For many years, maybe even centuries, Germany has been accustomed to leading the world in machinery manufacturing. Now, according to a poll of German machinery makers, most companies reckon that world leadership is passing, or has already passed, to China and the US. 

“Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable that a majority of machine manufacturers would expect to lose their technological leadership,” says Philipp Oemler, CEO of the industrial consultancy FTI-Andersch. “But we are already seeing this development in the market in certain segments.” These segments include service activities, which are also increasingly taken over by non-German entrepreneurs.

But not all German machinery manufacturers are affected: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, founded in 1850, though not quite as old as the city for which it is named (founded 1196), is the venerable grandfather of Germany’s packaging machinery manufacturers. Through its subsidiary Gallus, it also leads in the label sector. Heidelberg has diversified into other industries (did you know it’s a leading maker of recharging points for electric cars?) but packaging and label machinery is still its core business. 

In its latest reporting period, this segment’s sales increased to $960 million (previous year’s figure: $839 million), and this excludes hybrid printing, software, and service solutions integrated into a digital ecosystem (in this latter segment, Heidelberg chalked up nine-month sales of another billion). Gallus’ latest presses include the inkjet/flexo Gallus Five and the entry-level Gallus Alpha digital press.

And Now the Bad News

Last month we reported on the sad fate of SMAG, one of the only three French label press manufacturers. Another French press maker, Codimag, put in a bid to buy it out, but finally it went to an investment company. Now in a turn of fate worthy of a Greek tragedy, Codimag has itself  “sought protection from its creditors.” 

What went wrong? Codimag was unique in offering the “Aniflo” with waterless offset technology, a hybrid press that offered many of the advantages of both offset and flexo. For more than a decade these Codimag presses sold well and the company prospered. Nearly 500 Aniflo presses were delivered worldwide. But digital technology started to take over. 

Other press manufacturers (like Omet) sought partnerships with digital machinery specialists. Codimag preferred to go it alone. But the difficult market conditions last year, particularly in certain export markets, proved too much. For the second time in six months a French family press maker keeled over. Would-be acquirers have until early March to put in a bid.

Viva Italia!

The Italian label press maker Cartes is a relative latecomer to the narrow web label market, but is now making up for lost time. One of its flagship models is an update to its GT360 platform, featuring semi-rotary flexo, hot stamping, flatbed screen printing, and semi-rotary diecutting. The latest press combines seven units with special devices to embellish multi-layer labels, mixing conventional units with its Jet D-Screen technology for raised and metallic doming effects. 

The Cartes digital embellishment technology exists in both multi-pass and single-pass versions. The company’s latest success is a complete printing and finishing line for Rotocel-Space, an Italian converter   specializing in premium labels for wine, olive oil, spirits, and personal care products. The Cartes Gemini line selected by Rotocel-Space includes a flexo varnishing station, a dualbar Jet D-Screen digital embellishment module, and a semi-rotary diecutting unit. Another recently installed Cartes press has gone to Italy’s Albagrafica, a converter of labels for wine and a range of food products. This version comprises two flexo units, four screen units, and one hot foil.

PPWR – The European Nightmare

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, or PPWR, is now on the urgent list for Europe’s brightest brains. It will affect every aspect of how labels are produced, printed and recycled. By 2030, packaging that is not designed to be recycled will be banned from the EU market. By 2035, packaging must not only be designed for recyclability but proven to be effectively recycled at scale. 

For labels, this means they need to be as recyclable as the packaging to which they are attached, and this, of course, applies also to all inks and adhesives. Oh yes, and any plastic labels must contain post-consumer recycled content. It is tempting to complain that the new regulations were written by Eurocrats who know nothing of packaging, but that, alas, is the way the packaged cookie crumbles. And just in case you were thinking “that’s Europe’s problem,” remember that PPWR applies to every product sold in Europe, whether locally produced or imported. 

Too much of the new regulation is so imprecise that the only European label deciders not tearing their hair are those (like your correspondent) with little left to tear. Questions like, “Is a label liner part of the packaging?” or “What exactly does recyclable mean?” remain unanswered.

Europe Opens Up to South America

Barring last-minute hiccups, and after two whole decades of negotiation, the Great Mercosur Agreement will slash import duties between the EU’s 27 countries and the Mercosur grouping (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay). It will include the elimination of the present customs duties of 85% of European pulp exports and 90% of paper and cardboard exports to Mercosur. 

This liberalization will correct a historically unbalanced trade relationship: since 2004, the European Union has applied zero tariffs on imports of pulp, paper, and cardboard, including those from Mercosur, while European exports remain subject to high tariffs in South America. This being so, the agreement should not lead to a significant increase in European imports of pulp and paper from Mercosur. Europe remains a net exporter of high value-added paper and cardboard while also being a major importer of market pulp from Mercosur. But the Mercosur agreement also imposes restrictions on chopping down the Amazon forests. How effective these restrictions will be remains to be seen.

Following the Braille Trail

In Europe, as in many regions of the world, medicines and certain other products must carry an inscription in braille to guide blind users. Printing braille labels is not a recent technology but can slow the finishing line and require extra quality control. Now Britain’s Xaar reckons it has a breakthrough with its newly launched Versatex print bar. According to Xaar, it delivers dot heights of 200 µm – rated most comfortable by blind readers – at 12 m/m. For higher throughput, the device can also print at around 25 m/m while maintaining compliance with ISO standards.

The Domino Effect

The Italian label converter Gruppo Finlogic has expanded its digital printing capacity with the installation of a second Domino N610i digital label press. The investment aims to enhance production efficiency and strengthen the company’s competitivity. Founded in 2003, Finlogic operates seven label production sites across Italy and Spain.

The Uncopyable Label

If anyone tells you they have invented a label which can never be copied, simulated, or reverse engineered, most people’s reaction will be to invite the inventor to pull the other one. But US-based Dust Identity reckons it can do it, and has signed a deal with Austria’s Securikett, possibly the leading European security label specialist. 

“This partnership addresses a fundamental gap in today’s authentication and traceability systems,” states Ophir Gaathon, CEO of Dust Identity. “Digital records, blockchain, and serialization are only as strong as the physical identity they are tied to. By working with Securikett, we are anchoring genuine, unclonable trust directly into the physical label itself.”

Don’t forget Romania

One of the smaller countries of the EU, but with a population of 20 million, Romania today has a per capita GDP only just below the European average. Its major industries are attracting label converters and equipment manufacturers including Denmark’s Nilpeter, which will shortly open a new technology center in the capital Bucharest. This will be a feather in the cap for Nilpeter’s long-term local partner Euro Top Grafix. 

Alex Aarslew-Jensen, international sales manager at Nilpeter, says, “This new Technology Center is a powerful example of what long-term collaboration can create.”

 Nilpeter hopes to sell several of its flexo flagship presses, the FA-Line, over the coming months.

The Slow Decline of Wine

Wine and spirits labels have always been the mainstay of hundreds of converters in the world’s three leading wine producing countries: France, Spain, and Italy. Now the whole industry is being hit by a triple whammy. Firstly, the Chinese have imposed import duties on Europe’s wines and spirits, and have clamped down on corporate gifts (a bottle or two of Armagnac used to be the minimum offering). Secondly, US import duties of 15% have sharply cut EU exports. 

Finally, the unkindest cut of all, Europeans are cutting down on their wine consumption! The only bright star over Europe’s vineyards is that quality wines are less affected than the cheap-and-cheerful stuff. So it seems true connoisseurs are not changing their habits. In vino veritas!