Q&A: Prakolar CEO Alexandre Chatziefstratiou

CEO Alexandre Chatziefstratiou continues to work alongside brother Cees, while their eldest brother, Jean, also worked at the company until recently. Prakolar was acquired in November 2015 by Sato Group.

Labels & Labeling (L&L): What were the reasons behind Prakolar wanting to be acquired by a global converting group such as Sato?

Alexandre Chatziefstratiou (AC): The Brazilian label market is facing challenges: the country is suffering a recession, and one must continue to grow despite strong competition from other label technologies, such as shrink sleeves and in-mold. Our acquisition by Sato Group helps to safeguard the future and transform this context into opportunities, and this is one of the reasons we were happy to sell. My brother Jean was leaving the company, and we three brothers [Jean, Cees and Alexandre] had already decided that our children would not work in the business. So the Sato acquisition was welcome.

We had been courted by various international converting groups over the last ten years. Our strength in compliance – not common in Brazil – was a key aspect of this interest, as we are known as a serious, reliable company focused on quality and service.

L&L: What advantages will the acquisition bring to Prakolar?

AC: Being a part of a strong converting group such as Sato allows us to take advantage of synergies with our sister companies around the world. We can share customers and open doors for each other. We can serve a big, global end user with high quality labels in multiple markets, which is something that multinational clients are increasingly looking for. At Prakolar, we have particular expertise in pharmaceutical label printing, for example, and we can share this knowledge with other Sato Group companies. Sato Group is the second biggest consumer of PS label materials in the world, which also brings advantages when it comes to bulk purchasing.