Print | i-grafix.com | Print News | Packaging News | Wide Format news | Australia, New Zealand and Asia Print and Packaging news from Australia, New Zealand and AsiaFamily-owned Australian packaging manufacturer RollsPack is installing a gravure press to take on its Asian competitors, believing a weaker future for the Aussie dollar and strong demand for quality print will keep the beast in work.
Phillip Rolls, managing director of the Melbourne-based business, says Australian brands have come to expect a digital photographic style of high quality print from their packaging, and many are taking their business offshore to gravure converters in Asia to achieve this.
The majority of Australian packaging makers use flexo presses, while in Asia gravure is the norm. Rolls admits it will be a ‘challenge’ to fill the capacity of the giant workhorse, which arrived in around twelve 40-foot containers and is now in the testing phase.
Phillip Rolls, managing director of RollsPack, with the company’s new gravure press
However, armed with the Australian government’s dollar forecast and looking at trends in overseas markets, Rolls believes the odds are in the company’s favour to make the machine a success in the local market, after its official launch in June. As well as offering printed flexible plastic packaging to its client base of brands in the food industry, it will open up the press for trade customers.
Rolls tells APP, “Outside of Amcor, which is in the top three in the world for this market, we are probably the only Australian company to go the gravure way. Sure, it’s an optimistic gamble and a challenge, but looking at the demand for quality around the world, I think it is the way to go. Even though the flexo presses from Europe are excellent, you need to keep buying the latest in order to achieve close to the quality of gravure – it still has that edge.
“We would like to assist our local competitors if they need it; we are here to offer an alternative to the market rather than going to Asia. Too many Australian manufacturers have gone overseas or closed down. Eventually when the dollar does go down it will be the icing on the cake for us, as we will be 25 per cent cheaper than imports. There will be an influx of business coming back to Australia, but there will be few players here to do it.”
RollsPack provides flexible plastic packaging for brands in the food industry
When it comes to short-run just-in-time printing, Rolls says the company will strike a balance with its economies of scale on the gravure press. He says, “If the customer wants a smaller run, there will be a premium price, but if they’re looking for higher volumes that will be more economical – they can decide which will suit them best.
“Often if you’re buying from overseas you have to buy in volume in order to get a cheaper price, because overseas they’re used to dealing with American and European clients. There’s also the matter of shipping times; supermarkets may want to give their SME suppliers three weeks to provide a product, yet to have it done offshore you are looking at 10 to 12 weeks. That’s an opportunity we’ll be looking to fill.”
He adds that RollsPack is making efforts to keep its costs down; it will fly in the cylinders for the gravure press from Asia, to get a competitive price; and is currently running a lean operation at its Melbourne plant, with reduced waste and more efficient processes.
The make and model of the press will be revealed at the machine’s launch in June, when potential clients, government, business and media will be invited to its Braeside HQ. Rolls is tight-lipped about the specs, though he does say that the gravure is a customised Japanese-style press, with a cold seal attachment, and staff have been flown overseas for training.
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