ACQUISITIONS & EVOLUTIONS

Flexo at scale

On the factory floor at PLP Labels at Mega Park in Bellville South one thing stands out: an empty space reserved for a new…

Kyocera’s Square 9 to turbocharge ECM in SA

Square 9’s key feature is its InquireAI engine, which allows users to extract data from documents using natural language prompts – removing the need…

Flowe-Pac: 25 years of purpose, progress and packaging excellence

What started as a small, humble venture has grown into a regional manufacturer serving leading brands and industries across borders, powered by innovation, integrity…

ROTOCON’s next chapter

The rebrand is a visual and strategic shift that reflects ROTOCON’s role in the global label and narrow web printing industry, according to the…

The label of trust

When speaking with Tim Grisdale, managing executive at Bidvest Labels S&N Labels and recently appointed head of Bidvest Labels’ label division, and Grant Watson,…

Pressing ahead: Nilpeter strengthens foothold in West Africa

Propak West Africa 2025 may not be the continent’s largest trade show, but for Nilpeter, it remains one of the most strategically important. ‘While…

EFFICIENCIES

Spouts, speed and smarter films

The liquid pouch market is accelerating into 2026, driven by convenience, sustainability and supply chain efficiency. For Germany-based machinery specialist SN Maschinenbau GmbH, the evolution…

Copycats and consequences

South Africa’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector faces a counterfeit crisis. From canned foods, sweets and powdered staples to personal care products, fake goods…

The margin machine

For years, South African print businesses viewed inkjet with caution, with questions about cost and application range keeping it on the edge of commercial…

On the cutting edge

Steel is not a single material but an alloy – a carefully balanced mixture of iron, carbon and selected alloying elements. While carbon typically…

Race-ready: ROTOCON’s winning team behind every press

The car stops; the stopwatch starts. All eyes on the change-over. Milliseconds are the difference between glory and failure. Then, as quickly as it…

NOVAFOLD upgrades drive efficiency for converters

The 50, 80 and 110 models now run at belt speeds up to 350m/min, with backfolding capacity increased to 22 000 boxes/hour. An extended…

SUSTAINABILITY

Bagging for the best: thinner, tougher, greener

Brands are under mounting pressure to cut waste without sacrificing performance, and flexible packaging stands at the intersection of sustainability, innovation and design. Plastic Packaging in…

Master Plastics launches SA’s first 30% PCR pouch

This milestone highlights the company’s ongoing commitment to sustainable flexible packaging through its subsidiaries, Peninsula Packaging and Barrier Film Converters, and aligns with the South…

Recycling resilience: Extrupet bottles a comeback

At a time when recycling plants around the world are shuttering under economic strain, South Africa is choosing a different path: bold investment, resilient…

SAPRO Awards 2025: Recycling reimagined

On 27 August, the Indaba Hotel in Johannesburg hosted more than 190 industry leaders, innovators and media who gathered to celebrate South Africa’s most…

MetPac-SA first PRO in SA to earn ISO certification

The accreditation, granted by European certification body DNV, recognises MetPac-SA’s quality management systems in the design, implementation and management of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)…

The chemistry of credibility

The word ‘sustainability’ has been stretched thin – plastered across campaigns, labels and press releases with varying degrees of substance – but SealGlobal.Co insists…

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DIGITAL

Maximised productivity with minimised footprint

The DC350NANO from Grafisk Maskinfabrik (GM) is ideal for entry-level digital label printers. It can be used as a converter for a small digital…

Harry’s keeps its digit on the digital print pulse with Indigo investment

FEW contemporary printshops can boast of having crashed onto the scene just as Wall Street crashed out, precipitating the Great Depression. Harry’s Printers doesn’t…

New phase for DigiLase, as refinements roll out

The refinements follow a record number of orders for the machine in 2020, states product manager, Floriana Montella. The addition of individual piece options…

Finishing touch to in-house capabilities

The team has noticed an entrepreneurial spirit in the current constrained economy, with around 20 enquiries per week on its website for small digital…

Local digital printing ink partnership benefits

WITH 25 years’ experience as an ink manufacturer, NUtec produces UV curable, water- and solvent-based digital printing inks for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and…

Omet digitises its global spare parts network

‘Reliability is one of the pillars on which Omet has built its reputation. We have prioritised market satisfaction by increasing the precision of diagnostics…

Packaging Spotlight

Magnum wins multiple medals

The Woolworths Laundry Pods (16s and 24s) won the PAMSA Paper is Possible Award and a silver in the Household Product Packaging category. ‘Our success came…

Crafting the future of glass packaging

‘These awards are far more than certificates on a wall,’ says Jaco Lombard, Ardagh’s manager of new product development. ‘They validate our commitment to…

Inside Flexo Frontier 2026

Launched in 2023, Flexo Frontier was created to bridge the gap between printers and brand owners by focusing on the changes in flexographic printing….

FutureFlex 2026: book your seat

The two-day forum will take place on 4 February 2026 at Durban’s Oyster Box Hotel and 5 February 2026 at Emperor’s Palace in Johannesburg,…

Wrapetfill: bridging innovation

Representing well-known names in plastics and packaging machinery, Louis described this year’s event as ‘high-energy and high-impact’. While visitor numbers dipped slightly, he noted…

Full throttle

For Paul Bouwer, director of SArepco, the show captured exactly where the industry is heading. ‘Labelexpo is the perfect arena for genuine technology exchange,’…

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