Prakash Printers and Coaters, initially generally known as Thakur Printers, has been working within the packaging business since 1975. Thakurdas J Shivlani, based the enterprise by buying and selling labels – buying them in Mumbai and promoting them in Ahmedabad. As we speak his son, Prakash Shivlani, serves as director oversees gross sales and advertising, whereas Mayur Shivlani manages fi nance, buying and export gross sales. The converter delivers merchandise to a variety of manufacturers in various segments spanning meals, FMCG, cosmetics and industrial. The corporate is reportedly doubling its capability yearly.
L&L spoke with Mayur Shivlani, who says that when Prakash Printers and Coaters first began manufacturing in-house, it started with display screen printing in a 300sqft house on the primary ground of the household’s residence.
Over time, the converter upgraded its tools and now boasts seven printing traces – one Etirama put in in 2005, one Multitec Ecoflex 330 mm added in 2007 and 5 Lombardi presses with the primary Synchroline 430 mm press put in in 2017.
With our new line, manufacturing is quicker than ever
The power additionally contains 4 coating traces for launch and specialty coatings, a hotmelt coating line that operates at 400m/min, and a number of other ending machines together with die-cutters and slitter rewinders.
‘We produce our launch paper and label inventory in-house, supplying solely printed labels as completed items. We give attention to including worth to the paper we produce slightly than promoting uncooked supplies. We additionally manufacture metalized switch paper in-house,’ provides Shivlani.
Along with self-adhesive labels, the product line options PVC shrink sleeves, in-mold labels, BOPP wrap-around labels, and versatile laminates. The converter additionally performs a major quantity of confidential job work for fellow printers within the business.
Prakash Printers and Coaters’ manufacturing facility now spans 550,000sqft, with 100,000sqft at present in use. A further 60,000sqft is beneath development and anticipated to be accomplished by April 2025, leaving ample house for future improvement.
Increasing versatile packaging manufacturing
Over the previous three years, the corporate’s focus has been on versatile packaging, which now accounts for nearly 50 % of its enterprise. A good portion of this includes jobs for different converters within the business, who beforehand relied on standard gravure printing with cylinder-based techniques.
‘Since our course of is cylinder-less and makes use of flexo polymer plates – costing lower than 50 % of conventional cylinders— fastened prices are vastly decreased. Now we have acquired quite a few inquiries for brief runs, typically with extra SKUs however smaller whole job volumes. When on the lookout for a brand new press, CI flexo was an possibility. We selected to not use solvent inks resulting from environmental considerations.
Equally, gravure printing was not thought of for a similar motive. Now we have at all times been dedicated to avoiding solvent inks to guard each the atmosphere and our staff’ well being,’ Shivlani explains.
The Invicta i2 stood out with its decrease fastened prices for printing plates and cylinders, small footprint, minimal job changeover time, minimal setup waste, velocity of as much as 300 m/min, and internet width of 880mm. It additionally affords value-added enhancements akin to chilly foiling and solid and remedy.
‘Moreover, resulting from our requirement for a wider internet width, our choices have been a bit restricted. We thought of a number of respected names, however having labored with the model on the earlier 4 installations gave Lombardi a transparent edge. They have been at all times an important selection. The brand new press affords double the net measurement and double the velocity, successfully quadrupling the manufacturing capability of a single press,’ Shivlani says.
The press funding was finalized in September 2023 at Labelexpo Europe 2023, and the set up was accomplished by June 2024. With the elevated output, the converter anticipates a development of 25 % within the first yr after set up.
The brand new press affords double the net measurement and double the velocity, successfully quadrupling the manufacturing capability of a single press
Suggestions from the converter’s press operators has been excellent. ‘They’ve by no means seen a machine like this earlier than,’ Shivlani remarks.
Prakash Printers and Coaters can now serve its prospects with a wider internet width with the brand new press. For instance, in versatile packaging, the converter beforehand might deal with as much as 2kg of versatile packages, it may possibly now print as much as 30kg of versatile packaging.
‘With our new line, manufacturing is quicker than ever. We’re excited to attach with new prospects who beforehand couldn’t match inside our capabilities resulting from our former printing width restrict of 530mm. Now, we will accommodate as much as 880mm,’ he notes.
This machine has been specifically designed for Prakash Printers and Coaters to fulfill its particular job necessities.
‘The Invicta i2 represents the top of Lombardi Changing Equipment’s dedication to offering cutting-edge versatile packaging options,’ provides Nicola Lombardi, advertising supervisor at Lombardi Changing Equipment. ‘Lombardi Changing Equipment is able to providing options for all ranges of printing wants, from labels to versatile packaging, with print widths starting from 330 to 1100mm.’
In February 2024 the Italian producer established a velocity file operating the Invicta i2 at 300m/min.
‘The machine achieved the velocity effortlessly with excellent register accuracy, printing seven colours on 12-micron thickness PE materials, operating at 300mmin,’ provides Nicola Lombardi. ‘Our journey to develop the Invicta i2 was pushed by our success with the absolutely servo-driven Synchroline mannequin, which has been an impressive platform for the slender internet market. With the Invicta i2, we aimed to create a completely new platform to deal with the particular calls for of the mid-web printing market.
‘In an business the place some unsupported movie jobs are sometimes run utilizing digital printing expertise, we believed that fashionable flexo printing might be extremely aggressive. The Invicta i2 offers very good print high quality at decrease prices, making it significantly advantageous for longer runs.’
Provides Shivlani, ‘Lombardi has at all times been extremely supportive, and your entire Vinsak and Lombardi workforce has been enthusiastic and devoted to delivering excellence on each challenge. A key determine in all our offers has been Ranesh Bajaj from Vinsak. Our development has been supported by Ranesh Bajaj, Mohan Pailwan, vice chairman of Vinsak, and your entire Vinsak workforce. They’ve constantly been our expertise companions in each set up, and we stay up for many extra profitable collaborations sooner or later. Trying forward, after the i2, the following step will doubtless be round 1,100mm with the most recent technological developments.’
He provides that this set up marks the start of a brand new period within the Indian printing and packaging business, particularly by way of in-line flexo printing. ‘A decade in the past, label presses have been by no means broad internet, and versatile packaging jobs have been primarily printed on gravure machines.’
Massimo Lombardi, common supervisor of Lombardi Changing Equipment in Italy, says India has at all times been a key market with a particular focus, and Prakash Printers is the corporate’s key buyer, constantly driving innovation.
‘Lombardi’s dedication to growing new expertise is the response to the evolving wants of shoppers akin to Prakash Printers.’
Mohan Pailwan, vice chairman of Vinsak India, provides: ‘Prakash Printers maintain a really particular place in our firm’s coronary heart. They regularly problem us with new changing options they require, propelling us to innovate quicker and keep forward of the curve. This drive to seek out cost-effective and sustainable options for them is what fuels our partnership.’
The converter has an entire new set of product traces within the pipeline, with discussions underway with main provider teams.
Vinsak Group acquires Rotatek Spain
Vinsak Group has acquired Rotatek Spain, a Europe-based producer of printing internet presses for labels, fl exible packaging, folding cartons, safety printing, business printing and pharmaceutical inserts. The acquisition was accomplished in July 2023. The acquired firm is now generally known as Rotatek Printing & Packaging Applied sciences SL and is run out of Vinsak’s Dubai operation.
The Vinsak Group was related to Rotatek from 1996 to 2013 for India, the Center East and Africa after which once more from 2020 onwards. Vinsak has bought greater than 100 Rotatek presses together with difficult configurations.
Ranesh Bajaj, director of Vinsak, says: ‘For example, we bought a machine with 17 models which included offset, flexo, digital, display screen printing, die-cutting and sheeting models multi functional line to supply high-security merchandise. This press was 120ft lengthy and improved the productiveness by 5 instances and decreased manufacturing prices of the product by 40 %.’
Round 50 of the Rotatek machines bought by Vinsak are nonetheless operational in India.
In 2023, Rotatek was owned by a PE agency from Spain that was capable of run it commercially however not put money into R&D, new software program and manufacturing strategies. In July 2023, the Vinsak Group acquired the manufacturing unit, the patents, technical data and the workforce of Rotatek.
Bajaj provides: ‘We’re proud that we absorbed all the workers and didn’t make even one individual redundant. We’re delighted that the core technical workforce of Rotatek is unbroken providing their expertise and technical data to the world.
They’re additionally efficiently supporting greater than 1800 machines all over the world together with some that are as much as 30 years previous.’
Since then, Vinsak has been working to combine the corporate into the group’s enterprise insurance policies, ethics and ethos.
