Online Exclusive: Vinsak acquires Rotatek

The Vinsak Group has acquired Rotatek Spain, a Europe-based manufacturer of printing web presses for labels, flexible packaging, folding cartons, security printing, commercial printing and pharmaceutical inserts. The acquisition was completed in July 2023. The acquired company will now be known as Rotatek Printing & Packaging Technologies SL and will run out of Vinsak’s Dubai operation.  
 
The Vinsak Group was associated with Rotatek from 1996 to 2013 for India, the Middle East and Africa and then again from 2020 onwards. Vinsak has sold more than 100 Rotatek presses including complicated configurations.   
 
Ranesh Bajaj, director of Vinsak, says: ‘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 120ft long and improved the productivity by five times and reduced production costs of the product by 40 percent.’  
 
Around 50 of the Rotatek machines sold by Vinsak are still operational in India.  
 
In 2023, Rotatek was owned by a PE firm from Spain which was able to run it commercially but not invest in R&D, new software, and production methods. In July 2023, the Vinsak Group acquired the productive unit, the patents, technical knowledge and the team of Rotatek.   
 
Bajaj adds: ‘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 also successfully supporting more than 1800 machines around the world including some which are up to 30 years old.’  
 
Since then, Vinsak has been working to integrate the company into the group’s business policies, ethics and ethos. The company is upgrading its systems and processes both technical and commercial and improving infrastructure both hardware and software. It is also strengthening the company’s team and has added around 10 professionals to the company over the last eight months. This new and young talent will be mentored by the old team to take the company to the next level. Vinsak has added another 15,000sqft of space to the existing 20,000sqft to increase production capacity.   
 
Leadership at Rotatek  
 
This complete business transformation activity is being led by Dr Gita Bajaj, group director of HR and business transformation at Vinsak. With her deep knowledge of turning companies around on a global scale, this process is firmly on track.   
 
Rotatek CEO Mario Gamez continues to lead the company by managing all the functions of the organization. He is also a 20 percent 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 office is working on the financial aspects of the turnaround including European compliances.   
 
Expanding to new markets  
 
On the sales front, the global sales structure has been revived. Vinsak’s close association with Rotatek Brazil will ensure a new thrust in the Brazilian markets. Rotatek’s existing distributors in Germany, Italy, Portugal, France and the UK have been retrained on the portfolio and they are generating new leads every week. Rotatek has appointed 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,’ reveals Bajaj.  
 
On the technical front, the company has a host of new developments planned. In 2024, the company will launch the Universal 850 for pharma and carton markets. The other Universal models continue to offer solutions for flexible packaging as well.  
 
In 2025, Rotatek plans on launching the new Brava semi-rotary press for labels which will be fully revamped. The new press will be displayed at Labelexpo Europe 2025 in Barcelona, Spain.   
 
The group will continue to listen to feedback from convertors and label printers around the world and build bespoke equipment to enable converters to create high-quality labels and packaging around the world.  
 
Two important focus areas for Rotatek are sustainability and security. ‘We are developing machines that produce excellent print quality while leaving behind a minimal carbon footprint,’ Bajaj emphasizes.  
 
Rotatek’s security printing presses provide governments and brand owners with the ability to print sophisticated documents with security features. Rotatek R&D is thus geared to enhance these printing features to address concerns of counterfeiting, imitation and environmental degradation.  
 
A balanced ecosystem  
 
Bajaj cites two reasons for the acquisition: The first is for backward integration, aiming to transform Vinsak from being primarily a reseller to a more manufacturing-centric organization. The second reason is the incorporation of the Vinsak Group ethos throughout the new organization.  
 
‘The growth strategy that has benefited us is also expected to aid Rotatek. Over the past year, from July to now, we have seen significant growth. We started with 19 employees, have grown to 30, and are continuing to hire. Our target is to reach 240 employees by the end of the year,’ Bajaj explains.  
 
‘We intend to grow the business, which is our primary goal. Additionally, we have established clear understandings with both Lombardi and Iwasaki. By rationalizing our portfolio effectively, we have ensured strong partnerships with these companies.’  
 
Rotatek will not manufacture flexo presses. Lombardi does not include offset units in its portfolio, and if it ever requires one, Rotatek will sell them to Lombardi. Additionally, Rotatek previously produced smaller Brava intermittent presses, including the 350mm wide Bravina model, which competed directly with Iwasaki presses. Rotatek has since discontinued the Bravina range.  
 
‘In fact, Vinsak is Iwasaki’s distributor in Spain for selling Iwasaki presses. Conversely, Iwasaki does not produce any presses wider than 330mm; they do not manufacture a 450mm wide intermittent offset press. Rotatek will be offering this press to Iwasaki and its distributors worldwide. We have built an ecosystem without an overlap where everybody can focus on their strengths and grow the business,’ he explains.  
 
Universal range is a sleeve press meant for cartons and flexible packaging. It was earlier limited to a width of 680mm and the company has now already built the first press of 850mm.  
 
The company has already received an order for the press from a French customer to whom it will be delivered by the end of July 2024. Vinsak is also planning an open house for it in 2024.    
 
Vinsak has also sold the Rotatek Perfect NT security printing press and ancillary finishing equipment to SKSC (Smurfit Kappa Security Concepts), the internationally recognized high-security printing and identity management solutions provider for over EUR 3 million. The new equipment will complement SKSC’s comprehensive existing range of production machinery at its high-security print facility near Dublin, Ireland.  
 
The Rotatek press has been designed and developed to SKSC’s exact and unique specification, enabling the company to continue to deliver high-security printing of items to existing and new clients across the globe including passports, birth certificates, motor tax and excise labels. It will also facilitate the introduction of new products to a wider market with, for example, the added capability to produce self-adhesive security labels to strengthen brand integrity by mitigating loss across the supply chain while protecting revenue.