SMART DESIGN

LABELS&LABELING |105
(L-R) Fabian Silva of Etiquetas Anro and Hugo Cruz of Coflemex
MEXICAN CONVERTERS IN JOINT
VENTURE WITH XEIKON PRESS
FABIAN SILVA of Etiquetas Anro and Hugo Cruz of Coflemex, both label
converters based in Mexico, have formed a joint venture based around
the installation of the country’s first Xeikon digital label press
The joint venture is to be named Innovo
F&H. The Xeikon 3300 press, equipped
with finishing equipment from GM, is
due to be installed in May in a dedicated
facility on the outskirts of Mexico
City. The operation will also boast a
specialized service center.
The new operation – the brainchild of
Silva and Cruz themselves rather than
any partnership between their respective
companies – will focus on selling to
label converters in Mexico and Central
America, as opposed to end users.
‘There are converters in the region
who might not be able to invest in digital
printing equipment themselves, or who
might want to test the market before
making that investment,’ said Fabian
Silva.
‘We can help them. We offer them
an option for their short run work. This
approach is well established in other
parts of the world, such as the UK and
Australia, for example. We want to
offer the same solution to the Mexican
and Central American market. We are
breaking paradigms and want to offer
something that doesn’t currently exist in
our local market.’
The pair will appoint a manager and
operators at Innovo F&H and will play
the role of directors rather than being
involved in day to day operations.
Hugo Cruz and Fabian Silva were
among the founding members of Ametiq,
the Mexican label association. A key
characteristic of the young organization
has been its promotion of cooperation
and dialogue between members, and
Cruz and Silva credit it with bringing
them together. ‘We don’t see ourselves
as competitors, rather as partners. And
we felt this way before the deal,’ said
Hugo Cruz.
‘We wanted to take advantage of the
synergy that exists between us,’ echoed
Silva. ‘We have many objectives and
philosophies in common, and we were
both keen to do something different in
the market.
‘Our experience with the association
also helps to give us a panoramic view of
what is happening in the industry.’
With a large installation base of HP
Indigo digital label presses in Mexico,
Cruz and Silva opted for Xeikon ‘as
we wanted something that would
differentiate us but that also offered the
very high quality, flexibility and reliability
that only Xeikon can deliver’.
Hugo Cruz emphasized the need
for transparency. ‘We made a public
announcement about the move during
Label Summit Latin America because
we want to be upfront about what we
are doing. The deal allows us to form a
specialized company that will benefit the
industry.’