All4Labels opens second Chinese production plant

All4Labels – the company formed from the merger of Rako, X-Label and Baumgarten – has opened a new printing plant in Guangzhou, China.

Present at the opening ceremony were representatives from the state government, the company’s business partners – including Gallus, RotoMetrics and Esko – and, in an encouraging sign of openness, local label converters.

In his keynote address, All4Labels CEO Adrian Tippenhauer spoke about both the challenges and opportunities working in the Chinese label market: ‘We have made another very big step in one of the most important markets in our industry. Today is the opening ceremony, but our journey here in China started nine years ago and it was a challenge when you come from Germany and you are operating so far away. For the last nine years we discovered a different culture and way of making business and that made us a better company – it broadened our horizons.’

Tippenhauer praised the work of the local Chinese team and in particular Yi Sun, managing director of Rako China. ‘It is because of this one man that we are today one of the most innovative companies in the Chinese market.’

Continued growth

Looking to the future, Tippenhauer said All4Labels is confident about the continued growth of the Chinese label market, and he pledged ‘constant investment’ in China, with new equipment, new factories and a strong local team.

‘In 2-3 years we will have up to five partners or factories in China. We will be the best because we believe in China.’

Tippenhauer stressed the importance of continued innovation: ‘We will put our best people in R&D and production, and we will make our customers’ products smarter, including brand protection, where these are keys to success.’

Turning to the new All4Labels packaging group, Tippenhauer laid down an ambitious growth target. ‘As a group we want to reach one billion USD in the next years. We can’t do that alone – we need strong partners, and we are looking for strong family-owned businesses and local champions that want to be part of our group and drive our goal. Also, we will acquire new companies or open new factories. We will focus on one of our core strengths, and this is the digital transformation – everything that can become digital will become digital and we want to focus on that.’

Tippenhauer explained to L&L that in China this does not necessarily mean more digital presses. ‘We concentrate on the digitization of the whole process from end to end.’

The new Guangzhou plant houses a 12-color Gallus RCS330 UV flexo press with full combination screen and hot foil capabilities.

Pre-press is in-house and already fully digital with an Esko CDI Spark 2530 and DuPont Cyrel FAST thermal processing unit. A GSE Colorsat Switch automated ink mixing system is installed.

This is All4Labels’s second plant in China, with the first established in Hangzhou, also based around a Gallus RCS330.