Ahmedabad-based S Kumar has had a groundbreaking year with the highest number of flexo and intermittent offset Zonten installations in 2024. According to Manish Hansoti, MD, S Kumar Multiproducts, the company is bullish about the next year with even more installations, “as we see Indo-China trade relations improving with the recently formed border pact between the two countries.”

Over the years, Zonten has become Asia’s largest label printing machinery producer capturing the export markets in European, Middle-East, South American and Southeast Asian countries. The company is onto an even faster growth trajectory with a 12,00,000-sqft plant inaugurated a couple of years ago in Ruian City. As far as efficiency is concerned, its prowess is unparalleled. It can manufacture 20 offset presses, 10 flexo presses and a large number of digital converting equipment and other finishing machines every month.

This makes Zonten the largest manufacturer of intermittent offset, and full rotary offset and flexo combination presses in the Asian market.

S Kumar with Zonten

In this journey with Zonten that began in 2004, Skumar has installed more than 85 flexo machines in the Indian market alone, plus, nine intermittent offset presses, 15 intermittent/rotary die-cutters, 250+ flatbed die-cutting machines and 200+ slitter rewinders.

Aarjav Hansoti, director, S Kumar Multiproducts, says, “Being a printer ourselves, having used and sold several Zonten printing and finishing presses enables us to provide the right kind of service support all over India by leveraging our technical know-how and long-term experience. Also, the Zonten team recognises India as a crucial market for its growth journey and is equally supportive as far as installations are concerned by providing 24x7 technical support online. We are hopeful that the travel restrictions will be eliminated soon and Zonten’s team of engineers can come down in person for the installations.”

The S Kumar team

Intermittent press installation  

Recently, Mumbai-based Janus International, one of the marquee printers of digital label printing and beer labels in the country, installed the ZTJ330, an eight-colour press with a flexo and offset combination for its different applications, along with a digital embellishment press with flexo screen and hot foil.

A similar machine will be installed at Vikram Printers in December 2024.

A third machine has been sold to Moldtek Packaging, one of India’s largest IML manufacturing company.  It will use it for its captive consumption. After looking at multiple options, the company awarded the order to Zonten. The machine will be installed in February 2025. The machine will be 520 mm in width for printing large IML labels for big containers for small and medium runs.

Smart series installation 

The newly launched full rotary offset press – Smart series has been recently installed at Avon FPP based in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The company is an existing Zonten customer. It has made a big jump into flexible packaging by investing in a high-quality press which is mainly for films, laminates, shrink sleeves, and IML. The press has all the features, such as delam-realm, turn bar, cold foil, lamination, and die-cutting. The machine is already installed and trials are going on. The width of the machine is 560-mm for printing a wide variety of jobs and the machine can run at speeds up to 150-mpm. The company is planning for an open house soon.

S Kumar has also sold a nine-colour 680-mm full rotary offset press to Sprinpack in Delhi. The company already has a rotogravure unit and is an export-oriented company. For its small to medium runs, it has chosen this machine where cylinder costs are not viable and wants to produce small quantities of pouches and sachets.

Why Zonten? According to Hansoti, the reason for the recent increase in demand for offset is because when the width of the material increases, the flexo costs increase substantially and for small to medium runs, it is not viable, especially in flexible packaging and IML products. Digital printing also becomes expensive after a certain small quantity.

Other installations 

S Kumar installed two flexo presses at Mourya Labels back-to-back in one year. 

It also installed a six-colour full servo press at Hora Art, Noida, and a six-colour flexo press in Prisha Technologies.

S Kumar has also sold several finishing machines from Zonten, including multiple die-cutting machines at Hora Art, Noida and Pune; Vikram printers; Global Packaging; Shivay labels; Krishna Halftone and more.

Intermittent die-cutting and finishing machines were sold to Metal Closures and Containers in Noida; Samyak Printers in Pune and United Labels.

The company has also received an order from a major printer in Kenya for digital embellishment machines.

Zonten is all set to enter the digital realm with its own UV inkjet press set to be launched in 2025. 

Meanwhile, S Kumar Multiproducts is set to cater to the growing inquiries for Zonten presses in the Indian subcontinent with its team of salespersons and engineers.

“We also have a demo centre for Zonten in Ahmedabad for seeing the latest ZTR 450 flexo press in action for which an open house was held earlier this year where prominent printers from across the country had visited,” Hansoti concludes.