versatility, said Ralph Busselot.

‘You have a variety of texture finishing especially for packaging,’ he said. ‘It really is amazing and has turned heads here at the show. It has opened people’s eyes to so many opportunities.’

Product launch

Goss explores opportunities in the Middle East and Africa for Sunday Vpak offset web USA After launching its Sunday Vpack at Drupa 2012, Goss International brought the technology to GPP in Dubai on 8–11 April to introduce the region’s packaging sector to the offset web technology.

David Muncaster, director of business development - Packaging at Goss International, told Packaging MEA that the company is now developing its strategy to market the Sunday Vpak in the region.

‘We are trying to analyse the MEA market and figure out the ‘Most people in packaging don’t know who Goss are’: Muncaster processes involved, since it is very firms looking to supplement different from newspapers,’ he said. unfamiliar with Goss. rather than replace their current ‘Goss International is very Goss sees demand for the equipment, he said. well known and respected in technology rising with the shift to ‘What we find is that most the newspaper and commercial shorter run lengths. market, but packaging is new for people we’re talking to are not ‘Since Drupa 2012 we’ve had people who want to replace flexo us,’ he said. continued interest, mainly from a or gravure. They’re looking at ‘Most people in the packaging combination of gravure and web market don’t know who Goss are something to supplement those printers that are now looking at technologies,’ he said. and we are an unknown entity offset for their shorter run lengths ‘For example, a current flexo for them but we are bringing because this is being squeezed by user has a wide range of jobs, and offset to them.’ the brand owners,’ he said. they also get a number of smaller At GPP, though, the Sunday ‘With shorter run lengths the run jobs which are also attractive Vpak attracted considerable imaging cost becomes more interest, despite the market’s lack to them. So they have a mix of important. So offset brings of familiarity with offset web, he jobs, some are ideal on flexo and significant advantages over flexo some ideal on offset. said. and gravure. Flexo has made a lot ‘These could be from the same ‘Offset sheet fed is very of improvements in quality over common to the market but offset brand owner who has some very the recent years but offset has large run lengths but he may web isn’t and is still dominated advantages that flexo hasn’t got in have some promotional jobs with by gravure and flexo,’ he said. the imaging point of view. smaller run lengths, not quite ‘We were quite surprised by ‘From the lead time point of down to the digital level but at a view, for producing plates, the print the number of people that came level where it’s expensive to do quality, the cost of the plates, it has to the stand and were curious about the Goss Sunday Vpak and with gravure cylinders and easier significant advantages over flexo to do with offset. curious about Goss. So that was and gravure processes. The plates ‘Also it is for those who have quite a positive response there.’ are much easier to make while different versions and languages From conversations at the flexo plates are relatively less easy, - like in Europe, within a small stand, considerations of cost particularly the high quality flexo.’ radius, we have many different and quality make the Sunday But Muncaster acknowledges languages and versions.’

Vpak relevant to packaging that the packaging sector is largely

Unpacking the world of packaging

advertising enquiries ben@packagingmea.com +971-55-109 1889

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Advertorial

Plasma treatment for the be your synthetic, varnished or m Bobst offers a pre-processing solution that guarantees perfect adhesion of adhesive to the glue flap for synthetic packaging and for laminated and varnished paperboards such as metallised boxes, writes Benjamin Daniel.

Carton coated boxes

High voltage high intensity plasma jet treatment unit

The trend in the packaging industry is toward continuously rising design and quality requirements. Manufacturers count more and more on the appeal of finishes like high-gloss printing, soft-touch coatings, or hologram printing to attract consumers. And display and window packaging often involve special combinations of materials.

These materials must be joined to each other cost effectively, at high speeds, and most of all reliably.

This requires an especially robust, high-performance pretreatment process: Openair® Plasma.

When integrated inline, plasma activation creates ideal surface properties for subsequent process steps, such as gluing, printing or laminating.

Particular advantages of Openair® Plasma technology in manufacturing carton packaging: • Makes high processing speeds possible, • No open flames mean greater process safety, • Robust, durable technology, • Simple process monitoring, • Cost effective.

This innovation, developed by the German firm Plasmatreat, is compatible with all your Bobst folder-gluers.

Widespread in the car industry, plasma treatment

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may-june 2013

has proven to be highly reliable and has become an indispensable element in new processes for joining synthetic materials.

The advantages related to its use in the packaging industry are numerous.

Reduction in running costs Plasma treatment reduces running costs by making it possible to use standard water-based adhesives to glue packaging which has been laminated, metallised or printed UV on the carton face. Without plasma treatment, this type of packaging requires special and expensive hot melt adhesives or requires laquer cut-out in the glue flap.

Another process frequently used on such packaging is mechanical milling, which is difficult and generates dust and inconvenience.

Advantages

Full plastic boxes

With remarkable effectiveness, plasma treatment restores the surface tension necessary for perfect and long-lasting gluing.

In addition to this increase in surface tension, plasma has the advantage of cleaning any organic residues and dust

Interview Future Film

Future Film pushes ahead in plastics technology Future Film, a subsidiary of the ENPI Group’s Future Plast, is offering an expanded range of speciality films with improved environmental qualities along with practical benefits, reports Benjamin Daniel.

Future Film produces: Glacier Shrink Films Multilayer crystal clear film Semi rigid thermoformable films surface protection films Shrink hood rolls Air Bubble Film stretch wrap films Oxo Biodegradable Shrink Film Courier Bags Stretch Hoods Speciality Films Industrial Films Shopping Bags Untraviolet (UV) Film Future Film, manufactures a full range of speciality films, including ‘Glacier’ shrink film, that ensure optimal hygiene for food applications.

Products cover food and beverage applications, including perishable and frozen foods, and are designed to be easy to use, cost effective and recyclable. Innovative packaging enables customers to enhance branding and product image Future Film also produces greenhouse film for optimal crop growth, along with shopping and courier bags and industrial films such as barrier tapes for construction sites. Oxo biodegradable shrink film is totally degradable and produced with low energy consumption.

Future Film products have high tensile strength, are resistant to bursting, puncturing and chemical reactions and are gas impermeable even in stressed conditions.

Benjamin Daniel: Can you give us a brief history of Future Film?

Durgesh Ahuja (General manager, Future Film - ENPI GM: Durgesh Ahuja Group): This was our first project when we started in 1995. Between 2001 and 2002 we started expanding, and these were not just vertical but horizontal expansions. We invested in new products and simultaneously diversified into other divisions too. In 2002 we started with Future

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Card for plastic cards, then came up the labels division and the PET division. Last was Future Flex for flexible packaging.

BD: In 1995 when you started Future Film, what were you manufacturing here?

DA: We started with manufacturing shopping and supermarket bags. The idea for this division came when we got enquiries from CIS and Africa.

Later, we got the idea to cater to the construction industry – this was around 1997. We started making monolayer shrink films from 2001 onwards and are still doing it. We adapted to new technologies in shrink films and today we are doing multilayer high clarity collation shrink films. These are downgauged films, where we have downgauged up to 30–40%. We got our first multilayer line from Taiwan in May 2001. We also got a CI flexo press from Taiwan, when CI flexo technology was new, also in the same year. In 2004 we got our first multilayer line from Reifenhäuser, Germany, a three-layer line. Then every year we were adding one line up to 2008.

In 2008 we got two lines, a five-layer line for making Barrier films and a double-bubble five-layer line to make polyolefinic shrink films from Europe. So this was the

Plasma Treatment

e best possible gluing of all or metallised packaging which may be on the glue flaps, while not leaving any trace on the treated surface. This process is very beneficial and can be carried out at high linear speed – up to 650 m/min – so is compatible with all Bobst foldergluers. Easy to install and easy to use, plasma treatment does not require any additional resources other than electricity and compressed air.

The problem of surface tension Whatever adhesive is used, the gluing of synthetic materials requires sufficient surface tension. This is calculated in milli-Newtons per metre (mN/m) and represents a challenge when it comes to the gluing of packaging. On materials with an ‘absorptivity’ – or surface tension – of less than 38 mN/m, the adhesive spreads out in droplets over the glue flap. This considerably decreases the number of points of contacts and equally reduces adhesion.

During the production of synthetic materials, the surface tension is sufficient for the printing and gluing of cartons.

The problem is that the surface tension tends to decrease quickly with increased temperature and length of storage and so passes below the acceptable limit. Plasma treatment increases the surface tension more than 72 mN/m and ensures perfect adhesion of the adhesive to the glue flap.

Physical and chemical preparation The treatment is best carried out on the folder-gluer, immediately before the gluing station, and only on the glue flap. For a simple box or automatic crashlock, a high voltage created plasma jet, of high intensity using normal compressed air, is produced as the glue flap passes and this modifies its molecular structure. Conscious of the environment, this process does not release any ozone.

Quality, one of our principal concerns Bobst continually seeks out new ideas to help its customers achieve the highest quality of product and since November 2007, Bobst is the representative for plasma treatment in folder-gluers. Contact us to find out more about the advantages that this technology offers.

Bobst: A question of surface tension Bobst is the leading supplier of equipment and services in the foldingcarton, corrugated board and flexible materials converting industries.

In line with its policy of always offering high performance solutions to its customers, Bobst has signed an exclusive deal with Plasmatreat to represent their Openair® plasma systems in the area of packaging folding and gluing.

Surface tension is the key to the bonding of synthetic laminated, varnish coated and fully plastic boxes.

The treatment areas for these boxes has been circled

With low surface tension, the resultant bond is poor because adhesion occurs only at the points where glue droplets form. However, following atmospheric plasma treatment and the consequent rise in surface tension above 72mN/m, the adhesive will adhere to the entire surface and will form a homogeneous high strength bond. It is to ensure this homogeneous bond that plasma treatment is carried out inline, immediately before gluing.

Thanks to this exclusive agreement with Plasmatreat, Bobst has made it possible for its customers to benefit from the clear economic advantages of reducing their glue investment when processing laminated boxes, and of reducing print costs, by removing the need to create varnish cut-outs on varnished boxes – all the while maintaining high production speeds.

Customer testimonial Al Shurook Group, Amman Jordan Maamoun Kotob, managing director, Al Shurook Group ‘We installed the Plasma Treat technology through Bobst in early 2011.

Before going for the Plasma Treat technology, we were facing gluing problems on laminated board with PE and UV varnished boards as the gluing application was not meeting our quality standards.

‘However, with the new Plasma Treat technology, it now helps us to overcome all gluing problems and all our custmers are very happy with the quality.

‘As for Bobst, we are happy dealing with them. Although their pricing is higher than competitors, we have the best services and after sales support beside their excellent technical experience. So we skip the price issue as it is worth it at the end of the day’.

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Sector Plastics for Packaging

State-of-the-art multilayer blown film extrusion line from Germany

time when we had major expansions, between 2003 and 2008.

After 2008 there was the downturn. Yet we were the only company who were still investing and paying our suppliers. We had just finished investing when the recession started and it became difficult for us to manage too, because the prices came down and the margins were less. Being a technically good company, we could pull through those times.

Now we process around 1800 tons of plastic every month. For shopping bags, we have around 30–35% market share for UAE. Out of the 1,800 tons that we do every month, we do around 900 tons of multilayer films for lamination, which we supply to convertors like Future Flex. Here we have around 75% market share. We are the major suppliers for this.

We also have a special product, a sandwich film, which we use for aluminium composite panels. We are the only manufacturers for this in the region. For coalition shrink films we have more than 50–60% market share. Thus we are one of the biggest manufacturers of plastic films in the region.

BD: Any new investments?

DA: We are going in for some more expansions which will be announced later this year. We are the first and only manufacturer of POF (polyolefin shrink films). It is a intricate product. These are 12–25µm shrink films used for bundle wrapping. It is a double bubble manufacturing process. The first bubble is 300–380µm and the second is 12–25µm. It is a very clear film.

We started this project in 2008–2009. Now its capacity is full and we feel we are ready to go for the second one also. So a new machine for this is in the process and we will confirm it soon. Another investment is to cater to the construction industry, which is picking up in Dubai now. In the next two to three months we will be investing in new lines. These are immediate investments. We also have other investments, which may be a little later.

BD: What measures are you taking on environmental issues with plastic?

DA: We all are responsible for the environment and we don’t want

to be branded as responsible for harming the environment. We are following developments in sustainability and plastics. We are in constant contact with raw material suppliers in doing a continuous research in down-gauging the films as much as possible. For example, if it was 80µm we down gauge it to 60–55µm. This means we are dumping 30% less plastic into the market. Secondly, we now use only biodegradable shopping bags. So all the shopping bags we do are biodegradable. When we extrude the films for certain applications like shopping bags and supermarket bags, we add a fixed quantity of biodegradable additive. This is a catalyst, which starts the reaction of breaking down the polymer chain when it receives a quantity of sunlight and moisture. Polymer is a long chain of monomers which does not break on its own. With the additive, the plastic gets degraded within 18–24 months when deposited in a landfill and gets converted into biomass and water.

Plastics take up to a year to reach the consumer. There are developments happening wherein we get the raw material biodegradable plastic with some restrainers. This ingredient in the plastic will delay the chain reaction to start from a perion of six months to a year depending on the quantity added to the biodegradable plastic.

BD: Where are you in terms of recycling?

DA: We have two recycling machines in our factory. We recycle some of our internal make-ready waste and sell the rest to recyclers.

Any recycled material cannot be compared to virgin material. We use only clear recycled materials in less critical applications, say for construction rolls, which are put on the ground to build the surface.

Recyclers recycle it too and it goes for injection moulding for bathroom items like buckets, mugs and jars. We try not to harm the environment; we either recycle it or sell it.

BD: What’s your view on the problem of litter?

DA: We need to educate people on the environment and our responsibilities towards the environment. Even with biodegradable plastic, before it degrades, it will get fragmented and with wind can pollute the air.

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News International

news brief OKI Europe’s C711WT and TheMagicTouch Image Transfer Media won awards at Euro Trophex in Amsterdam. The C711WT, a colour LED printer with white toner added to the CMY colour process, and its applications via TheMagicTouch won the ‘Best in New Technology’ category and a two-layer printed ‘Tribute to Felix Baumgartner’ plaque scooped ‘Best in Image Transfer Product’.The C711WT offers unrivalled opacity, with a very high ‘white’ factor for applications ranging from folders, mugs and binders to leather and polyurethane products, as well as garments and textiles, said OKI. Harry Takahashi, managing director, OKI Europe, said the new LED printer is set to substantially expand what until now has been a highly specialist, niche ‘white printer’ market.

Xeikon Café events for label and packaging printers and converters are planned across Europe this spring. Xeikon Café are designed as informal knowledge exchanges for digitalising print production.

Xeikon Cafés mostly take place at Xeikon customers’ sites, so equipment can be demonstrated in its natural habitat. The first one was at Demax DPI Plc in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Xeikon experts discussed trends and evolution in production, while ThermoFlexX specialists presented on digital plate making. Two case studies were presented by Xeikon customers: wine labels (by Printing House Daga) and prime labels (by Demax, a Bulgarian security printing business). The second one on ‘Label’or, a digital success story’ was held with Label’or, a Belgian label printing and converting business.

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KBA takes over Flexotechnica to expand its role in the flexible packaging market Germany Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) has used its healthy finances to invest in another growth market.

After entering into digital print at Drupa 2012 with an inkjet web press produced at KBA’s main plant in Würzburg, the company is now poised to aquire Flexotecnica in Tavazzano, near Milan, to enter the growing print market for flexible packaging (especially films).

Flexotecnica is a subsidiary of KBA enters new market Officine Meccaniche G. Cerutti (OMGC), an Italian company for printing on various flexible specialised in gravure for packaging materials. packaging and publication with its So far the Italian company is headquarters in Casale Monferrato mainly present in Europe and near Turin. in some overseas markets. The With about 100 employees, manufacturing of parts has been Flexotecnica builds and markets completely outsourced. central-cylinder flexo presses KBA views this planned purchase

as an opportunity to expand its strong market position in the folding carton market into another growing packaging segment by using its own international organisation.

The price for the majority stake in the Italian company will be in the high single-digit million euros, following adjustments on the basis of agreed items made on the settlement date, said KBA. The acquisition has already been approved by the KBA supervisory board but the final takeover is still subject to conditions which have to be met in the next few months.

These include a review by antitrust authorities. Both parties have agreed not to disclose any further details concerning the takeover at

Xerox takes over Impika to gain a colour printing portfolio in water-based inkjet USA Xerox has acquired Impika, a leader in the design, production and sale of production inkjet printing solutions used for industrial, commercial, security, label and package printing.

Impika offers a portfolio of aqueous (water-based) inkjet presses based on proprietary technology. Impika’s product lines include iPrint, a range of continuous feed production printers that print as fast as 375 m/min, and iPress, a range of graphic communications digital presses with resolutions of up to 2400x1200dpi.

Impika, based in Aubagne, France, sells its products to print providers through its direct sales force and through a global network

may-june 2013

Jacobson: bolstering brand

of channel partners, including Xerox, which has been reselling the brand in Europe since 2011, and recently expanded to several developing markets.

‘Impika has demonstrated an innovative approach to advanced production inkjet printing that

complements Xerox’s technology,’ said Jeff Jacobson, president of Xerox’s Graphic Communications Operations. ‘With Impika as part of our broader set of solutions, we’re bolstering our brand strength and better serving the market with digital products, solutions and resources to meet the needs of print providers so they can satisfy their clients and grow their businesses.’

Paul Morgavi, president and CEO of Impika, said his company needs to be part of an organisation with broad global distribution and service to continue its growth.

‘Xerox is a logical fit for our growing business and for our customers, who will benefit from Xerox’s shared focus on innovation to advance digital colour printing.’

News International

EFI reports a record first quarter with a 7% news brief rise in revenue from last year up to $171m OMET has awarded 10 scholarships USA Electronics For Imaging (EFI) has reported growth across all business segments in its first quarter results, bringing a 24% rise in operating income and solid cash generation.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2013, the company reported a record first quarter revenue of $171.4m, up 7% compared to first quarter 2012 revenue of $160.1m.

First quarter 2013 non-GAAP net income was $15.8m or $0.33 per diluted share, which included an unfavourable non-operational currency impact of $0.04 per diluted share, compared to nonGAAP net income of $14.2m or $0.30 per diluted share for the same period in 2012.

GAAP net income was $8.4m

Gecht: breakthrough products

or $0.17 per diluted share, compared to $6.2m or $0.13 per diluted share for the same period in 2012.

‘The EFI team delivered a great first quarter with revenue growth above our expectations, a solid increase in profitability, and very

strong cash generation,’ said EFI CEO Guy Gecht.

‘With new breakthrough products across our portfolio and sales opportunities at trade shows around the globe, we look for this robust demand to continue into the current quarter as EFI’s innovation continues to help customers drive growth and productivity in their businesses.’

Based in Silicon Valley with offices around the globe, EFI’s portfolio includes digital frontend servers; superwide, wideformat, label, and ceramic inkjet presses and inks; production workflow, web-to-print, and business automation software; and office, enterprise, and mobile cloud solutions.

FTA picks out GMG, Berry Plastics and Mark Andy for 2013 technical innovation awards USA The Flexographic Technical Association has awarded GMG its 2013 Technical Innovation Award in the prepress-graphics category, with Berry Plastics and Mark Andy as winners in the heavy-machinery categories.

Winning firms were announced at the FTA’s 2013 Annual Forum in San Diego, California, USA. GMG colour specialists set out to develop a computer-based tool to predict the colour appearance of printed inks, particularly ‘overprints’ – inks printed on top of each other.

OpenColor is claimed to reduce time to market, cut make-ready preparation and expenses, and eliminate unnecessary fingerprints.

As Flexo moves into high quality, formed 3D rigid container and

The coveted FTA award

drink cup market it is providing an alternative to dry offset printing.

The new indirect flexo (IDF) hybrid process is even winning conversions from in-mould labels, shrink sleeves, heat transfer labels, and pressure sensitive labels. Berry Plastics patent-pending approach

is aimed at producing excellent photographic quality graphics – on white, clear and coloured substrates – with softer edges and better highlights.

Mark Andy, was recognised for its Quick Change Die Cut (QCDC) technology, designed to promote faster changeovers and enhances matrix stripping speeds.

Early field reports attest to: orchestration of some die changes in as little as 30 seconds; speed increases of up to 50% on the most difficult jobs; longer die life; limited die damage in the loading/ unloading process; faster setup times that support the opportunity to take on more jobs and generate significant increases in incremental revenue, according to the FTA.

to children of employees at OMET and O-PAC. CEO Antonio Bartesaghi recently presented the first scholarships. ‘We wanted to establish a scholarship for the children of our employees who have achieved good results in studies with the aim of rewarding the hard work, dedication and the ability to cope with difficulties. We hope that the prize will act as a stimulus to ensure that this commitment is prolonged in time,’ he said. OMET also collaborates with universities such as Milan Polytechnic and the Italian Institute of Technology to offer internships and sports sponsorships.

The firm also works with the Badoni Foundation on improving relations between schools and companies and helps fund equipment at technical schools in Lecco, Italy.

Manroland-Landa: In May last year Manroland sheetfed announced a partnership with Landa Corporation to incorporate Landa Nanographic printing technology within Manroland sheetfed presses. Manroland sheetfed’s customer are expected to gain the option to convert existing Roland presses to Nanography.

Landa chairman and chief executive Benny Landa has said Landa is aiming to deliver its first Nanography presses at the end of 2013 and that the firm is on track in terms of reliability and cost. If Landa meets its schedule, Nanography options for Manroland sheetfed presses are expected to be available mid 2014. Nanography involves a variant of inkjet printing, using an intermediate heated blanket belt rather than jetting directly onto the printing substrate.

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News International

news brief Mark Andy has partnered with Max Daetwyler Corporation to add a leading doctor blade line to its growing portfolio. The Print Products group of Mark Andy now offers the complete line of Daetwyler doctor blades. Mark Andy has put the group’s team through extensive training so they can recommend the appropriate blade type or blade coating for the ink it will meter, as well as troubleshoot if there are concerns about score lines, streaking or ink spitting. With a recently expanded warehouse facility, most blades are stocked on-site and available for same day shipping. Print Products is focused on providing highquality products for converters, maximising performance and efficiency of the print operation, while offering advice and guidance.

H.B. Fuller has launched a family of water-based dry bond hybrid laminating adhesives for flexible packaging in the food and industrial markets. The Flextra water-based line-up, PD2243, PD2167 and PD2207, is designed for high clarity, clean machining and excellent cell release. Flextra PD2243 offers the highest performance with excellent clarity on various films, high bond strength, high chemical resistance and high heat resistance. The adhesive is suitable for stand-up pouches. Its clean machining helps minimise production line shutdowns. Flextra PD2167 provides the widest window of performance for its cost with good bond strength on a variety of films. Flextra PD2207, is suitable for a bakery, snack and confectionary packaging, offering outstanding economics, said the firm.

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Macchingraf hosts ‘Label Day’ in Italy to present its recent partnership with Gallus Italy A three-day event dedicated to the label world and organised by Macchingraf, Gallus’s sales & service partner in Italy, attracted 150 professionals from 80 leading Italian companies.

Attendance from major companies from across Italy clearly indicated the event’s role in presenting to the market the partnership between Macchingraf and Gallus, undertaken at Drupa last year, said Gallus.

The event featured live demonstrations of a Gallus ECS 340 flexo printing machine with 7 printing units, foiling and die-cutting and a Heidelberg Linoprint L digital press.

Live demo of Gallus ECS

Gallus’s screenprinting plates (Gallus Screeny), the Cerm Workflow Software and supporting products of all other business partners of Macchingraf were on display. Customers could also meet partners, who exhibited their latest label

products and solutions.

Macchingraf CEO Alberto Mazzoleni said the number of attendees confirmed the market’s interest.

‘We would like to thank all the customers we could meet personally and to whom we were able to show our solutions by offering them our personal consultancy,’ he said.

‘We are also proud to announce the sale of a Gallus ECS 340 to customer Tipolitogragfia Zardini, near Verona.

‘With this order the company confirms once again its trust in Macchingraf and in Gallus technology, as last November they also purchased a Gallus TCS 250.’

Flint Group works with German school on partnership to deliver qualified new staff Germany To ensure a supply of well qualified and trained employees, the Flint Group is targeting young individuals with talent through offering apprenticeships at many of its sites.

Chemical assistants and mechatronics specialists are currently being educated at the German site of Willstaett, where they are lined up for roles in the printing plates production team.

Close contacts have also been estabalished with training centres and schools, such as the Moscherosch School in Willstaett, a technical secondary school offering a general six-year course of education to give pupils get a chance to achieve their vocational orientation at a very early stage.

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Flint seeks apprentices

The Moscherosch School and Flint Group now have agreed on an educational partnership so that students get an opportunity to become acquainted with operative processes and diverse job possibilities.

Flint Group contributes to

the practical teaching and offers students plant visits and oneweek internships as well as career guidance.

Dr Thomas Zwez, managing director Flint Group Germany GmbH, said that promoting young individuals with talent is very important for the company and the cooperation will bring benefits to both parties: ‘for us as an employer as well as for the young people, to whom we offer guidance for their future.’

Bertram Walter, principal of the school, said the possibility of starting a high class apprenticeship after graduation is vital to his pupils. ‘With this educational partnership, we have created a good basis for this,’ he said.

News International

Atlantic Zeiser launches Digiline solution news brief for printing and encoding variable data Videojet is helping United Germany Atlantic Zeiser, a global solutions provider of dedicated personalization and coding systems, has released its Digline Compact system for printing and encoding variable data on flat carton boxes, cardboard blanks and single sheets.

Digiline Compact is aimed at packaging firm and carton manufacturers, as well as service providers in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, FMCG, security printers, and small-format commercial printers.

The entry-level system fills out Atlantic Zeiser’s portfolio of carton box and singlesheet printing solutions. The standalone system is designed for

Digiline’s Compact system

late-stage short-run printing of serial numbers, codes and logos onto carton boxes, cardboard blanks and single sheets, such as sleeves and labels.

The system uses Atlantic Zeiser’s proven Omega (DoD) printing technology, which

produces consistently highquality personalised output, said Viviane Schaaf, product manager for Packaging.

The new system can process carton sizes from 45mm to 430mm in length, and from 64mm to 368mm wide. For coding, the Digline Compact is compatible with the complete range of Atlantic Zeiser Omega models, printing at up to 60m/ min at 360dpi. Each Digline Compact system is configured with a drop-on-demand printhead based on desired width and a drying system compatible with the selected printer. An optional standalone camera for readability control complements the system.

OMET marks its 50th anniversary with a series of special events throughout 2013 Italy OMET Srl officially turned 50 on 1 February and has planned a series of events to mark its anniversary.

OMET Lecco’s celebrations kicked off with participation at Tissue World in Barcelona in March with a booth dedicated to the 50th anniversary, followed by the unveiling in May of a book on the company’s history at an open house organised in parallel with Converflex Show in Milan.

Key customers are invited to a gala dinner and to participated in ‘It’s Tissue’, a week of conferences and events including a visit to Italy’s 12 leading tissue manufactuers scheduled 22–30 June.

The firm will also participate in Labelexpo Europe 2013 in Brussels,

OMET 50 years celebrations

where OMET will reveal a new look.

Celebrations will then conclude with an internal sports event for employees across the group.

O-Pac, the OMET group company active in producing wet wipes, has moved recently to a new plant and the Division OMET

Systems in Motion has transferred to Valmadrera, near Lecco, in a larger and more modern complex.

For OMET Machines Division, the anniversary year has brought separation into two factories, with the manufacturing plant for printing presses remaining in Via Polvara while the tissue converting branch has relocated to the historical site of OMET in Via Caduti a Fossoli, renovated inside and out and equipped with a new powerful photovoltaic system.

The site of Via Polvara is undergoing some exterior renovations and an overhaul of some internal structures, including the Technology Centre, the core of OMET’s activity in the packaging market.

Biscuits (UB) in the UK to cut waste through replacing pre-printed outer cases for its snacks with standard generic boxes on which a laser receptive material has been applied.

The material reacts on contact with the beam from Videojet’s 3320 laser markers so required data can be marked on the boxes. Until now, UB has purchased many different boxes to cater for its various products and for promotional offers. But at the beginning of 2008 UB launched a sustainability initiative that included the target of achieving zero food waste to landfill by 2010 and zero non-food waste to landfill by 2015.

UB can now put any information it wants on its boxes, including barcodes, graphics and special offers, cutting waste and saving £128,000 ($194,000) in just nine months.

Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) is expanding to Bengaluru. The new centre is intended to support primary packaging customers, such as FMCG, food processing, dairy, beverages and pharmaceuticals in Karnataka. ‘The state-of-theart centre, sixth of its kind across the country... will have a training facility, a laboratory to test packaging material and finished packages and a quality monitoring unit,’ said IIP director N.C. Saha. Karnataka has 26 MSME product clusters, 132 industrial estates and eight growth centres across the state. IIP plans to complete construction by mid-July.

The centre is expected to host the national packaging expo Indpack and a national conference on packaging in 2014. IIP aims to improve packaging standards to promote exports and to improve infrastructure for the sector.

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News International

Général Emballage invests in Bobst kit as the Algerian corrugated board firm targets continuing expansion Algeria The Algerian company Général Emballage is aiming to extend its outstanding growth through investing in cutting-edge Bobst, according to the machine manufacturer.

In 2012, Général Emballage purchased a Bobst Masterflex-L and a Bobst Mastercut 2.1, considered the first of their type in North Africa and even Africa, as solutions for high added-value packaging. The new ‘High Graphics’ and precision die-cutting machines have boosted the plant’s production capabilities in relation to both quantity and quality, said Bobst.

Bobst’s Tunis-based subsidiary for Africa and the Middle East sees the order as a reflection of a strategy of investing in local skills to offer

Général Emballage aims to extend growth through new investments

products and services tailored to the region.

Général Emballage managing director Ramdane Batouche said his company takes a particular interest in the latest technologies in its field.

‘In the end, we selected Bobst on

the basis, of course, of the quality of its equipment and the service it provides, he said. ‘The company can send rapid assistance from Tunisia in the event of any problem on a machine. This was also what made Bobst stand out from other

machine producers.’

Général Emballage specialises in producing and converting corrugated board, with half of Algeria’s market with an annual production of 60,000 tons. Exports total 12% of production and by 2014 the firm plans to generate at least 20% of its turnover in export markets.

With 710 employees, Général Emballage operates seven combined converting machines, mainly Bobst’s Lyon brand, five autoplatens, including three Bobst SPO 160-Vision and a BOBST Mastercut 2.1 and 3 folders-gluers.

The business spans sectors, with agri-food accounting for 45% of sales volume. Customer include Coca-Cola, Henkel and Cevital.

Comexi Group’s Flexo F2 flexographic printer lands the ‘Red Dot Design’ award for its good looks and durability Spain Comexi Group, a specialist in solutions for the flexible package convertible industry, has been awarded the ‘Red Dot Design’ for its Comexi Flexo F2 flexographic printer.

The Red Dot Design recognises the best products of the year according to communication and product design criteria. The Comexi Flexo F2 was singled out from more than 1,800 machines from 54 countries by its aesthetic design and durability, according to Comexi.

Changes in the printer’s structure improve accessibility to ease operating and maintenance.

Working time has also been reduced to make the machine more productive.

44

Comexi Flexo F2 wins the ‘Red Dot Design’ award

The Comexi Flexo F2 incorporates 10 new patents covering grids, doctor blade, drying screen, Excitink, reels, layout and Cingular modules.

The ‘Red Dot Design’ has been given since 1955. Awards for the

may-june 2013

current edition, with the bigger jury of the project’s history, will be held on 1 July in Essen, Germany.

Comexi describes the Flexo F2 as a new concept for medium and long runs in flexible packaging.

The machine features patented

FLEXOEfficiency concepts such as ergonomics and accessibility along with the performance and strength of FPLUS. It is available in printing widths from 1,270mm to 1,470mm, eight colours and offers printing developments of up to 850mm.

Electronic systems achieve the best printout qualities at up to 500m/min, and it can be applied to substrates such as film, plastic, paper and laminates, said Comexi.

Designed with comfort in mind, the Flex F2 offers easy access to the doctor blade, easy threading, easy cleaning of dried sections between colors, no need for tools, easy cleaning of the central drum and an endless array of ergonomic enhancements, according to the Comexi Group.

News International

Subway cuts its environmnental footprint with catering trays from 95% post-consumer recycled PET material USA The Subway restaurant chain, which has made a commitment to make its restaurants and operations even more environmentally responsible, is now using catering trays that are made from 95% post-consumer recycled PET. The brand estimates that the move will keep about 1.8m lbs (820,000kg) of plastic materials from going directly into the waste stream annually. Each tray and lid is made from about nineteen 20oz (0.57kg) recycled plastic soda or water bottles.

The new catering trays are used in almost 29,000 Subway restaurants in the US and Canada.

‘We have made a commitment to

Subway: 95% post-consumer recycled PET based catering trays

look at every facet of our day-to-day operations in order to make our restaurants more environmentally responsible,’ said marketing director Elizabeth Stewart.

Like salad bowls and lids

introduced in 2012, the catering trays and lids were created by Pactiv of Lake Forest, Illinois.

Pactiv works with a facility that cleans and recycles PET soda and water bottles, creating the materials

used in the new trays. Subway is looking at additional pieces of packaging that can use these recycled materials.

The brand estimates that the salad bowls and lids, which are made from two-and-a-half recycled plastic soda and water bottles, are keeping about 2.62m lb (1.18m kg) of plastic from the waste stream annually.

‘Along with creating a better display of sandwiches, the new catering trays were designed so they can be easily stored and transported, as they now feature handles on the sides of the platters and a structure allowing trays to be stacked,’ said Michael Fox, the packaging technologist for the brand.

Exopack, Britton Group, Kobusch, PACCOR and Paragon join forces to operate as global giant Exopack Holding USA Exopack, Britton Group, Kobusch, PACCOR and Paragon – five leading packaging companies in North America and Europe – have announced that they intend to combine to operate as one global leader under the banner of Exopack Holdings Sarl, a new Luxembourg company. The combined business will have 63 plants, 8,650 employees and aggregate revenues of more than $2.5bn, making it the sixth-largest plastics packaging company in the world.

Joining Exopack, a US-based producer of flexible paper and plastic packaging, and advanced coatings, will be four leading companies based in Europe – Britton Group, a flexible plastic packaging manufacturer; PACCOR,

Jack Knott, CEO of Exopack Holdings Sarl

the second-largest rigid plastic packaging company in Europe; Kobusch, a producer of tailormade flexible and rigid packaging systems; and Paragon Print & Packaging, a leader in private label packaging solutions in the UK.

All five packaging companies are affiliated portfolio companies of Sun Capital Partners. The brand names of the five businesses would remain in use. Jack Knott would serve as CEO, with Mike Alger as CFO. Dieter Bergner will be CEO

of PACCOR (Global Rigid business) and Michael Cronin will be CEO of the Global Flexibles business.

‘This combination represents a natural next step in a process that began eight years ago to create a global packaging company with a solid foundation for future growth,’ said Marc Leder, co-CEO of Sun Capital Partners.

Jack Knott said the new entity will better serve customers through a manufacturing base spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East and China. ‘The larger scale will enable us to accelerate the development and commercialisation of new and differentiated products that offer our customers a competitive advantage.’

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News International

Tetra Pak sales rise by 4.3% in 2012 with the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa both showing double-digit growth Sweden Despite global economic turbulence, Tetra Pak’s sales increased by 4.3% last year.

The packaging giant announced net sales of €11.16bn ($14.4bn) in 2012, a rise of 4.3% from 2011 in comparable terms.

Tetra Pak’s Packaging Solutions businesses achieved net sales of €9.87bn for the year, 4.2% up in comparable terms, with solid growth in South and Southeast Asia, Central and South America, North America, East Europe and Central Asia, but double-digit growth in the Middle East and subSahara Africa.

Processing Solutions sales hit €1.29bn, a 5.2% rise, with doubledigit growth in North Europe,

Tetra Pak grew in 2012 despite slowdown in China and Brazil

South and Southeast Asia, Central and South America and Sub-Sahara Africa.

‘The economic situation is still tough, with growth slower than before, particularly in China

and Brazil, our fastest growing economies,’ said Tetra Pak president and CEO Dennis Jönsson.

‘We’ve had to make some tough decisions over the past year to enable us to continue to invest in

the development of new products, services and facilities that will enable our customers, retailers and suppliers to thrive in the years to come.

‘We remain focused on providing our customers with the right products at the right price to meet the constantly changing needs of the market place.’

Tetra Pak is the world’s leading food processing and packaging solutions company. Operating in more than 170 markets with over 20,000 employees, the company aims to provide responsible industry leadership, creating profitable growth in harmony with environmental sustainability and good corporate citizenship.

UK-based Cracker Drinks brand relaunches its aseptic juice range in 1-litre Pure-Pak Curve cartons from Elopak UK New-look Cracker Drinks are appearing on retailers’ shelves across the UK in May as the range is relaunched in 1-litre Pure-Pak Curve cartons from Elopak.

The brand will be the first to roll off the UK’s only aseptic juice, gable top carton filling line, which opened in March, based at Fruitapeel in Llantrisant, Wales.

Fruitapeel, a producer of own-label and branded juices and smoothies, will fill Cracker’s range of five juice-drink products, three juice products and ‘still & cloudy lemonade’ on an Elopak S-PS80 High Aseptic filling machine.

Volumes are expected to reach 6 million cartons per year.

The cartons were previously filled in Germany. ‘To date,

46

Cracker’s new carton are part of a brand review

aseptic juice producers had to go outside mainland UK for gable top,’ says Fruitapeel managing director Terry Haigh. ‘Cracker saw the logistical benefits, both cost and environmental, and the opportunities of British-based

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production.’

Cracker Drinks were first filled in Elopak Pure-Pak cartons three years ago. ‘We have become emotionally tied to the Elopak carton... which portrays our “fruit and refreshment” message perfectly and is now

synonymous with the brand,’ said Gavin Cox, managing director of the Cracker Drinks Co. Product will be filled at Fruitapeel in 1-litre Pure-Pak Curve cartons, with the added curved panel giving a different look to the pack. ‘You have to do something different to be noticed and our research demonstrated an overwhelming response from consumers and trade buyers who welcomed the Pure-Pak Curve. It brings a premium point of difference to the ambient shelves,’ said Cox. The new pack forms part of a comprehensive brand review.

The subsequent relaunch will include Cracker’s first social media campaign and PR activities to drive brand awareness.

Dubai International Print Awards 2013

Congratulations!

Judging DIPA Dubai International Print Awards attracts winners of Dubai Print Award recordThe attendance ofInternational 500 industry figures DIPA Judges The Printing & UAE The Dubai International Print Award (DIPA) took place at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai with a record attendance of more than 500 printing industry professionals to witness the award giving and celebrate the winners of this year’s soughtafter DIPA trophies.

Packaging, which debuted as a sector in last year’s awards, was represented by the two PRINTING categories of boxes and flexo FLYERS narrow web. (head judge); Karl Kowalczyk, GOLD Printpac - UAE In the boxes category, Dubaiconsultant, printing technology; SILVER Modern Printing Press - UAE based Power Print won Gold.

Daniel Siegel, UPM Kymmene BRONZE Rashid Printers & Stationers LLC - UAE Delta Printing Press LLC, also Sales GmbH, senior manager POS MATERIAL based in Dubai, took the Silver technical sales Central Europe; GOLD Power award, Print - UAE while Sharjah-based Hemant Ranadive, FCBULKA Printing Printing Press LLC&- UAE Packaging won India, general manager, SILVER Delta Medad Stationers LLC - UAE thePrinters Bronze& trophy.

Production Services; Dr BRONZE Rashid POSTER In the flexo printing category, Eduard Neufeld Fogra Graphic GOLD Galadari Printing & Pub. LLC -Raqam UAE Intl Saudi Arabia-based Technology Research Association, Printing Press - UAE Label & Ribbons Factory won institute director and DrSILVER Saad Modern BRONZE Press - UAE the GoldPrinting and Lebanon-based Aldossary, consultant and trainer International El Yaman Group was awarded of printing technology (KSA).

MAGAZINE Silver.

From the UAE, Overall, the entries were of GOLD International Printing Press - UAEKimoha Group - UAEwon the Bronze.

Entrepreneurs much higher quality thanSILVER in The Atlas BRONZE Raidy Emirates Printing Group packaging - UAE Entries in the DIPA’s previous years, said the judges. categories increased on last year’s Nicholas Jung, head judge BOOK edition and are expected to rise for the event, said: ‘the print GOLD Delta Printing Press - UAE with the expansion industry’ can survive theSILVER Dar Alagain Akhbar Al Khaleej Printing of the House - Bahrain region’s packaging sector. competition put forth by other & Publishing BRONZE Gulfscan LLC -the UAE Under Patronage of media by delivering innovative ANNUAL REPORT H. H. Sheikh Maktoum Bin designs, through cost effective GOLD The Atlas Group - UAE Mohammed Bin Rashid Al production and maintaining SILVER Zabeel Printing Press - UAERuler of Maktoum, Deputy high quality prints. The award BRONZE Al Fajar with Printing Pub. - UAE the&collaboration is unique because it is the only DarDubai, of the Dubai Chamber of print award in the GCC and has CARD Commerce and Industry (DCCI) effectively positioned itself as the GOLD Zabeel Printing Press - UAE and organised by the DCCI’s definitive platform fromSILVER which to The Card Co. - UAE BRONZE Asiatic Printing&Press - UAE Group Printing Publishing gauge the quality and excellence (PPG), the awards were held on of the region’s printing and CALENDAR 9 April 2013. publishing industry, andGOLD has done Delta Printing Press LLC - UAE members this for the seventh consecutive SILVER EI YamanEight Groupjury - Lebanon deliberated on year”.

BRONZE S. T. Reddiar & Sons - more India than 400 entries from eight countries BROCHURE

Publishing Group (PPG) chose some of the best talents from around the world to judge this year’s DIPA. Eight international jury members came to Dubai to judge and award this year’s entries.

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BRONZE Dar Al Fajar Printing & Pub. - UAE BRONZE Al Ghurair Printing & Pub. LL printing and publishing industry,’ The personality of the year saidBOX Mazen Haj, chairman of the award went to Ahmad Al Shaikh,- DIGITAL BROCHURE GOLD&Power Print - UAE Printing Publishing Group. managing director GOLD of Modern Spectrum UAE Limited - UAE SILVER Delta Printing Press LLC - UAE ‘We had an impressive number Printing Press and former SILVER Modern Printing Press - UAE BRONZE Medad Printing Packagingchairman - UAE BRONZE of high quality entries this&year, of the Printing & The Atlas Group - UAE NEWSPAPER and I would especially like to Publishing Group. CATALOGUE - DIGITAL GOLD Galadari Printingwho & Pub. LLC - UAE thank all of the judges, In line with UAEGOLD government International Printing Press - UA Al in Fajar Printing & Publishing - UAE hadSILVER a toughDar task selecting policy, the PPG aims to help SILVER Al Ghurair Printing & Pub. LLC Printing & Pub. LLC - UAE our BRONZE winners,Al asGhurair all entries were the country becomeBRONZE a leaderPrint Outs - UAE NEWSLETTER worthy of recognition.’ in the sector by encouraging CALENDAR - DIGITAL GOLD Printpac - UAE DIPA 2013 saw LLC a signifi cant the printing, publishing GOLDand Modern Printing Press - UAE SILVER Printing Press increase in Delta the number of LLC - UAE packaging industries to flourish SILVER Four Films Printing Group Co. W BRONZE Power Print with - UAE46 competing companies, and spread their wings to beyond BRONZE Print Outs - UAE printing houses andJOB six new the Middle East to Africa and HANDCRAFT FLYER - DIRECT MAILER - DIGI GOLD Rashid Printers Stationers - UAE companies enrolled for & the first LLC Europe.

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may-june 2013

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Middle East label markets

Label converters respond to expanding markets Despite the Middle East’s political turbulence, label converters can expect new business opportunities and are gearing for expansion with mergers that could herald a switch to digital, reports Catherine Diamond.

Global demand for labels rose 4.5% to hit East amounted to $19.9bn, up 6.0% on Investment 46.85 billion sqm in 2011, according to 2009,’ he said. ‘This followed on from an 8% The Middle Eastern market has seen very a 2012 report by AWA Alexander Watson sales decline in 2009. Sales are projected to dynamic growth and investment in the Associates. In Africa and the Middle East, increase by 6.9% in real terms for the full latest equipment, particularly in the UAE, the market totalled 2.39 billion sqm. The year 2011 to $21.3bn. Going forward, annual Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Lebanon, said Mark region is also set for significant growth in growth of the order of 4.4 % in real terms is Bouffard, senior marketing communications 2013–14, and a more moderate expansion in anticipated over the period 2011–16, with manager at Avery Dennison.

2015-16, found AWA. sales set to reach $26.4bn by 2016.’

Bouffard sees an advantage for the Middle Glue-applied label technologies – cold Turkey represented a third of the Middle East in its role as a hub linking Asia and glue and wraparound (hot melt) glue-applied East’s entire packaging demand in 2010, Europe with Africa, ‘the next continent to styles – represent 38% of the regional which amounted to almost $20bn, he said. develop’. market, while pressure sensitive labels make ‘Medium term growth forecasts estimate ‘On top of that, local markets are also an average annual increase in demand of up 35%, according to the report. Primary growing. Hence, Mideast label producers almost 6% in Turkey, well ahead of the rest label applications emerge as the leading will play an important role,’ he said. application segment for all label types in the of the region, where growth of under 4% Mike Russell, international sales director region, which is typified by a low level of VIP on average is anticipated over the forecast at Mark Andy, sees the Middle East as period. The Middle East market is expected label applications. similar to other markets without strong to be worth about $24bn by 2016, with Iran holds 18% of the market, followed infrastructures for label printers.

Turkey having increased its regional share to

by North Africa with 14% and Pakistan with Since the early 1990s, when Mark Andy over 35% by this time,’ he said.

13%. All countries in the region produce began selling into the Middle East, he notes significant quantities of glue-applied labels, but South Africa makes about 150 million sqm of pressure sensitive labels and Pakistan is expected to grow its pressure sensitive label market by 14% between now and 2016.

The report finds major differences across the region. ‘Label converters rely to varying degrees on the balance between local production and imports of the required label materials,’ it reports. ‘This in turn influences the economics of local production by label format and beneficially or adversely affects the growth of individual label formats and end uses.’

The wider packaging sector will also grow at least as fast as the label segment, said Adam Page, business manager at Smithers Pira, which has gathered information on the packaging, paper and print industry supply chains.

‘In 2010, packaging sales in the Middle AWA Report: MEA region 201 1 labels & labelling market consumption was 2.39 billion

may-june 2013

49

Business Analysis ‘a steep learning curve’.

Most sales initially went to established printing companies interested in branching out into self-adhesive labels.

‘These companies were mostly offset printers and needed to be educated on the nuances of flexo printing. The printers who persevered became successful. We have recently seen a surge in activity as new label printing operations are being established to meet the increasing demands for labels in the region.’

But training and retaining skilled operators will always be a challenge, along with finding suppliers for tooling, inks, substrates and other consumables, he added.

Paolo Grasso, Mideast manager for Italian press manufacturer Omet, also see the market as similar to that in other regions.

‘In general the Gulf is very reachable,’ he said. But the region’s fractured nature can create challenges in connecting with people, he said. ‘The challenge is to get into people’s hearts,’ he said.

Mergers and acquisitions Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is increasing across the globe and the region’s label market is no exception. According to Grasso, M&As can tranform converters’ buying power.

‘This turns into bigger purchasing power and, therefore, new capabilities for printers,’ he said.

‘It allows printers to approach more international-oriented manufacturers and distributors. Quality standards are becoming even and competition is tougher for the smaller players. Although the market is growing in double digits every year, there is still room for improvement.’

The shift to digital

Alexander Watson Associates (AWA) report: The Middle East and Africa region’s labels and labelling industry i

While the vast majority of labels printed in the region are flexo based, digital is expected to grow as converters increase their capital and have access to more sophisticated equipment.

Digital technology has made significant inroads in the pre-press workflow, said Mark Andy’s Russell. ‘As a lot of the label printers in this market come from the offset industry, the quality of flexo needs to be equal to or greater than that which they achieve with

offset. For this reason, the latest in prepress and plate technology is critical, and that has recently involved digital technology.’

But the region’s converters often cannot yet afford top-of-the-line equipment, even if M&As are set to help, he said. ‘Digital press technology is of interest, of course, but not at a high level. We have found interest in lower-cost digital technology for those looking to fulfil shorter runs.’

50

may-june 2013

Ali Mohammadlou of Sarah Manufacturing of Sharjah, UAE, which represents EFI’s Jetrion printers in the Middle East, sees a trend for local companies to merge to cut costs and gain market share. Mergers can sometimes help larger companies establish a presence in this sometimes splintered region, he said.

‘Larger companies are buying small privately owned businesses to increase their

Middle East label markets network,’ said Weymans.

While the Middle East lacks a consumer base the size of North America, many global retailers offer global brands in the region, he added.

‘So a certain amount of the labels and packing materials are used for the domestic market but equally for export,’ he said.

‘This export requires them to be highly competitive and that drives them to implement manufacturing processes that maximise throughput and minimise both cost and waste. In many cases, they are an example of manufacturing excellence and they also invest in top quality equipment.’

UAE pioneers digital switch

elling industry is set for significant growth in 2013–14, and a more moderate expansion in 2015-16

presence in as many countries as possible in the region,’ he said.

‘This is more cost-effective than setting up their own branches from scratch. This, of course, has been driving smaller companies that have been traditionally producing at a lower cost out of business or making them distinguish themselves in order to survive.’

Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s director of segment marketing and business

development for labels and packaging, says that though the Middle East label market is not as established as it is in North America or Europe, it is poised to provide solid growth.

‘Since 2011 we have increased our focus on the region with the dedicated appointment of Vincent van Horenbeeck, regional sales manager for the Middle East, who in his turn set up a dedicated dealer

Niklaus Amacker, head of corporate communications at Gallus, says the proliferation of digital has already started in the UAE, and he expects it to spread throughout the region soon.

‘The amount of digital investment in terms of the number of new presses actually going into the market is approximately 1520% worldwide,’ he said.

‘Yet the amount of digitally printed product in the global market is between 3% and 5% per annum. This means there is either low productivity, or that the digital equipment has its limitations in a range of products or segments, in which conventional printing technologies can do better.’

Cem Karabayir, area sales manager for the Middle East market at UPM Raflatac, says the Middle East is carefully following the development of digital technology since it has positive impacts on production costs, particularly in short runs.

‘On the other hand, making an investment decision on digital technology is not an easy task. There is still a perception of the market that the costs of raw materials (substrates, inks, toners, etc.) for digital printing are higher than the market expectation,’ he said.

‘The more the digital technology allows printers to use conventional raw materials and systems, the faster the growth of digital technology in the Middle Eastern region will be.’

Catherine Diamond is the associate editor of Label & Narrow Web

may-june 2013

51

Technology feature

GOSS Int’l: The Sunday Vpak press represents a game changing wideweb offset option for flexible packaging, folding carton, and preprint applications

Rotary offset solutions target package printing

Offset printing and rotary technology have never seemed a perfect match for package printing. Until now. While folding cartons remain largely a sheetfed offset operation, and flexible packaging a CI or inline flexo, or gravure process, rotary offset is gaining popularity, writes Nick Coombes.

With brand owners demanding smaller quantities at shorter notice, package print converters, who know that top quality is expected, are looking for new ways to manufacture and wondering what rotary offset can offer.

Long accepted for high quality in commercial print, offset has been slow to make the transition to package printing. But, with lower prepress costs than flexo or gravure, its major competitors, offset is attracting interest from converters needing to improve margins, and press manufacturers concerned that their traditional market sectors are in irreversible decline.

Variable technology makes its mark

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may-june 2013

Muller Martini uses its offset know-how to provide a genuine alternative to flexo and gravure in the package printing sector.

Key to the company’s success is the variable size printing offered by its VSOP and Alprinta V technology. Perfectly suited to shorter run work with frequent job changes, the simpler and cheaper prepress, faster setup times, use of UV or EB cured inks and varnishes, and reduced substrate waste, move the company’s rotary offset offering into the area of highly cost-effective production.

According to one of its customers, the Swiss company Nyco, offset offers a lower cost per

square metre than either flexo or gravure, and helps to keep prices competitive. The value of this comment is that it comes from a company that operates all three processes side by side, and is therefore in a good position to make comparisons.

With run lengths down by at least half since 2000, the pressure on cost-effective production has never been greater. Take flexible packaging as an example. It has always required different print lengths, which ruled out offset presses until the advent of variable repeat technology.

These days, lightweight plate and blanket sleeves make offset a viable alternative to the established flexo and gravure processes in the

ons

Rotary offset

Muller Martini: The Alprinta V continuously format-variable web offset press is exceptionally well-suited for flexible packaging

production of shrink sleeves, labels, wraparounds, in-moulds, pouches and folding cartons.

Flexibility with precise servo control The Swiss manufacturer Gallus has also moved into offset. Well known for its narrow web label presses, the company has developed two of its high specification lines for offset printing.

The full servo drive RCS 330 set a new benchmark when it was launched as a flexo press for label production, and its success prompted Gallus to design and produce an offset version, which is now also available in a 430mm web width.

Flexibility is the major benefit of an RCS, with its modular design that allows a wide range of substrates to be handled with the precise control that full servo drive offers.

Gallus claims that the quality of flesh tones used frequently in the health and beauty care markets, and the fine control of vignettes, make the RCS offset line a creative tool that designers can use to maximise on-shelf product appeal.

Lower printing plate cost is another plus point, while the standardisation that offset offers is valued by global brand owners looking for consistency, said Gallus.

Danish manufacturer Nilpeter has used its narrow web expertise to develop the MO-3300 and MO-4 offset presses, also designed around an open platform principle, which similarly allows production flexibility by combining other print and converting processes inline.

The use of offset printing, in a market largely dominated by flexo, is customer driven, according to Nilpeter. Major brand owners view offset as

a quality process, and labels or shrink sleeves printed by this process will be the best match for cartons printed on sheetfed offset, according to the company.

Once again, cost is highlighted as a major benefit of rotary offset. The fall in prepress costs means that using a large flexo or gravure press for short-run work makes no sense, according to Nilpeter.

Also, with offset print quality so close to that of gravure, runs of 10,000–20,000 metres become commercially viable, especially as, like Müller Martini, Nilpeter uses sleeve technology for ease of handling and rapid size changes.

Role of wide web experience A new entrant to the market for package printing presses is Goss International, which has adapted its Sunday Vpak range of variable sleeve offset lines for package printing.

Based on the company’s experience in medium and wide webs, the Vpak lines are available in web widths from 520mm to 1900mm and capable of speeds up to 450 metres/minute.

The technology is based on eliminating the blanket gaps that impose restrictions on conventional offset presses. The company believes that packaging needs the variable print length capability that is central to its Sunday technology, and is convinced the time is right to exploit the opportunities in the international market, where it says web width is crucial.

In particular, it believes that carton printers accustomed to using large format sheetfed presses are unlikely to invest in a web press

they consider ‘half size’.

Making the case for CI So far, the rotary technology I’ve mentioned has all been inline. But one Spanish company, Comexi, has taken a different approach to offset development for package printing, and launched its CI 8 central impression press for short run, high-quality flexible packaging production.

The concept is based on eight offset printing stations located around the CI drum, with the option of having the first and last as flexo heads for special ink or varnish applications.

The CI 8 is specifically aimed at low calliper substrates like PET, PE and BOPP, but can still run an 860mm web at ‘300m and, significantly, generates as little as 30 metres of waste.

Comexi also confirms that offset has quick and easy prepress, is clean to operate, fast to make ready, and offers top print quality.

Importantly, in the highly competitive market for flexible packaging, it claims the new CI 8 makes an ideal complement to existing flexo and gravure capacity.

If quality was yesterday’s yardstick, then cost control is today’s. With an F1 racing car, it’s not just speed on the track that counts – pit stops have a key role too. Similarly in printing, it’s not how fast you actually run, it’s how fast you can make ready to run that sets you apart from the competition.

Rotary offset brings a whole new set of parameters to package printing – and it will be interesting to see the takeup of this new technology by existing converters.

may-june 2013

53

Technology feature

Metal container market expands in emerging regions While plastic packaging is grabbing market share globally, metal containers are on a solid upward trend in regional markets such as Africa and the Middle East, writes Debabrata Deb.

Over the five years from 2004, metal packaging expanded at an average of 2.8% to make up 18% of packaging consumption by value in 2009.

Meanwhile, plastic packaging surged ahead by 4.3% per year for flexible and 6.5% for rigid packaging – to take a combined slice of 30%.

The trend has been propelled by rising demand for PET bottles in soft drinks and

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bottled water; substitution of metal, glass and sometimes paper and board; trends in meat, fish and poultry packaging; the popularity of ready-to-eat foods; convenience products such as for on-the-move consumption.

PET bottles already take nearly 60% of the soft drink, fruit juice and water bottle market.

Plastic are also set to grab more of the beverages market as PET recycling attains economies of scale and new polymers and

production processes enable down-weighting with increased shelf life. Meanwhile spouted pouches will also eat into metal containers’ market share.

Even so, studies show metal containers will maintain a steady growth of 2% and 3% globally. And a regional breakdown of market trends reveals wide variations, with both Africa and the Middle seeing metal container consumption rising at a two-digit pace.

s

Metal Packaging Regional markets for metal containers Region

Share of metal container CAGR consumption

North America

31%

0.6%

Western Europe

28%

2.0%

Eastern Europe

5%

6.0%

22%

2.1%

Middle East

4%

12.7%

Africa

4%

15.3%

South & Central America

4%

1.2%

Oceania

2%

5.9%

100%

2.8%

Asia (excluding Middle East)

World

Regional variations

Metal container makers

In emerging markets, metal containers are also used in untypical ways. While food and beverage applications make up 95% of their applications globally, in emerging markets 25% of metal containers are for non-food uses.

These applications – such as paints, lacquers and sealants – are also seeing significantly higher growth, in line with expanding construction and housing sectors, especially in Africa and the Middle East.

Lifestyle enhancements and aspirational buying in the developing economies are also driving sales of metal containers for: energy drinks such as Red Bull; health care and nutraceutical products such as high nutrition, health and convalescence-driven brown and white powders, gastro relief tablets, pain relief sprays; low calorie products such as Diet Coke; high value snacks such as cashew nuts and special cookies; personal care ‘feel good’ and ‘freshness’ products such as aerosol containers for deodorants and fragrances; and home care products such as insecticide aerosol containers, freshness spray containers, and paint containers.

These trends are particularly apparent in the high growth Asian and Middle Eastern countries and some parts of the Central and South America.

In the Middle East, a shift from imports towards local production in beverages helps drive demand.

The drive to cut food waste could also propel the use of metal containers for processed food, giving long shelf lives. Lifecycle studies (LCAs) could open up policies to favour metal containers for selected food items in specific regions.

Rexam, the world’s largest supplier of beverage cans, specialises in aluminium cans. With a supply chain that extends from bauxite to cans and easy open ends, Rexam is the leader in Europe (45%) and after its purchase of Latasa in South America, the largest supplier in that continent (68%) as well.

The firm has now expanded into India – with steel and aluminium cans – as well as China and is increasing its capacity in the Middle East.

Rexam has introduced a re-sealable aluminium can for the JOLT Battery bottle. This bottle offers the inherent benefits of the aluminium can: guaranteed freshness, superior carbonation retention and shelf-life, quick chilling, easy distribution and excellent filling economics. Due to the unique re-sealability feature, consumers will be able to experience the freshness and energy boost (two hits of caffeine in every serving) of JOLT at their own pace.

The power gauge printed in thermo-chromic ink informs consumers about the state of chilling and how much of the exhilarating drink is left in the bottle.

Ball Corporation, another major player in North America, specialises in soft drink and beer cans.

The company has a growing presence in Europe but its major growth has been in China, where it holds a 22% market share plus another 13% from joint ventures.

Ball’s three-piece food cans are used for vegetables, fruit, meat, seafood, nutritional products, pet foods and other products.

Crown bases much of its manufacturing in the US but derives 78% of its revenue elsewhere,

mainly Europe. Lower cost manufacturing in the emerging economies is likely to challenge Crown, particularly in Europe, but the company has begun to reduce costs and explore emerging economies.

Amcor Beverage Aluminium Cans support a range of end uses from wine and spirits to beer and cider to alcoholic ready-to-drink (RTD) to carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices and nectars, milk and coffee, functional and energy drinks, tea and water. It is particularly strong in Australia and New Zealand but has a significant presence in North America.

Amcor takes an integrated approach to packaging, covering all major segments including glass bottles, printed cartons, flexible packaging, closures and CFCs. Siligan Holdings is North America’s largest manufacturer of metal food containers with 50% of the US market. Its major customers are Campbell Soup, Del Monte Foods, General Mills and Hormel Foods.

Rexam, Ball, Crown, Amcor, Siligan and Metal Container Corporation make up almost 30% of the global metal container market, valued at $31bn in 2013).

Manufacturing methods More than 600 styles and sizes of cans are manufactured globally. Types of cans include twopiece aluminium beverage cans, round composite cans, round sanitary open top cans, aerosol cans, drawn tins, friction plug type paint cans, key opening cans, screw top cans, plastic top cans (including cone top and other configurations), oblong cans (easy opening, edible oil type, hinged cover, household machine oil, key opening, spice

may-june 2013

55

Technology feature

Process

Material used

Products contained

3 piece

steel

food, juices, spices, aspirin, non-food items such as paints and glues, decorative containers, aerosols

draw and iron

aluminium 1 piece & 2 piece

2 piece: primarily beer, carbonated beverages, juices

draw and iron

steel 2 piece only

food and non-food items including aerosol cans

draw/redraw

2 piece steel or aluminium

food, shoe polish, sterno fuel, car wax, other non-food items

1 piece: aerosol and pump products (perfumes, air fresheners, saline solutions, fuel additives)

Ends

steel or aluminium

for all can types except 1 piece drawn and wall ironed

crowns and closures

steel

food and non-food Items

Three-piece can bodies are made from flat sheets cut from coils of tin-plated or tin-free steel, depending on the end use. The tin plating is applied to prevent rust. Tin-free steel is electro-coated with a layer of metallic chromium covered by a layer of chromium oxide.

Before the bodies are formed, coatings are usually applied to the interior and exterior surfaces with a roller onto the flat sheet.

Two-piece cans are made by forming a cupshaped container with one piece of aluminum or steel and attaching an end to it. Two-piece cans are manufactured either by the draw-redraw process or the draw-and-iron process. After the fabrication process, various coatings are applied and cured.

Under the draw-and-iron process for

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aluminum beverage cans and one-piece cans, the metal coil is continuously fed into a cupper that stamps shallow metal cups from the coil.

Each cup is stamped, placed on a cylinder, and forced through a series of rings of decreasing annular space, which further draw out the wall of the can and iron out folds in the metal.

One-piece cans are subjected to more severe necking than beverage cans because the valve is placed directly on the can – there is no end piece.

The two-piece draw-and-iron steel food can manufacturing process is similar to the aluminum beverage can process except that food cans are typically decorated with paper labels so printing and over-varnish steps are unnecessary.

Instead, a ‘wash coat’ is applied to protect the can from corrosion. The wash coat is applied

after the washing process, but before drying.

In the draw-redraw process, as in the drawand-iron process, aluminum or steel coil is continuously fed into a cupper that stamps shallow metal cups from the coil. Shallow cans may be stamped only once, whereas deeper cans may require one or two additional stamps.

Aluminum beverage can ends are made exclusively from pre-coated coil. Beverage can ends are stamped from coils in a reciprocating press.

After stamping, the ends are scored in an oval pattern and a tab is attached to form an ‘easy open’ end. These steps are performed after the end piece has been coated and therefore damage the coating. Repair coatings are applied after these steps to restore the integrity of the coatings.

Metal Packaging Coating application type

Purpose

Exterior Base Coat, Size Coat

To protect metal; act as a base for printing inks.

Inks

Decoration and information; identification of cans, indication of pasteurization, indication of chilling status, glow-in-the-dark, association of printed fragrance with product; other special effects.

Over-varnishes

Protection of printed design and base coat.

Rim coat

Applied to bottom rim of can to reduce friction and improve handling on high speed lines.

Bottom coat

Protect can from abrasion and rust.

Side seam stripe

Protect seam from abrasion and rust.

Repair

Repair coatings damaged during fabrication or handling.

Interior Sheet applied protective coatings (usually Protect metal from contents and vice-versa in sourced with coating) 3-piece cans.

Inside sprays

Protect metal from contents and vice- versa in 2-piece and some 3-piece cans.

Side seam stripe

Protect seam and surrounding bare metal from contents.

End seal compound

Provide hermetic seal between can and end pieces.

reduced in the process.

The metal container industry should therefore start working with universities, suppliers and technology consultants in this direction.

The industry also needs to substantially upgrade the efficacy of the coating processes and work with international coating experts to achieve the goal of ultra-low gsm, uniform, pinhole-free application.

Market forecasts The global metal container market is forecast to hit $102.1bn this year and $120bn by 2020.

The main end use will continue to be beverage cans (70%), followed by food cans (20%).

But non-food items are predicted to make up nearly 30% of the market in the developing economies by 2020.

Beverage cans are being optimised for weight, cost, handling, filling and recycling. About 70% will be aluminium containers and 30% steel containers.

Through their ability to withstand loss of cold chain and to convey the premiumness of a brand, beverage cans are set to maintain their attraction even in developing economies.

But the biggest opportunity for metal containers may come from their potential for 100% recycling – an aspect the industry must work on, along with local governments, communities, universities and the recyclers.

Metal containers can be easily compacted and recycled. In fact, about 60% of metal containers are already being recycled. Aluminium cans are recycled more easily than steel cans due to the greater value realised by those engaged in the recycling process.

A recycled aluminium can has a drastically lower energy than a virgin can. Although aluminium cans are more expensive than steel cans in virgin form, they can become cheaper through recycling due to lower handling and recycling costs.

Conclusion

New types of lacquer with ultra-low gsm and new application systems with electron beam curing could now be applied in metal containers.

The metal container industry has yet to use electron beam curing in the manufacture of

metal containers but this technology would allow very low coating weights of lacquers, overvarnishes and spray coatings with full protection of the base metal/printed surface.

VOCs would be reduced, machine speeds increased and overall energy consumption

The metal container industry has a bright future if: a) the LCA approach is adopted; b) container manufacturing technologies are upgraded for down-gauging, down-sizing, higher productivity, lower wastage, reduced energy consumption; c) consumer aspirations, communication, safety and convenience are addressed fully; d) the industry ensures ultra low coating weights and ultra-low levels of VOCs from the inks, lacquers and varnishes.

may-june 2013

57

News Obituary

Efi Arazi EFI mourns the passing of the company’s founder and first CEO EFI’s founder and first CEO, Efraim ‘Efi’ Arazi, died on his 76th birthday on Sunday, 14 April.

Arazi created his namesake company in 1988 after a pioneering, 20-year career as the founder, president and CEO of the high-tech firm, Scitex Corporation.

Arazi served as chairman, president and CEO of Electronics for Imaging (EFI) from 1988 until 1994, guiding the business from modest beginnings, with 18 employees in North Beach, San Francisco, California.

Under his leadership and technical guidance, EFI launched Fiery, the printing industry’s first colour server, in 1991. The product was an immediate success, leading to significant OEM partner contracts with the world’s leading colour printer manufacturers.

Arazi completed an initial public offering for EFI in 1992.

In 1994, Fortune magazine named EFI the nation’s fastestgrowing public company.

‘We are all deeply saddened

58

by the passing of our founder and one of the most influential leaders in the history of our industry, and we send our sympathies and condolences to Efi’s family,’ said Guy Gecht, the current CEO of EFI. ‘Though no longer with us, Efi’s spirit of entrepreneurship, brilliant creativity and love of innovation will always remain at EFI.’ Arazi is widely considered to be the father of our hightech graphic communications industry for his role with Scitex. In the late 1960s, Arazi also worked with NASA while studying at MIT, developing the camera used to broadcast the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.

Today, Arazi’s original EFI Fiery product line is the world’s leading digital colour workflow technology, with more than 20 million Fiery users worldwide.

EFI has grown to more than $652m in annual revenues and manufactures awardwinning digital colour printing workflow products, MIS and ERP systems and inkjet printing technologies.

may-june 2013

Louis O. Werneke Water-based ink pioneer and leading figure in narrow web printing Louis O. Werneke, known as ‘Inky Lou’, died peacefully on 31 March.

Louis founded Werneke Ink Company, which remains a key facet of the Flint Group, and played a pivotal role in shaping the narrow web tag and label market.

In 1973, he began the design of the very first waterbased ink for flexographic printing. ‘There have to be some changes made for the environment and for the energy crunches we have,’ he said. Louis then dedicated time and energy to developing a water-based system for label printing.

Louis was born on 23 June 1926 and was married to June Louise Werneke.

Lou is survived by his two children, Matthew Werneke and Lisa Werneke Nelson.

He lived to see and enjoy eight grandchildren. Lou was preceded in death by his wife, June (2008), and his brother, Skip (2003).

The Flint Group is dedicated to serving the global printing and packaging industry.

The company develops, manufactures and markets an extensive portfolio of printing consumables, including a vast range of conventional and energy curable inks and coatings for most offset, flexographic and gravure applications; pressroom chemicals, printing blankets and sleeves for offset printing; photopolymer printing plates and sleeves, plate-making equipment and flexographic sleeve systems; and pigments and additives for use in inks and other colorant applications.

With a strong customer focus, unmatched service and support, and superior products, Flint Group strives to provide exceptional value, consistent quality and continuous innovation to customers around the world. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Flint Group employs some 6,800 people.

Revenues for 2012 totalled $2.9bn. On a worldwide basis, the company is the No1 or No2 supplier in every major market segment it serves.

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