De Marchi is a family business specializing in package and label printing. They are based near Buenos Aires, Argentina. The company has been growing steadily since the 1970s thanks to continued investment in new technologies and a strong focus on customer satisfaction.

Wine bottle labels take up 60% of all sales. The second-biggest sales segment are pharmaceutical products (20%). Other important markets for De Marchi include food, beverages and cosmetics. The majority of production goes to the local market. Brazil is the most important export destination.

The De Marchi family, immigrants from Italy, started by offset printing on plastic containers. Their key client, the multinational Unilever, convinced the company owners to invest in technology for self-adhesive labels. This line of business has become the foundation of the company’s dynamic growth.

Independence plays a big role in De Marchi, which is why the family is open to investment in new machines and technological processes. Having said that, they are also cautious and always do extensive testing before major expenses. Their 2500 sq m production facility in Lavallol near Buenos Aires includes the laboratory, the pre-press department, production as well as quality control.

The CtP technology

Among the company’s latest investments are the CTP system Amsky and the flexo plate making processor. Both machines have been selected and adapted to work well with Cosmolight flexo plates by the Japanese producer Toyobo.

Leonardo De Marchi, sales and development director: We are integrating it into the company little by little. We have had a great experience with the system so far. The quality has improved. There are fewer steps in the process so it is more flexible and quicker for clients”.

New investment by DeMarchi is part of a worldwide trend. Package and label printers want to have more control over all stages of the process – from pre-press to production to post-press. They also want to automate and speed up the process as well as make their production more environmentally friendly.

Leonardo De Marchi: „Plates can be produced in just 45 minutes, and there are environmental benefits thanks to the water wash process’s lack of solvents”.

For De Marchi and other players in the industry, it is also important that such a complete solution – water-wash flexo plates by Toyobo, state-of-the-art CTP system by Amsky and the plate making machine – is much more affordable than competitive systems of comparable, and often poorer, parameters.

The growth

The remarkable thing about De Marchi is that is has been growing sustainably without a sales department.

Leonardo De Marchi: „We have a good reputation in the market for quality and reliability. Clients usually come to us”.

One of the secrets behind the Argentine company’s success is the continued development of technological processes and know-how. The latest investments in the CtP technology and the flexo plate processing machine are important additions to the facility that is ready to take on even the most demanding print jobs.

Gabriel De Marchi, production director: „We have a philosophy of being able to rely on in-house capabilities for as much as possible”.

You can view the original text – Labelsandlabeling.com, August 2016

Print Systems is the distributor of flexographic plates by Toyobo, CTP systems by Amsky and plate.