Trelleborg identifies Asia as strategic area for its printing business

In 2008, Trelleborg acquired US-based MacDermid Inc’s printing blankets business, which included the Rollin brand. At the same time, Trelleborg established a printing blankets sales office in Japan, primarily devoted to sales and distribution of Rollin products.

Marco Carlini, regional sales director, Asia-Pacific at Trelleborg, commented: ‘Over the past couple of years, we have seen important business growth in the region, not only in China but also in several other countries in Southeast Asia and in India. Historically, Japan has been a very important market for us, but is also very demanding. Nevertheless, Trelleborg has managed to consolidate its position thanks to our product performance and quality. In Japan, you can never compromise on quality and consistency. The Rollin brand is well recognized in Japan where it is one of the key players in UV printing.’

Mototsugo Obana, site manager at Trelleborg in Japan, commented: ‘Today, we have an organization of 19 people, and several in our sales and technical team have a long experience of selling Rollin products to Japanese customers. We also have a local converting unit where we can cut and bar any type of blankets for all presses.

Trelleborg Japan also has a manufacturing product line for Rodel rollers that are used to collect dust and contamination coming from the printing process.

Trelleborg Printing Solutions, part of Trelleborg Coated Systems, offers products for the printing industry through worldwide recognized brands such as Vulcan, Rollin, Printec, Sava and Axcyl. The products are used in offset and flexo printing for labels, packaging, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, business forms and metal decorating.

At IGAS, running July 26-31, 2018, Trelleborg will focus on UV-related products from its Rollin portfolio, including a new UV-dedicated printing blanket, a range of coating plates for different needs, and products for the business form segment.

Trelleborg noted that UV printing in Japan is showing ‘very rapid growth’ especially in the packaging industry, where most of Trelleborg Japan’s customers can be found. While the publishing and newspaper industries has been declining over the past few years, packaging has been one of the most stable segments.

On the topic of coating plates, Carlini continued: ‘In Europe and the US, coating plates are not regarded as consolidated technology for coating and varnishing jobs, it is more like a standard product within the printing industry, while in Japan printers are more conservative and coating plates are not really well established there today.’

He is convinced that the Japanese market will soon will discover the benefits of coating plates, adding: ‘Coating plate technology is the most effective solution to provide the right efficiency on the coating units. In Japan, printers have over the past few years started to look more at improving the productivity of their printing jobs. For any kind of coating, solutions with the new coating plate technology are not only the most effective but also more economical than other solutions. They are also easier to use and no fabric is involved.’