In the quiet industrial pulse of South Africa’s packaging landscape, there’s a company not just making containers but rewriting the rulebook on how we perceive the relationship between label and pack.
Teqal, a specialist in injection moulded rigid plastic packaging, has steadily carved out a space at the intersection of precision engineering, high-end aesthetics and technical daring. At its core lies a philosophy that a label shouldn’t be an afterthought – it should become the pack.
‘In-mould labelling isn’t just about decoration,’ says Sean Kirkham, Teqal shareholder and marketing director. ‘It’s about transformation. It’s about making the label and the pack indistinguishable from one another – visually, structurally and emotionally.’
This isn’t lofty brand talk. Teqal recently dropped R20-million on a new IML plant and equipment, a bold move in an era when global packaging margins grow thinner by the year. But then again, Teqal doesn’t behave like most packaging suppliers. It’s a specialist with a rebel streak.
The company’s daring was acknowledged by the In-Mould Decorating Association (IMDA), where Teqal, in collaboration with Ren-Flex, won the 2023 Best Use of IML award for its work on Arthur Ford’s body cream containers – packs developed in tandem with Canway Supply Chain Solutions. Later that year, the same project took home a WorldStar Award from the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). ‘For a private, 100% South African owned business like us to be competing – let alone winning – against multinational giants was surreal,’ Sean admits. ‘But also, maybe even inevitable.’
What set the Arthur Ford containers apart wasn’t just their full-wrap aesthetic or precise fit. It was the metallised IML label – a feature most thought technically impossible. The metallic layer, traditionally a death knell for in-mould processes, interrupts the static charge used to hold a label in place inside the mould. ‘It shouldn’t have worked,’ Sean laughs. ‘But we made it work. That’s the essence of what we do at Teqal. We live for the technical challenge.’
That challenge led to a breakthrough: a fully metallised IML label wrapped around a complex geometry, bent not just around the side of the jar but under its base – without creasing or distortion. ‘Most IML is applied to a single surface. We took it into the third dimension,’ he explains. ‘The label follows the contours of the container like skin, hugging curves, diving into recesses. It’s not applied – it’s formed.’
This sense of integration is what Sean returns to again and again. ‘We place labels where no post-moulding solution can reach. Shrink sleeves can’t match our accuracy. Pressure-sensitive labels can’t get into the concavities we reach. That’s the power of servo-driven robotics and in-mould finesse.’
Teqal is also the only company in South Africa doing IML on injection blow moulding (IBM) machines – an innovation that’s gained traction in the cosmetics sector, particularly with roll-on deodorant containers. ‘IBM gives you that precise neck finish, critical in pharma and personal care. Combine that with in-mould labelling and you’re in very rare territory,’ Sean notes, adding: ‘Globally, we’re one of only a handful doing this. Even our toolmakers have told us: there’s no playbook for what we’re doing.’
We place labels where no post-moulding solution can reach. Shrink sleeves can’t match our accuracy. Pressure-sensitive labels can’t get into the concavities we reach. That’s the power of servo-driven robotics and in-mould finesse.”
It’s not just technical novelty driving Teqal’s success – it’s market insight. In-mould labelling has historically thrived in high-volume FMCG applications: margarine tubs, yoghurt pots, ice cream buckets. Teqal turned that logic on its head, bringing IML to the beauty and personal care space – where volume is lower, aesthetic expectation is higher and brand owners are hungry for shelf appeal.
‘Most shy away from IML because of high minimum order quantities (MOQs),’ Sean explains. ‘We consolidated our supply chain to offer lower MOQs with high-end finishes. That opened the door for boutique cosmetic and personal care brands to access a premium, integrated packaging solution.’
Part of that integration involves tactile nuance – texture, feel and the microgeometry of surface design. Teqal’s recent full-wrap jars, for instance, carry orange peel textures on metallised foil – wrinkling the shimmer just so, producing a finish that catches light, finger and imagination alike. ‘You can’t fake that with a varnish,’ Sean says. ‘The effect is born in the mould. It’s not something a competitor can simply replicate. Some of our competitors have tried to copy it. Good luck because it’s not just a label – it’s a process.’
Sean likens it to premium smartphone design – those seemingly minor details that impact consumer perception. ‘With iPhones, it’s not just the software or the camera – it’s the feel of the edges, the seamless body. That’s how we think about packaging. The label isn’t just on the pack – it defines it.’
And it’s resonating. The roll-on deodorant and cosmetic containers Teqal produces have seen exponential market growth. According to Sean, customers directly link the uptick in sales to the pack’s design. ‘Consumers are noticing. That’s a big deal. When packaging can shift buying decisions, you know you’ve done something right.’
Teqal’s ability to merge engineering with design stems, in part, from its investment in vertical integration. ‘We have our own toolroom. That’s crucial. We’re not waiting on someone else’s R&D cycles. We can pilot, tweak and iterate fast. And our Swiss-made robotics give us repeatable precision. That’s what allows us to play on these unconventional surfaces, to go 3D, to create labels that behave more like sculpted skins than printed stickers.’
What lies ahead? Sean hints at more breakthroughs. ‘We’ve got some stuff in the pipeline that’ll push IML even further. Think fully textured metallics, tactile gradients and wraparounds with intentional asymmetry. We want IML to become something you don’t just see – you feel it, engage with it.’
Teqal’s story is not just one of technological mastery but of reimagining the boundaries of what packaging can be. In a marketplace flooded with fleeting impressions, Teqal is betting on a different kind of impact – one that wraps around, embeds within and refuses to peel away.
While the future of high-end IML adoption by cosmetics and FMCG brands to stand out on the shelf is still unfolding, Sean is certain that with Teqal’s competitive edge, the outlook is exceptionally promising.
