‘Omet’s strategy is to invest into the Asian market – especially China,’ said (Joe) Zhou Dongyan, manager of Omet’s Chinese operations. ‘This market is very important and has the potential to produce high quality machines.’

The Chinese-built Flexy press can be specified in any size configuration, with options including screen, foiling and gravure units. In an attempt to keep costs down for this market, Omet is, where possible, using local suppliers of ancillary equipment such as UV lamps, corona treatment and video inspection equipment. Some press components, including gears, are also being manufactured locally. ‘This certainly makes local technical support easier,’ comments Omet’s international sales manager Paolo Grasso. ‘Other press components will be manufactured here as soon as the quality is good enough.’

Omet will not build servo-drive Flexy ‘S’ machines in China, says Grasso: ‘We do not need servos to print with stability and we have printed down to 20 micron PE on a Flexy, so we do not see this as an issue.’

Grasso says Omet plans to export locally-built Flexy presses outside China: ‘Step by step we will move to export to SE Asia and India in the next one to two years.’

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The wider width of the press, 450mm, allows it to print shrink sleeves as well as self-adhesive labels, and therefore brings Gidue’s offset and flexo combination machine to a new range of customers.

The flexible, modular machine, which can print of a variety of substrates and can also include silkscreen, gravure and hot stamping units, has met with SID certification from the BVDM (German Association for Printing).

The press contains a patent-pending multi-process organizer, which allows handling and storage of offset cassettes and multi-process heads, thus reducing load handling by the operator.

‘Despite the present recession, Gidue has decided to “re-launch” itself in a series of new R&D projects. I believe that the label industry is suffering a general crisis due to production over-capacity and lack of differentiation within label converters,’ stated Federico d’Annunzio, president of Gidue. ‘The new Xpannd 450, with its “uncommon” width and its total flexibility, can be the answer for label printers who seek for better profit performances for their companies and not simply for a turnover increase.’

The first Xpannd 450 (6-color offset, 4-color flexo) has been installed at I.B.E., Industry Business European in Italy. One Xpannd 370 (5 offset, 3 flexo, 1 hot stamping and 1 silkscreen) will also be on display at the open house.

Contact marketing@gidue.com for further information on the event.

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This new system is suitable for all positioning for hot foil stamping, holograms and cold embossing, and also for the set up of die cutting tools. This positioning system can also be adjusted to work with the die-cutting and hot foil systems of other manufacturers.

The Kama CPX comprises a positioning table which accommodates the mounting plate, a high-resolution industrial camera, a computer and a monitor. The target position of the clichés is transmitted to the positioning system by reading the workflow files. The positioning program computes the exact, mirrored target position, considering the thermal elongation, and indicates this position on the monitor in the form of a transparent mask. The image of the actual mounting plate, as taken by the camera, is superimposed on this mask. The cliché can now be positioned on the mounting plate in congruence with the target position and fixed with great register accuracy in one step. The industrial camera guarantees greatest precision; the ‘all-round lighting’ ensures that the image of the cliché is shadow-free.

The program determines the mirrored position of the cliché, so that the operator no longer has to think about mirroring the position, thereby eliminating a possible source of error. Precision is also ensured through the temperature-adjusted display of the required position. Extensive trial runs with subsequent corrections in the cliché position on the hot plate are no longer necessary.

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Independent studies have showed that in every recession of the past 90 years, the businesses which increase their advertising and marketing spend are the ones who survive the tough times and flourish afterwards.

In a study published by Findlay Publications, Professor Patrick Barwise of the London Business School discussed the advantages of advertising in a recession: ‘Many successful companies maximize their long-term shareholder value by maintaining their advertising investment when the economy slows down and weaker competitors cut back on their marketing. This enables them – at lower cost than when the total market is growing – to build market share. A prime reason for this is that if competitors retrench, those who maintain or increase their ad spend achieve a higher “share of voice”. Any reduction in these companies’ short-term financial performance is typically soon outweighed by their increased revenue and profit growth when economic conditions improve.’

Barwise recommended three positive strategies for coping in a recession:
• Look for new creative, targeting or media opportunities. Slower market conditions can create new possibilities.
• Strengthen your market position against weaker rivals, through your marketing strategy.
• Keep going. The advantages of maintaining or increasing marketing effort are greater than the short-term benefits of reducing spend. Maintaining or growing ‘share of mind’ is much less expensive than trying to rebuild it later on.

Mike Fairley, who founded Labels & Labeling 30 years ago, agrees that continued spend is essential for companies looking for long-term success in the industry. ‘Those companies that took the risk with advertising in the first year of a new magazine some 30 years ago, and have stuck with us every since, through good and bad, are the key global industry leaders today: Gallus, Mark Andy, Nilpeter and Avery Dennison. Other key suppliers from the early years of the magazine are still thriving, such as Gerhardt, Schober and Edale.’

Fairley forecasts global label growth for 2009 of between 5 and 5.5 percent. The developed markets of Europe, the US and Japan will experience growth of between 2-4 percent; Latin America is forecasted for 6-7 percent growth; and India and China between 11-13 percent.

‘The global label industry has grown between 5 and 7 percent per annum pretty well every year for the past 30 years – and has always grown faster than GDP growth,’ he said.

Focusing on self-adhesive labels, Fairley predicts growth of 6-7 percent worldwide. ‘Based on historical records, self-adhesive labels have always grown above the rate of overall label growth,’ he said. ‘This forecast equates to a near one billion square meters of new growth in 2009.’

Fairley reports that label material usage is expected to be near 43 billion square meters by the end of 2009, and in excess of 50 billion square meters by the end of 2012. ‘The label industry in total is currently growing at between 2 billion and 2.5 billion square meters each year,’ he concluded.

According to IAA chairman David Howard, whereas companies will inevitably be taking a hard look at their all their costs, combating counterfeits is an effective way to maintain turnover and market share.

‘The temptation to cut back is obvious,’ said Howard, who is director of product protection at Johnson & Johnson, ‘with consumer spending falling, sales are suffering – particularly for producers of high value, luxury or non-essential items.’

Such manufacturers are already under pressure from higher energy, labor, materials and financing costs and for some an automatic reaction will be to compensate by cutting expenditure wherever possible – with investment in authentication technologies that help prevent counterfeits and maintain brand integrity a likely candidate.

Estimates of the losses due to counterfeiting vary – from $200 billion per year (OECD) to $600 billion per year (the Progressive Policy Institute). According to the international Chamber of Commerce (ICC), counterfeiting is responsible for 5-7 percent of world trade and affects every sector of manufacturing.

However, the economic slowdown is also likely to lead to an increase in illegal activity including counterfeiting, with economic hardship being a recipe for increased criminality.

Howard added: ‘Counterfeiters need little excuse at the best of times to ply their trade, but in the current economic scenario they are likely to find a more willing audience among consumers who are also looking to cut costs. Too often they will buy cheap goods without realizing they are poor quality counterfeits – or they will buy on the cheap even if they realize they’re fake. 

‘And if companies do cut back on their anti-counterfeiting efforts, then the environment for fakes will be even more attractive.’

With manufacturers cutting back on the one hand, and a more attractive environment for counterfeits on the other, it goes without saying that any let-up in investment is absolutely the wrong action for such brand owners to take, warns the IAA.

Howard added: ‘The first action to take in order to ride out the coming storm is to hold on to the sales and markets that you already have. Counterfeits will undoubtedly start eroding these, unless companies protect themselves and their consumers.

‘Continuing investment in features and systems that prevent losses will help companies through the hard times ahead.’

As well as costing legitimate manufacturers market share, counterfeits also bring health and safety risks to consumers. For example, counterfeit medicines may contain poisons or do not contain any active ingredient; inferior counterfeit vehicle parts cause accidents, and counterfeit cosmetics can cause skin damage. Such problems can rebound on brand owners if they do not take proper and adequate steps to protect their goods from the counterfeiters.

The International Authentication Association (IAA) is the industry body for suppliers and users of authentication technologies, systems and services. It is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to advancing the understanding and effective use of authenticating technologies and processes to the end user community and the public.

The 7-color press, which was purchased along with a Digicon finishing system from AB Graphic, fits Weber’s need to support a growing number of customers that are expressing interest in multiple-SKU work and versioning jobs that can incur significant pre-press costs when produced on flexographic devices.

‘Although we’ve purchased scores of presses in the last 20 years, never has the new press excitement level approached that of our ws4500,’ said Thomas Michalsen, director of marketing, Weber Marking Systems. ‘The difference today is the ws4500’s positive value proposition. It speaks to all of Weber’s divisions: sales, marketing, production, quality, and finance.’

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‘Given Australia is a long way from America, we needed to make sure we have equipment that we can rely on,’ explained Andrew McNamara of Pemara Labels. ‘There are only a few suppliers that manufacture products that suit our presses and Martin Automatic is a recognized and reputable supplier.’

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Bates had served as group operations manager for Paragon Print and Packaging, the UK's largest self-adhesive label producer. He has 23 years of experience within the labeling industry, having held a range of general management, operations and production roles. The new executive appointment is effective immediately.

Klaus Damberg, Gerhardt's group managing director & CEO said, ‘Ian provides decisive leadership and has demonstrated a deep understanding of our products and business through his extensive hands-on experience within the industry. Ian will serve as a key role in introducing North American converters to the benefits of utilizing flexible die technology that has been the standard in Europe for more than a decade. We feel extremely fortunate to have someone of Ian's stature leading our management team.’

Bates said, ‘I am excited to join the Gerhardt team and look forward to utilizing my experience and success with Gerhardt's flexible die technology to introduce markets that are unfamiliar with this proven concept.’

Gerhardt has promoted Jim Doedderlein, Gerhardt's US sales director to VP of sales, North America. ‘Jim has played a key role in the success of Gerhardt's North American sales strategy,’ said Damberg. ‘He will now manage all North American sales functions and continue to expand our ever-growing North American market share.’

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In his new role, Kajueter will direct the division’s marketing strategies and lead all marketing activities for Fasson branded roll labelstocks and associated service programs in Europe.

Angelo Depietri, VP and GM, Avery Dennison Roll Materials Europe, said: 'Henrik brings a wealth of experience to our company. He will play an instrumental role in developing the division’s marketing strategies and overseeing all of its marketing activities in Europe.’

Prior to joining Avery Dennison, Kajueter held senior marketing positions at DHL and GE Equipment Services. He started his professional career as a management consultant with McKinsey and Company. Kajueter is a German national and holds a PhD in physics from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.

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Amagic’s Koldfoil formulations are available for the cure-tru or conventional cold foil printing process.

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