Etiflex opens RFID Innovation Center in Colombia

Etiflex, a Colombia-based label converter, has inaugurated its new RFID Innovation Center at its facility just outside Rionegro in the country’s Antioquia region, writes James Quirk.

Present at the opening were representatives from the company’s partners in the project: David Pallassini, sales manager at antenna and reader manufacturer Caen RFID; Jan Svoboda, vice president of sales, Americas, and Jose Carlos B Oliveira, South American  regional sales manager, of inlay manufacturer Smartrac; Guilherme Villela, project manager, and Celio Cataldi, CEO, of software developer Amplio; Pablo E Rosas, partner business manager, Andean region, at printer manufacturer Zebra; Guillermo Fernandez, manager of smart shelving manufacturer Enmetalica; and Roberto Rossetti of Kereon RFID Solutions, a system integrator and hardware developer.

‘Our objective is to offer an integrated solution in terms of technology,’ said Alejandro Restrepo, general manager of Etiflex, ‘as well as the scope to meet our customers’ needs in areas such as logistics, security, process control and others.

‘We are grateful to our suppliers – whose knowledge and experience are recognized globally – for their assistance in this launch.’

The label converter’s key partner for the project was system integrator Kereon RFID Solutions. Roberto Rossetti, an Italian based in in Colombia for four years and with 21 years’ experience with RFID, sees great potential in the South American market for the technology.

‘There is more opportunity in South America for RFID than in Europe,’ he said, ‘where nowadays there is less production of things like textiles. That type of production is moving to developing markets – South America, Asia, North Africa – so for these applications that are suitable for RFID, the technology follows them to the developing markets.

‘In South America, for example, there is a lower cost of label production and more time to develop of the technology because there is less local competition.’

Rossetti says there is huge interest in RFID in Colombia, and estimates that some 100 million RFID labels are produced annually in the country by Kereon’s clients, mainly in textiles and logistics. He sees further potential in pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.

The company is currently implementing RFID technology at 140 stores throughout Latin America for Colombia-based retailer Cristal Vestimundo.

The partnership between Etiflex and Kereon allows the system integrator to use the RFID Innovation Center as a showroom for its technology.

‘Etiflex is one of the first companies in Latin America to have a different vision for the label, as we do,’ said Rossetti, who describes the label as a product’s passport. ‘You need technical expertise, but creativity and vision are just as important.’

The respect is mutual, with Alejandro Restrepo describing Rossetti as an ‘RFID guru’. Indeed, Kereon’s expertise is impressive: the company can embed tags into a wide variety of products and materials – including leather, plastic and silicon – as well as into hang tags and adhesive labels.

‘We bring the know-how,’ said Rossetti, who has previously worked on RFID projects for Nike in India. ‘It is European technology but made in Colombia for the Colombian market.’

Pictured: L-R Alejandro Restrepo of Etiflex, Kereon RFID Solutions’ Roberto Rossetti and Guillermo Fernandez of Enmetalica with examples of the companies' RFID products