MILAN, Italy—Grafikontrol has been a leader in the graphics sector for more than 40 years, always distinguishing itself by its commitment to the development of industrial control systems. All around the world in the publishing and converting markets, the company has seen a significant increase in turnover year over year, above all in the converting and packaging industry. Grafikontrol growth in the commercial segment has been married to its technological expertise, factors that together make it the industry leader.
Grafikontrol Growth in 2016
The year 2016 ended positively for Grafikontrol, with an increase in turnover of 14 percent (10 percent in direct sales to end customers) compared to 2015. “This has been a year packed with trade fairs all around the world,” says Paolo De Grandis, Grafikontrol’s sales director and partner. “In particular, we took part in two of the most important trade fairs, drupa and K. Though they took place within a few months of each other, we met our goals and then some, thanks to the many visitors to our stand.”
More specifically, Grafikontrol has increased sales on the Italian market for new orders of printing machine systems. In addition, our strong growth has been accelerated by the retrofit sector, especially installations on already operational printing presses. In these situations, adding Grafikontrol’s control systems has shown customers how to increase the quality of finished products and improve the productivity of their existing machines. Many customers have invested in Grafikontrol’s technologies, including the Goglio Group, for one of its plants, and SITITALIA, where Grafikontrol’s control systems are used for the gravure facilities in Pesaro, and the flexographic plants in Padua.
The second largest market in terms of importance for Grafikontrol products is undoubtedly the U.S. Our previous year’s success was repeated, as new machine sales were complemented by a great many installations on already operational presses. “Large American companies, such as Bemis Co., Printpack, Constantia, and Sonoco have been impressed by our cutting edge technology and performance in terms of inspection and quality control. These qualities led them to choose Grafikontrol as their preferred vendor,” as Paolo puts it.
One market that started booming in 2016 was Spain. Grafikontrol was able to display the new inspection and defect tracking systems, as featured in our latest demonstrations. Even in the far east, where the company is not as well known, Grafikontrol has caught the attention of major printers, thanks to its commitment and devotion to those markets. “We are pleased that our efforts have paid off; customers have trusted our technology for new investments, both immediately and when planning for the future. The only market that remains static is Latin America, where no significant progress has been made.”