A fast-growing converter with a conscience

A fast-growing converter with a conscience

Mike Fairley visits a market leading Dubai label and converting company that has a remarkable environment and social conscience

Over the years Labels & Labeling has had the opportunity to visit many hundreds of label converting plants around the world. Always interesting, they range from the very small or niche, to the very large. All contribute something to a better understanding of what a leading label company should be – quality production, international standards, brand name customers, technology leader in their market place, impressive employee relations and facilities, at the forefront of environment and sustainability, impressive growth, continuous investment and outstanding customer service.

However, it is not very often that all of these qualities come together and can be found in one operation, especially in somewhere like the Middle East. Yet this is exactly what Labels & Labeling found when it visited Kimoha Entrepreneurs Limited in Dubai.

A market leader in self-adhesive labels, flexibles for packaging operations, paper products, baggage tags, boarding passes and auto ID solutions, the company is based in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai and can boast an impressive 1000-fold plus growth since it was founded in 1988 as a small paper converting business with just three people in an 18 square meter office.

Its first 1,200 sqm facility was built in 1996 when they launched their self-adhesive label division. They were the first company in Dubai to produce Thermal Baggage Tags locally. An Auto ID division followed in 1999 and shrink sleeves in 2008. It later expanded to produce thermal baggage tags and boarding passes for the Aviation-industry.

Today, the company is housed in a 20,000 sqm LEED Gold Certified (by the United States Green Building Council of the USA) headquarter facility in Jafza South which has all production technology and support services in-house and employs some 235 personnel. Indeed, the latest factory represents a dramatic growth in facilities since the company was originally founded in the later 1980s.  Equally impressive is that Kimoha has more than trebled its revenues during the past six years. They are also one of the top 100 ranking SMEs in Dubai.

According to Vinesh B Bhimani, managing director of Kimoha Entrepreneurs Ltd, ‘the company has achieved consistent levels of growth by always making a point of keeping abreast of the latest and best, state-of-the-art technology – most recently in a new Xeikon 3300 with a GM finishing system incorporating laser die-cutting, slitting,  laminating and spot-varnish capabilities. Technology upgrades always figure high on our agenda and we regularly add the latest equipment to our infrastructure to support the requirements of our multinational clients.’

Currently, production technology running in the factory includes Gallus ECS, Gallus EM 510 and Gallus 280 presses, Vectra equipment from ABG, the first Rotocontrol installed (2011) in the Gulf, as well as Prati, Rotoflex and Leomat machines and a DCM slitter. Origination and plate making are undertaken using Esko equipment, Cyrel digital imaging and Nyloflex plates. Quality performance testing equipment includes tensile strength, rub resistance and color viewing.

They also have their own in-house customized MIS solution, while customers or suppliers – that may be brand owners, co-packers or origination houses – are encouraged to upload artwork/origination files through a ‘Cloud’ based internet service. These files can then be downloaded by the company as required.

Throughout the company there is a deep commitment to quality, both through its investment in leading edge technology and through a track record of deliveries on time, every time. ISO 9001 certification was achieved as far back as 2000, with Kimoha becoming one of the region’s first ISO accredited companies in the sector.

But Kimoha is not just about state-of-the-art technology. ‘We believe’, says Vinesh ‘in being a socially and environmentally conscious business. As already explained, our factory facility is LEED compliant, we have incorporated movement and occupancy sensors to save electricity, the air conditioning system uses environment friendly R410A refrigerant, we abstain from solvent-based inks, restrict our sourcing of paper to companies that subscribe to the philosophy of environment conservation, have introduced recycled label stock, and introduced sustainable measures into our production and waste disposal procedures.

‘In addition, we have introduced water reduction measures and have created water efficient landscaping around the plant, as well as incorporating air quality monitoring into our factory and operations.’ Such measures certainly put them at the forefront of global label converter sustainability and environment solutions.

‘To further encourage best environmental practices, the company monitors the cleanliness of all presses and their surroundings daily, as well as monitoring waste from presses and assessing factory environmental and hygiene issues. Lean manufacturing has also been implemented. Points are given to employees for all these aspects, which in turn go towards employee bonuses.’

However, it is probably Kimoha’s commitment to the development of its employees, their welfare and care that puts the company amongst the leading global converters when it comes to social responsibility. ‘People are our most important asset’, explains Vinesh. ‘We recruit the best students from the print colleges in India, provide accommodation for them and their families from the time they land in Dubai, take care of the welfare and education of their children (both in India and Dubai), have a subsidized canteen/dining room for all workers – in which the management eat with the employees – and a regularly used prayer room.’

At the time of visiting Kimoha, they were also about to open a brand new, fully fitted gymnasium for employees that includes top-of-range running and cycling machines and weight lifting equipment. They also have in-house sports facilities, such as table-tennis, to help employees keep stress-free. Other employee benefits include entertainment and an insurance cover scheme. Certainly all very impressive.

As part of the company’s corporate social responsibility it has an annual blood donation camp in co-ordination with the Department of Health and Medical Services, Al Wasl Hospital Dubai, where all employees, staff and directors – including their family members – actively participate in donating blood. Staff members also wore a pink ribbon on their arms and pink clothes to support a one day Dubai campaign for awareness of breast cancer.

Other events organized or celebrated  by the company include an Iftar party during Ramadan, a lunch on banana leaves to celebrate Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala, a Diwali celebration, while Christmas is celebrated with morning prayers and then carol signing shared by the employees on the eve of Christmas. The entire company comes together as one big family to celebrate these festivals, with employees working after their normal factory/office hours to provide superb entertainment at the functions.

Being based in the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai has undoubtedly been a major contributing factor in Kimoha’s remarkable growth over the years. Dubai has been slowly developing as a hub for packaging and labeling requirements in the Gulf countries for some time. Increasing numbers of multinational companies have been establishing regional centers in the country, and then outsourcing their product requirements locally.

‘Dubai is the largest container port in the world’, Vinesh tells Labels & Labeling. ‘It can even be seen from the moon. And it’s a Free Zone area. In addition, Dubai is nearing completion of a new international airport which will be one of the biggest airline hubs in the world. Even before completion as a passenger terminal there are already some 40–50 cargo flights a day arriving. All this means that goods are constantly coming into the country in bulk containers which are then broken down and the goods re-packed and re-labeled for export. There are also many logistics companies in the area.

Not surprisingly, Kimoha has many international and domestic customers across many different segments of its business, from paper rolls, transaction rolls for point of sale applications and automatic teller machines, parking tickets, plain and printed labels for packaging, logistics, identification, as well as baggage tags and boarding passes for the aviation industry. Indeed, it has strengthened its presence in the aviation sector over the past few years and now produces baggage tags and boarding passes for more than 50 global airlines, airports and ground-handling-providers.

The company also provides logistics, coding and marking solutions through a wide range of auto identification products, from barcode printers, to code readers, scanners and related services, through alliances with companies such as Zebra, Avery, Argox, Toshiba-Tec, CAB, Motorola, RMI, and others.

As part of its product and services activities Kimoha undoubtedly has one of the largest raw materials and finished goods warehouses ever seen in a label and converting facility. All this is necessary to serve an impressive list of customers that include Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah airports, Al Rawabi Dairy Company, DP World, Dubai Police, ENOC Lubricants, World Trade Center, Dubai and Sharjah Municipalities, Emirates Airlines, and many others.

So where does Kimoha go next? ‘We have established ourselves as a major player in the region’, says Vinesh ‘and our goal for the next decade is “Go Global”. The relatively new Dubai Export Development Corporation is already doing sterling service in motivating Dubai-based businesses to enhance their export involvement, and we are pleased that they have identified Kimoha as an enterprise with immense export potential. This is excellent news for us and we are now aiming to step-up our overseas business by at least 25 percent.’

There seems little doubt that this is an aim that they will very quickly achieve.

Pictured: Kimoha’s 20,000 sqm LEED Gold certified headquarters building

This article was published in Labels & Labeling issue 1, 2013

Michael Fairley

  • Strategic consultant