Printcare PLC Managing Director K.R. Ravindran with Ferdinand Ruesch, Senior VP of the Board of Directors and Anchor Investor Heidelberger Druckmaschinen

Top packaging exporter and pioneer in Sri Lanka’s tea packaging sector, Printcare PLC, is to invest Rs.750 million in new label printing technology hitherto unavailable in Sri Lanka, the company said.
“We have a history of innovation and a track record of introducing new technologies. These investments follow our rich history of knowing where the curve is going and staying ahead of it,” Printcare PLC General Manager Krishna Ravindran said.

With only limited technology of this nature in Asia, Printcare’s new Gallus RCS equipment is set to redefine the local label printing capabilities enabling maximum flexibility in the selection of printing methods and an exceptionally high level of automation.

“In today’s world of intense competition, brand owners crave innovation and will grab it when it becomes available. We have known our customers to be extremely progressive and they are anxious to keep pace with the rest of the world. Our goal is to facilitate this move.” Ravindran noted.

He explained how the tea bag industry showcased higher growth in the 1980s after Printcare made superior packaging available to it. Prior to the advent of Printcare, there were hardly 10 tea bag machines in the country and they were importing all their material. Today there are well over 500 and Sri Lanka is the largest tea bag producing country in the world. 

Also, the company’s introduction of high-value box making and embellished cartons recently has produced similar results, enabling our tea boxes to be showcased with the best overseas. Implicit in Printcare’s ambition is to help develop the label market, to help customers’ present superior and sophisticated product packaging, attractively positioned on supermarket shelves.

“The current generation of label presses in Sri Lanka is basic. Our new hybrid machinery, the first of its kind in the country, will have the ability to use multiple printing processes and finishes in one pass, exhibiting the differentiation on the shelf our customers seek through a visual advantage,” explained Ravindran. Printcare understands that product labels are a key form of marketing for a brand on the store shelf and the vibrancy and detail offered by the new equipment will truly make it (labels) stand out.