#vinsak

Vinsak Group, a manufacturer and supplier of printing and packaging machines, has completed the acquisition of Rotatek, an European printing machinery manufacturer for labels, packaging, folding cartons, security printing, commercial printing, and pharmaceutical inserts headquartered in Barcelona, Spain.

The Vinsak group has been associated with Rotatek from 1996 to 2013 and then again from 2020 onward, having sold more than 100 Rotatek presses. In July 2023, the Vinsak Group acquired the productive unit, the patents, technical knowledge, and the team of Rotatek. In 2023, it was owned by a PE firm from Spain, which was able to run it commercially but could not invest in R&D, new software, and production methods.

The complete business transformation activity is being led by Gita Bajaj, group director of HR and business transformation, Vinsak. Post the acquisition, which was publicly announced at drupa, Rotatek is known as Rotatek Printing and Packaging Technologies SL.

Ranesh Bajaj, director, Vinsak, says, “We are proud that we absorbed all the employees and did not make even one person redundant. We are delighted that the core technical team of Rotatek is intact, offering their experience and technical knowledge to the world. They are successfully supporting more than 1,800 machines around the world, including some that are up to 30 years old.”

Speaking on sales, Bajaj said they have sold more than 100 Rotatek presses, including some with very complicated configurations. “For instance, we sold a machine with 17 units, which included offset, flexo, digital, screen printing, die cutting, and sheeting units all in one line to produce high-security products. This press was 120 feet long and improved productivity by five times. It reduced production costs of the end product by 40%.”

Rotatek CEO Mario Gamez continues to lead the company by managing all the functions of the organization. He is also a shareholder in the new entity, thus confirming his confidence in the company as well as the future.

Vinsak's group CFO, who works out of the UK, is working on the financial aspects of the turnaround including European compliances.

“On the sales front, the global sales structure has been revived. Our close association with Rotatek Brazil will ensure a new thrust in the Brazilian markets. Our existing distributors in Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, and the UK have been retrained on the portfolio and they are generating new leads every week. We have new distributors in Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan to grow the market in the Far East. With the Vinsak group active in the Middle East, India, and Africa, we have the globe more or less covered. North America is the territory under development now and we are looking to appoint a distributor for the US and Canada,” Vinsak said.

On the technical front, Vinsak has a host of new developments planned. In 2024, the company will launch the Universal 850, claimed to be a game-changer in pharma and carton markets. The other universal models continue to offer excellent solutions for flexible packaging as well. In 2025 it plans to launch the new Brava Semi rotary press for labels, which will be fully revamped. Ths press will be displayed at LabelExpo Barcelona.”

The group will continue to listen to feedback from converters and label printers around the world and build bespoke solutions to enable converters to create the highest quality labels and packaging around the world. 

Vinsak promoted its range of flexo presses from Lombardi, offset presses from Rotatek and Iwasaki, and Vinsak USAR finishing systems for labels at the IntraPac exhibition in Greater Noida in March. The company ran a live display of its tabletop rewinder, including a camera system used for track-and-trace applications.

On the Lomardi front, the company is all set to install its first 870 mm at a customer's site in Ahmedabad, Ranesh Bajaj, director of Vinsak, informed Packaging South Asia. The company also struck a deal for its first Rotatek offset press with a customer in Western India. The press is coming in June, he said, adding the company is installing 4 – 5 slitter rewinders per month. On the digital finishing side, Vinsak has launched a semi-rotary flexo and semi-rotary die-cutting machine, for which the first installation has already happened in Gurgaon.

The self-adhesive label industry in India is getting very crowded, and more competitive, he said, adding there is a need to keep pushing label converters to go into newer businesses such as shrink sleeves and in-mold labels.

The company installed six of its in-mold die-cutting machines in 2023. In 2024, it has ordered around 10 in-mold die-cutting machines, which will be installed soon. “We have also built an in-mold die-cutting machine at Vinsak,” he said. While the in-mold labels segment is growing, heat transfer labels are also set to grow, he said.

Vinsak has had a great 15th Printpack and expects to close deals that would be in the “double digits,” Ranesh Bajaj, director of the company said during the expo.

“I cannot disclose the exact number of deals that we have signed or are expected to sign at Printpack. But we expect the number of deals to be in double digits, say in the low teens. What I can say is that we have sold a Lombardi narrow web flexo label press to a new customer,” Bajaj said.

At the show, Vinsak has launched two new machines. It has displayed a semi-rotary die-cutting machine for digitally printed labels. “We have had good success with the machine and have sold a number of units in India,” Bajaj said.