Fineflexo focuses on productivity with a brand-new Gallus Labelmaster press - The Noel D'Cunha Sunday Column

Fineflexo has installed a brand-new Gallus Labelmaster flexo press at its Baddi, Himachal Pradesh plant.

Ritesh Shetty, director at Fineflexo, said, “Fineflexo embodies ultimate excellence, adaptability, and service. We are endlessly working to nurture and upgrade the standard of the whole self-adhesive market in the country with premium quality, performance, and JIT deliveries in our product segment. We focus on developing a robust product portfolio for our clients and fostering trust and customer satisfaction.”

Ritesh Shetty and Balakrishna Shetty

Medi Sales Group was established in 1989 by Narendra Srisrimal, while Balakrishna Shetty established the Bhavani Group in 1979. Medi Sales Group and the Bhavani Group specialise in the extended supply chain of pharmaceutical business and logistics. A joint venture between the two organizations extends its business gamut with Fineflexo.

Aayush Srisrimal, Director at Fineflexo, said, “We are dedicated to distributing sustainable, efficient, competitively priced products that a print buyer needs. We also serve the clients with our knowledge and expertise by analyzing how their product should look so that we can prepare the best suitable labels for it and make a ‘Brand Appeal’ and enhance it.”

The packaging power
Fine Pet & Caps, a sister concern of Fineflexo, was established in 2008. The company is one of the largest converters for aluminum and tin stock in India, with metal printing, pet bottles, and ROPP caps and lamitubes. Fine Pet & Caps has two manufacturing units, a 40,000 sqft site in Rabale in Navi Mumbai and the second a 60,000 sqft plant in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.

Medi Sales Group is one of the fast-growing integrated pharmaceutical supply chains. The company offers a complete pharmaceutical business and logistics system that includes sleek warehousing, C&F, distribution, and wholesale operations.

In the past, Fineflexo used to outsource the print jobs and later decided to install a Gallus Labelmaster 440 after examining the technical advantages such as diverse substrate handling, 200 m/minute production speed with absolute registration accuracy, user-friendly operation, and features, which can add more value to their labels, tube laminates, and aluminum foil printing.

Narendra Srisrimal

Bolstering Fineflexo’s arsenal
Elaborating on the different business verticals and explaining the need for the press, Ritesh says, “Our core business is manufacturing roll on pilfer proof cap, pet bottles, and metal printing.”

He adds, “We have been into metal printing for the last four decades. However, the metal printing venture was a backward integration for cap printing. In 2009, we started manufacturing pet bottles in Baddi. Currently, we are manufacturing approximately two million bottles daily for the pharmaceutical segment, bottle sizes vary from 10 ml to 1 Litre. In 2017, we ventured into the manufacturing of tube laminates. The reason to acquire Gallus Labelmaster 440 is to print labels for pharma bottles, tube laminates, and aluminum foils."

The Gallus Labelmaster 440 is equipped with automation functions such as job pre-set, job data storage, format length corrections, print cylinder with bearer ring technology, and integrated direct servo-driven systems, which helps users to do easy job setup and produce materials from 15 microns to 450 microns, even more. It can be configured to suit business needs and scalable at any time. Labelmaster presses are available in 340 mm, 440 mm and 570 mm printing widths.

Ritesh says, "Gallus is a robust machine that gives us speed with stability. We saw the live press demonstration of Labelmaster 440 at ‘Avery Dennison Innovation & Knowledge Centre, Pune’. However, we did examine different brands of label presses, but eventually, we finalized Gallus Labelmaster because of Heidelberg’s reliable service support. Stable printing on composite substrates like Aluminum based laminates and Plastic based laminates at high speed, faster job changes, and quick setup times gave us confidence. To be consistent on quality, it is better to have in-house production facilities.”

Aayush Srisrimal adds, “Fineflexo is working towards being the leading supplier of labels in India. We focus on developing a robust product portfolio for our clients and fostering trust and customer satisfaction.”

Aayush Srisrimal

According to Ayush, Fineflexo creates art with a scientific approach and uses top-notch technology. “We create art with a scientific approach and top-notch technology. We believe that a label makes a product's first impression and is a significant factor in consumer decision-making.”

He adds, “We offer smart label solutions through close collaboration with our customers, from idea to finished product. As a comprehensive printing company, we want to be a part of shaping the present and future of label and packaging solutions. With dedicated employees who have ambition and a great passion for their work, we print labels for everyone, today and in the future.”

The diversification plan
The packaging for tablets and capsules requires different types of foils and laminates. A new division started by the Fineflexo group called ‘Finepharmapack’ allows the company to add aluminum-based films and foils to its product offering.

This includes a 1300 mm wide coating and laminator from Italy capable of producing 12000 tons per annum. Ritesh explains, “We have an ambitious project to manufacture all kinds of foils needed for pharmaceutical packaging, like blister foils, including 90 varieties of cold-form foils, child-resistant, senior-friendly, peel-push, suppository/tropical, and adhesive laminates.”

The project is presumed to be complete by the second quarter of 2023. “After the completion of the project, we will be a one-stop solution for all pharmaceutical needs. Excellent sales and service with a dedicated team and technical consultation are the key factors in making our decision for Gallus Labelmaster. We are proud to be associated with Heidelberg India and Gallus,” Ritesh says.

Narendra Kulkarni, regional product manager, Gallus (Asia), says, “The versatile Gallus Labelmaster assists the user in reduction of cost per label. An extremely shorter web path of just 1.4 m between printing units and a material reduction with the Labelmaster R-2 platform reduces the production wastage.”

Technology and automation are the keys to success in business, and the Gallus Labelmaster, Fineflexo, hopes will help it grow. “With this thought, we went ahead with the latest generation Gallus Labelmaster which makes us – future-ready. This has given us great peace of mind that we can now focus on building the business without worrying about machine issues. We believe in the Gallus quality”, concludes Ritesh.