Ekko is first in Ukraine with Durst Tau 330 UV inkjet label system

Ekko, one of Ukraine’s biggest label-making companies, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2017, describes itself as the ’oldest company’ in the independent Ukraine. From five people at the start, more than 80 staff are now employed at Ekko that turns over €2million annually.

The Tau 330 platform at Ekko features a 330 mm (13 in.) print width, five colors (CMYKW) and offers printing speeds of up to 48 linear meters/min (169 ft./min) with up to 1260 dpi print resolutions.

‘Digital printing is a good investment and can complement and help flexo and screen business grow,’ said Volodymyr Drabyk, general director of Ekko, the specialist producer of self-adhesive labels in reels. ‘Our digital business at the moment is around 5 percent of the total, and with this investment in the Durst Tau 330 it will be around 20 to 30 percent of our work in five years. However, it is difficult to predict accurately because of the political and economic uncertainties.’

He continued: ‘What is sure is that we have already helped our customers grow together with Durst. As an example, a new producer of stewed vegetables and fruit products in Ukraine with a wide product range was not ready to invest in flexo plates, which are necessary for flexo printing, and couldn’t guarantee big volumes at the beginning as they didn’t know whether it would be successful. So they started the process digitally on the Durst, entered the marked and start to grow and widen their product range with private labels without big investments, which usually are a big problem for a new producer. The Durst allows us to launch potential big products at low cost and no risk.’

Crucial to Ekko’s decision to invest in the system was the extremely competitive total cost of ownership. ‘Prices in Ukraine are dramatically different to anywhere else in Europe – at least 10 percent cheaper, usually much, much more,’ Drabyk said. ‘So pricing was an extremely important consideration. The other impressive characteristics are the quality and speed of printing, as well as equipment maintenance and after-sales service.’

Helmuth Munter, segment manager labels and packaging printing for Durst, said: ‘Ekko has seen unprecedented growth opportunities since investing in UV inkjet digital technology. This speaks volumes, as does the fact that its customers are making specific requests for their work to be done on our systems. We’re proud to be supporting with help from LFP from Poland as they grow their business using our world-class technology.’