R O T O L A B EL
FEATURE
Rotolabel FEATURE
sig ns SEEING THE
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product’s label is among the most important but often leastvalued elements in the complete package. Consider a bottle, a can, a box, a jar or any other of a range of generic packages. What identifies it? The label. What tells you who made it and what’s inside? The label. Where do you find the alcoholic content, the grape and the originating vineyard of a bottle of wine? On the label, which may also list ingredients, how to handle the product and how to store it for best results. But labels are almost commoditised, which could be frustrating for those whose business it is to help with product identification and differentiation, and to do so in an eyecatching and image-building manner.
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Investment in new technology is enabling Rotolabel to respond more effectively to customer needs and to maintain its leading position in a competitive market.
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Rotolabel FEATURE
“One of our biggest challenges is cost competition,” said Grant Watson, Sales Director of Rotolabel, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2008. “There is an oversupply of capacity in the market and our challenge is to offer something beyond simple supply. The question is: how do we add value? You can’t put a product into a store without a label – but it is such a small cost, compared with the rest.” These issues are simply challenges that have to be faced and overcome by the label industry. Competition and commodification stimulate the company’s innovation and effective market response. Based in Thornton, Cape Town, Rotolabel is a leader in pressure sensitive label printing in South Africa. It was founded in
UPM RAFLATAC UPM Raflatac ten years in South Africa UPM Raflatac, part of UPM’s Engineered Materials business group, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of self-adhesive label materials and the world’s number one producer of HF and UHF radio frequency identification(RFID) tags and inlays. UPM Raflatac has a global service network consisting of 13 factories on five continents and a broad network of sales offices and slitting and distribution terminals worldwide. UPM Raflatac South Africa operates a production facility in Pinetown, Durban, now for the tenth year, as well as a sales office and a distribution terminal in Johannesburg and Cape Town. www.upmraflatac.com.
1982 by Simon Gilbert who remained the primary shareholder until 2008 when the company was sold to the Bidvest Group, a diverse, proudly South African company. “Their business model suits us, and vice-versa,” said Watson. “We are allowed to function autonomously and our management team now consists of people who have been
Our philosophy has continued to be peopleoriented as much as possible. We invest in training, as well as applications and technology with Rotolabel for a long time.” Watson himself has been part of the organisation for 12 years; managing director Wicus Maritz was previously the manufacturing director and Mandy Bey-Leveld has continued in her everyincreasing role of financial manager since the retirement of financial director, Roy Clarke. 4
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Think Label
THINK L ABEL! Thin materials, innovative pressure-sensitive adhesives and second generation label constructions are opening up new exciting business opportunities for the label. Make them yours with the help of UPM Raflatac. THINK LABEL – and you think business! www.upmraflatac.com
Rotolabel FEATURE
“Prior to the acquisition by Bidvest we had already done a lot of good work. The previous owners had empowered people and set the company up with the idea that it could continue on its own,” said Watson. “Our philosophy has continued to be people-oriented as much as possible. We invest in training, as well as applications and technology. We are now accredited a Level 3 BEE value adding,. Value-added is important to our customers and they can claim points of around 110 per cent of the value of purchases from us under black empowerment regulations.” Rotolabel’s main business is printing labels, although it also supplies overprinting 6
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and applicator equipment to some customers. It employs around 250 people and offers services to South Africa’s wine, food and drink, pharmaceutical, hygiene and other industries. It specialises in conventional and digital print technology, and is able to print labels of consistently high quality on a variety of substrates with a variety of finishes. Rotolabel also offer, to name a few, hot and cold foiling; rotary silkscreening; in-house reprographics and ink matching “We go all the way from single-colour to full range printing,” said Watson. “We offer embossing, peel and read, reverse print and
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Rotolabel FEATURE
conventional and digital services.” Asked to identify one characteristic above all that differentiates Rotolabel, he has no hesitation., “Quality,” he said – Rotolabel holds SABS ISO 9001. But Watson adds flexibility and responsiveness to the mix. “It’s about quality and reliability, as well. Because of economic uncertainty, ordering is inevitably going to be different from forecasts. You have to supply in short lead times so there is a need for more flexibility and the ability to respond to different demands. What we have managed to achieve is a significant reduction in turnaround times.” Rotolabel achieves its flexibility through having a line of nine presses that are all the same make and type, so they become interchangeable. “The market isn’t giving two-month orders any more; they’re ordering for two weeks – and don’t want to pay any more for it.” That’s a bit of a challenge, as there is a big difference between runs of 250,000 labels and 10,000 are somewhat different. Rotolabel has responded by investment.
“We are planning to install a new HP ws6000 press in the near future ,” said Watson. “It takes out the greater part of pre-press, which means you get economies of scale at much lower levels.” Technology helps but the industry in South Africa is also to do with people. “The wine market and personal care markets, especially, are about quality and personal relationships, about knowing the decision makers and them knowing you and your capabilities,” he explained. “Industry in South Africa is becoming more sophisticated although we’re not yet at European standards but awareness is rising – especially of security. Counterfeiting is increasing and security requirements are getting higher. Digital is better for those purposes.” While security issues may be on the rise it’s still the case that product identification and differentiation remain the principal concerns. Rotolabel is able to satisfy those needs with
We go all the way from single-colour to full range printing. We offer embossing, peel and read, reverse print and conventional and digital services
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As the leading supplier of decorative foils and security solutions to the South African printing industry we are extremely proud of our long-standing relationship with Rota Label. We look forward to supplying them with product and service excellence going forward. Synchron are the official agents for Kurz
National Customer Services Number: 0860 109983
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ROTOTEC
• Rotary Cutting Dies
27 (0) 21 534 1162 info@rototec.co.za
• Magnetic Cylinders
• Flexible Cutting Dies • Hot Foiling Cylinders • Print Cylinders • Anvils
such solutions as dayglo, innovative use of different inks and varnishes, different effects and so on. As part of the BidpaperPlus group within Bidvest, Rotolabel is able to call on experience and resources of other companies within the Group as it grows and develops. “Over the next four to five years,
we want to become recognised as South Africa’s centre of excellence in pressure sensitive labelling,” said Watson. “We are looking at shrink-wrap and wraparound but pressure-sensitive is so versatile, both in its wide range of processes, such as special inks and varnishes, through to application processes – it’s suitable for anything from hand-application to highvolume machine throughput. The market is growing, we have strong partnerships with our supply chain partners and we’re using techniques like value-stream mapping to improve our performance and drive down on waste. Our market is high quality product identification. We can deliver fast turnaround and we hope to maintain and extend our share of South Africa’s growing market.” END www.southafricamag.com
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South Africa Magazine, Suite 9 and 10, The Royal, Bank Plain, Norwich, Norfolk, UK. NR2 4SF TNT Magazine, 14-15 Child’s Place, Earl’s Court, London, UK. SW5 9RX ENQUIRIES Telephone: 0044 (0)1603 343267 Fax: 0044 (0)1603 283602 emailus@southafricamag.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Call: 00441603 283573 subscriptions@southafricamag.com
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Postal Address: PO Box 532, Eppindust 7475 Cape Town Republic of South Africa Physical Address: 36 Thor Circle Viking Place Thornton 7460 Cape Town Republic of South Africa Tel: +27 (0)21 532 5540
www.rotolabel.co.za