Acme Rolltech, a rapidly growing player in the printing and packaging industry, made a significant impact at drupa 2024. The event, returning after an eight-year hiatus, was a perfect platform for Acme Rolltech to showcase its innovations and global reach. I had the opportunity to speak with Sandeep Sharma, director, Acme Rolltech about their participation in the exhibition.
Reflecting on drupa’s significance, Sharma emphasized the scale and importance of the event. He said, “drupa is one of the biggest exhibitions worldwide for printing and packaging. As it is happening after eight years, the buzz is high.” Sharma explained that Acme Rolltech had intended to participate in 2020, but the event was canceled due to COVID-19. “Fortunately for us, it was a blessing in disguise,” he added. “At that time, our company Acme Rolltech was just one year old. Now, after five years, our position is very strong.”
Sharma highlighted Acme Rolltech’s remarkable growth over these five years, noting their expansion into over 20 countries with agent partners in 12 of them. The company has garnered a customer base exceeding 900 and has sold more than 10,000 analog sleeves and rolls globally.
At drupa, Acme Rolltech aimed to highlight the global presence and quality of its Made in India products. “We wanted to highlight to the world that Made in India analogues are in the market, reaching every corner of the world. We have developed special applications for specific requirements, like specialty analogues and rolls for narrow web applications. We call it ACMA Tactile, designed for achieving screen-type raised effects and have specialty white analogues. We are specifically highlighting our wide web applications made in India, which are lightweight for CI flexo machines,” Sharma explained. He also mentioned their proprietary channel engravings, branded as ACE (Advanced Channel Engraving), which offer unique benefits tailored to various applications.
Acme Rolltech’s display at drupa included samples for narrow web, wide web, ATAC samples for Acme High-Density White, tailored specifically for impeccable printing of solids and text matter in opaque white, and offset samples, showcasing the breadth of their offerings. “We are displaying quite a lot of good stuff for our customers at drupa,” Sharma added.
Discussing their international reach, Sharma shared insights on the diverse requirements across different regions. “Each country has its own unique requirements and customer base. For example, in the Indian market, wide web CI flexo is primarily used for printing LDPE, while in South Africa or Kenya, it Is used for paper bag printing. The machine is the same, but the printing requirements differ. We understand these geographical differences and customize our products accordingly.”
On the topic of the Indian market’s shift towards CI Flexo compared to gravure, Sharma provided a nuanced perspective. “People often discuss that CI flexo is increasing and that the requirement for gravure will decline. Similarly, in narrow web, there Is talk about digital printing booming and flexo declining. But that is not the case. New technologies complement the existing ones rather than compete with them. For instance, most of the CI flexo machines coming to India are purchased by companies already using gravure machines. This trend is also seen with PS labels, where companies investing in digital presses already have flexo presses. These technologies are viewed as complementary, helping with short-run jobs and faster turnaround times, thus fostering industry growth.”