Maroni required to innovate
Labels & Labeling visited Buenos Aires-based label converter Maroni C. This is an extract of James Quirk’s report.
After a five-year period of 25-30% annual growth fuelled by the installations of two Nilpeter FB-3300 flexo presses, Maroni C seeks larger premises. With entry into shrink sleeve and in-mould label production planned, as well as in-house plate production, Maroni C hopes to make the move within 18 months.
It was five years ago, with the installation of the first Nilpeter FB-3300, an 8-colour, fully UV-flexo press with a wide gamut of printing and finishing options, that Maroni C’s annual growth leapt to 25% – a figure it has matched or bettered every year since. A second Nilpeter FB-3300, of the same specifications aside from two fewer colours, was installed last year.
“The Nilpeter presses have allowed more flexible production and specialty applications”, says founder Cesar Maroni. “When you operate in niche markets, you are required to innovate. And the presses are so productive we had to find new markets to fill them.”
One of these new markets was electronics. In recent years Tierra del Fuego, in southern Argentina, has become a hub of local electronics manufacturing. Components are imported and then assembled and packaged locally. “We knew we had the right technology to be able to supply the market”, comments Augusto Maroni, Cesar’s son and a director at the company.
Maroni C has a diverse product line and client base. Among its self-adhesive offering are prime, promotional and security labels. While PE, PET, OPP, and paper materials are used in 80% of production, the remainder employs specialty substrates – often developed in-house – for applications such as personalizable hologram, void, and tamper-evident labels.
The cosmetics, electronics and food sectors each take around 20% of Maroni C’s label production, with the remaining 40% divided between pharmaceutical, automobile, chemical, beverage, and others. “We prefer not to put all our eggs in one basket: we have a good spread of different sectors”, says Cesar Maroni. “We’ve always been focused on specialty and security markets and on developing new products. We want to grow in the mass consumer market, but always looking for the niche with special products and services”, says Augusto Maroni. “We’re a boutique company that serves other boutique companies”, adds Cesar Maroni.