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LABELS&LABELING |95<br />
GUSTAVO ALTERMAN between two Mark Andy presses<br />
at Artes Gráficas Raal’s factory in Buenos Aires<br />
Ravi and Raal<br />
combine in Bolivia<br />
A PARTNERSHIP between Grupo Ravi and Argentine converter Artes Gráficas Raal has created a dedicated<br />
label printing operation in Bolivia, as James Quirk reports<br />
Artes Gráficas Raal, a label converter based in Buenos Aires,<br />
Argentina, has partnered with regional packaging giant Grupo<br />
Ravi to open a label printing operation in Cochabamba,<br />
Bolivia.<br />
The partnership combines Artes Gráficas Raal’s expertise<br />
in self-adhesive label production and Grupo Ravi’s local<br />
infrastructure in Bolivia. It represents Ravi’s first foray into the<br />
self-adhesive label printing sector and provides Raal with local<br />
presence in a market that is experiencing rapid growth (as<br />
reported in L&L 6 2011).<br />
The division – called Labels Bolivia – is housed in a<br />
dedicated facility within Grupo Ravi’s headquarters in<br />
Cochabamba. Grupo Ravi – which is part of Industrias Ravi<br />
and has operations in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Dominican<br />
Republic, El Salvador and both Buenos Aires and Tierra del<br />
Fuego in Argentina – produces a wide array of flexible, rigid<br />
and metal packaging products, plastic bags, and metal bottle<br />
caps and containers.<br />
Artes Gráficas Raal, meanwhile, has over 45 years of<br />
experience in self-adhesive label production. The deal<br />
owes much to the ambition and boldness of the Argentine<br />
converter’s general manager Gustavo Alterman; as well<br />
as to Grupo Ravi’s swift response when presented with an<br />
opportunity that allows it to further diversify its product range<br />
and take advantage of a growing local market.<br />
COCHABAMBA<br />
In 2009, Artes Gráficas Raal received an enquiry from YPFB, the<br />
Bolivian operation of automotive lubricant manufacturer YPF. Raal<br />
began to see the potential in the Bolivian market, and – knowing<br />
there was little label production in the country – decided to create<br />
a local presence in order to be more competitive with pricing and<br />
lower deliver times.<br />
Despite not having a local partnership in place, Raal purchased<br />
a Mark Andy flexo press and sent it to Bolivia. The bold move paid<br />
off, with an agreement being reached with Target, a manufacturer<br />
of telephone cards, to rent a small area of its factory to house the<br />
press. With the YPFB contract won, production began and Raal’s<br />
label sales manager Romina Morgenstein relocated to Bolivia to<br />
oversee operations.<br />
Once the contract with YPFB had been completed, the<br />
companies parted ways and Raal needed to find a new facility to<br />
house its burgeoning operation. Alterman was put in touch with<br />
Grupo Ravi, cited as a company that was interested in moving<br />
into the self-adhesive label market, by a mutual contact – Andreas<br />
Stuardo, a Chilean who carried out installations for Mark Andy in<br />
South America.<br />
Raal, in urgent need of infrastructure support and a location<br />
to house the press, met Grupo Ravi’s Jacobo Lichtenfeld. An<br />
equal partnership was established that would combine Raal’s<br />
expertise in self-adhesive label production and Grupo Ravi’s local<br />
JULY 2012 | L&L