Webtech Engineering sells 33 presses in 2013

The equipment manufacturer has sold more than 800 units across the markets it serves, from commercial printing and scratch cards to notebooks and rigid boxes, since its inception in 1998, with the manufacture of printing presses today contributing 15 percent of the total growth at Webtech Engineering.

The company decided to start developing flexo machines for security printing applications in 2003 and sold a combination press in 2004 to Hitech Print Systems, a security printer in Andhra Pradesh. Webtech Engineering soft launched its flexo press technology in January 2011 while the first commercial sale occurred in 2012 at Labelexpo India.

Its flexo presses are available in two models – Webmark and Flexomaster. While Webmark is a compact, entry level CI flexo available in up to four colors, Flexomaster (pictured, first on the image carousel) is the workhorse of its portfolio and is available in up to 12 colors and speed of 150m/min. It has a semi top loading system where the shaft is put in the cylinder outside and is top loaded on the machine.

The machine is designed in such a way that it can handle a variety of substrates starting from a 20-micron film to 400gsm board.

Engineering customization is a staple of Webtech’s activities, and Kishore Kumar, general manager for marketing at Webtech Engineering, said: ‘This machine is like a sandwich where customer can select and get equipment made according to their requirements. The design is fluid.

‘We make machines according to the customer’s requirements and suggest what technology suits the applications.’

The company is now exporting to more than 25 countries including the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Sweden, Germany, Ukraine, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Webtech Engineering is developing channel partners across Africa and is expecting to finalize them by the year end.

The turnaround time for shipping spare parts out of its factory is 48 hours. Some of the company’s biggest clients include Stick Labels in Hyderabad, Gopsons in Noida, Master Simex in Bangladesh, Tripple Gee in Nigeria, Hemkunt in New Delhi and CM Printers in New Delhi.

Of the 15 flexo presses sold in 2013, four have been exported to the UK, Bangladesh and Nigeria.  

The USP of Webtech Engineering is cost. ‘How many companies today can afford a million dollars for one printing machine?’ asks Kumar. ‘I give it to them at almost 1/8^th the price of a European press.

‘So they get enough room to break even, make money and keep investing in the new technology.’