Rako opens in South Africa with Gallus EMS

At the end of February, Germany-based converter Rako Group opened its new production site in Cape Town, South Africa.

Rako Labels Cape Town (Pty) Ltd has a workforce of 23 and four state-of-the-art flexographic printing presses for the manufacture of high-quality adhesive and wraparound labels, including a 10-color Gallus EMS with screen printing and cold foil finishing options.

Rako Group, one of the largest adhesive label manufacturers in Europe, has a workforce of over 1,400 operating more than 80 printing presses at a number of sites throughout Europe and Asia. The company has been a user of Gallus machines for several years.

‘We are a new market player in South Africa, an emerging market that is enjoying strong growth,’ said Uwe Bögl, Rako South Africa managing director. ‘We boast one of the country's most cutting-edge production facilities for adhesive labels and also benefit from the Rako Group’s international customer relations. Rako Labels is planning for the long term in South Africa. We see the country's recovering economy and its great potential for growth in the area of fast-moving consumer goods as an opportunity for the company.’

The high level of automation of the Gallus EMS at Rako in Cape Town allows cost-effective production of both large runs of labels with limited finishing (e.g. food labels) and short runs of labels with extensive finishing (e.g. labels for personal hygiene products).

‘Dependability and reliability in production are the top priorities for a press,’ stressed Bögl. ‘At the same time, it needs to be sufficiently flexible to adapt to new production requirements at any time. The Gallus EMS enables us to excel in meeting these requirements, and fast job changes are no longer a problem.’

‘In the current climate, the reliability that a partner can bring to the table is becoming ever more important. We have got to know Gallus in various projects and our experience has been very positive. We have found the company to be an extremely reliable and flexible partner, said Bögl.

Ferdinand Rüesch, vice-president of the Gallus Group’s board of directors, added: ‘We are extremely pleased that our successful partnership with the Rako Group, which has installed several of our presses in Europe and Asia, is now being extended to South Africa.’

Pictured: Ralph Koopmann, managing director of the Rako Group, and Uwe Bögl, managing director of Rako South Africa, at the facility opening

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