First for First Impression

South African converter First Impression has installed the 150th Mark Andy Performance press and completed its collection of three Performance machines. Andy Thomas reports

A double celebration hit Durban in South Africa recently, with Mark Andy raising a toast to the 150th installation of its Performance Series press line, and First Impression Labels & Films becoming the only label converter in the world to have one each of the Performance Series line: a P3, a P5 and a P7, and all with a 17” web width.

The latest addition to First Impression’s plant is a 9-color P3, which, like its P Series stablemates, is a UV/water based combo press, and joins a 10-color P5, and a 9-color P7 installed in 2009.  In all, this makes a total of nine Mark Andy presses installed at First Impression since the company began trading back in 1997 – an impressive record for any label converter, but especially so for this family owned and operated business that began life on a farm printing basic labels for the dairy industry.

Owners, Sandra and Vaughan Cumming, moved from stack presses and simple labels to more serious business following a visit to Labelexpo Brussels in 2001, where they ordered an 8-color water based Mark Andy Scout press, their first inline Mark Andy machine.  This was followed in short succession by two Mark Andy 2200 lines, a second Scout, and in 2006, one of Mark Andy’s servo-driven XP5000 presses to produce film labels.  Since 2007, all new presses have been UV/water based combo lines.

According to Vaughan Cumming, director of operations at First Impression: ‘We’ve never had doubts about Mark Andy technology being right for our mix of work, but the new Performance Series moved the game to a whole new level.  Its design is simple, it’s stable, quiet, quick and easy to set-up and changeover, and holds consistent register at high speed.’

The majority of the company’s work today is for the food and home care markets, and is split evenly between paper- and film-based labels.  Its customer portfolio reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of brand owners, and includes Nestlé, S C Johnson, Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever, and Parmalat.  While running filmic substrates initially posed some difficulties, it is now a growth area, and Cumming says his next task was to complete 1.2 million meters worth of jobs in three weeks.  A typical run length for the company is 4,000 meters, but he says it processes jobs from 1,000 to 180,000 meters on a regular basis.

In addition to self-adhesive labels of almost unlimited shapes and sizes – including coupons and those requiring reverse-side printing, foiling, and sheeting – First Impression also manufactures shrink sleeves, some of which are used as tamper-evident seals on products where health and hygiene security are paramount.  Wraparound labels also provide 360-degree coverage, and facilitate application on containers where adhesion is difficult, while roll fed labels, which require no liner or adhesive, can be used with metal, composite, glass and PET, and can be run off at high speed.  Substrate options include metallics, white or opaque, as well as clear for the ‘no-label’ look.  For the concealment or decoration of pallets, case stacks, and display cases, First Impression offers base wrap or polyroll on a continuous repeat basis.

All output is sold to customers within South Africa, and Sandra Cumming states firmly that this situation suits the company well.  ‘It’s not a huge volume market, but that fits well with our capacity and the priority we place on offering an outstanding level of customer service.  High volume, low margin, simple labels are a waste of our technical ability and special knowhow.  We understand our market and specialize in serving it well – that’s what’s behind our continued success.’

Testimony to the company’s attention to quality are the awards it has won in the past two years.  In 2010, the FTASA presented it with a Gold Award for print excellence in the Wraparound, Stretch, and Other Labels category.  The winning product was a Nando’s polyroll for Online Advertising, while the Winnie-the-Pooh Bath and Shower Gel shrink sleeve, printed for Character Linen, was also a finalist.  Repeating the triumph in 2011, First Impression won the FTASA Gold Award for the Shrink Sleeve it printed for Illovo Peanut Butter and Syrup.

The success record is undeniable, and a highly skilled and motivated staff of 100, working in almost showroom conditions, is an object lesson for other label converters.

Pictured: (L-R) Vaughan Cumming, operations director, Sandra Cumming, managing director, and Paul Bouwer, SArepco, representative for Mark Andy and Rotoflex sales in South Africa, in front of First Impression Label’s new Performance Series P3

This article was published in L&L issue 6, 2012