J F&I Printers (Pvt.) Ltd, one of Sri Lanka 's best-known packaging converters, will celebrate their 30th birthday this year secure in the knowledge that they have come a long way through sheer dedication to quality and timely investments in state-of-the-art technology.
From humble beginnings in 1978, when they commenced operations with just one single colour Kord machine, they have now graduated to three 6-colour Heidelberg presses with coaters, a Bobst die-cutter and folder-gluer, Polar and Itotec guillotines fromJDC and a fully integrated Esko CTP linewith violet technology and front end also from JDC. They have expanded to three factories at different locations employing about 350 people and have maintained a consistent growth rate of 20 per cent every year. The turnover for 2007was SL Rupees 1.75 billion (US$ 1.7million) and they expect to clock SL Rupees 2.1 billion (US$ 2.1 million) in 2008.
JF&I's major business in packaging consists of folding cartons, tags and pouches and the end-user segments they service include FMCG products like soaps, biscuits, confectionery and cosmetics, tea and healthcare. They are renowned for their quality and as much as 50 per cent of their output is exported. Major customers include well known industries like Unilever, Swadeshi Industries, Hemas, Dilmah and Ahmad. They also do some specialised commercial printing (annual reports etc. which are mostly seasonal requirements). They havewon prestigious awards like Asiastar Gold for packaging and Asia Gold for printing.
According to JF&I'sManaging Director Mr. Naomal Fernando, “Survival depends on the quality of product and the quality of service being offered. Today, customers want deliveries within a short time-frame or, in other words, ‘just in time' service, and, for that, investment in high-tech facilities including in-house pre-press is needed to satisfy them.” Thiswhy their old multi-colour presses have been replaced with two 40 inch wide and one 29 inch wide new 6-colour Heidelberg machines over the last three years and their old finishing machines have been replaced with new Bobst equipment over the last five years. They have also set up all pre-press requirements in-house with the acquisition of a fully integrated Esko CTP violet line in 2003. This has given them much better control over their work and significantly improved their ability to respond to customer requirements even at short notice. High quality plates can now be prepared exactly when they are required and this has led to minimization of press downtime.
While the packaging requirements of local companies for domestic markets in Sri Lanka are growing, most of their output is used to service exports of tea. This mainly depends on the price of the tea and major overseas buyers determine whether the packaging is to be produced in Sri Lanka or in their own countries. The pricing of tea is, therefore, a decisive factor for both the tea exporters and their overseas buyers as this dictates both the type of value-added packaging and its sourcing.
Mr. Fernando is optimistic about their prospects and is confident of maintaining the 20 per cent per annum growth rate. He also acknowledges the support received from JDC Printing Technologies, EskoArtwork's associates in Sri Lanka, who have been supplying them inks, plates and chemicals since inception in addition to enabling procurement and installation of their Esko CTP line. |
