First-ever ECOLINE stands the test of time
Five years ago, Label Mountain opened its doors as the first dedicated label printer located along the Stellenbosch Wine Route. Although the company’s focus is still primarily on the wine and spirits markets, it also serves customers in the food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, chemical and industrial, as well as freight and logistics industries.
‘Our doors are always open to customers and the walk-in mini-sized label factory concept has allowed us to build good relationships with them. It’s important for us to create a welcoming atmosphere while also providing solutions that meet their evolving labelling needs,’ comments director Dirk Harris.
Dirk describes the ECOLINE RDF 330 – which offers one printing station (for printing and/or varnishing) with UV curing, cold foiling, semi-rotary die-cutting and lamination capabilities – as the most important machine on the floor.
‘It’s essential for our machines to run smoothly and always provide high-quality end-results. Since its installation, we’ve had no major issues with the RDF 330,’ he comments.
Operator Ramone Daniels adds that the machine’s user-friendly and safety features, compact footprint and diverse capabilities have inspired him to learn more. ‘Before joining Label Mountain in 2019, I didn’t have any industry knowledge. Craig Greeff, the lead operator with 17 years’ experience, has been a great mentor,’ Ramone reports. ‘He has, for instance, taught me the importance of the operator using the machinery correctly and minimising the number of human errors so that we can obtain the best quality results.’
Dirk agrees that everyone in the operation has an important role to play because the team consists of fewer than 10 staff members. ‘Although we may have less staff and machinery on the floor than other conventional label printers, everything runs smoothly due to the calibre of our investments and the after-sales service received from ROTOCON. ‘We can’t afford to have machines that cause downtime and the quality of support we’ve received from the local ROTOCON team (led by Michael and Pascal Aengenvoort) provides assurance that if any situation arises, they’ll sort it out in a timely manner.’
ROTOCON also supplies Label Mountain with consumables, including Wink flexible dies and Cheshire anilox rollers to ensure the company obtains the best quality results.
‘We’ve always had a quick response from ROTOCON and the turnaround time on the dies is amazing,’ remarks production manager Ryan Knowlden.
‘We’re excited to see how Label Mountain has grown over the years and proud that they’ve entrusted us to help them on this exciting journey,’ comments ROTOCON director Pascal Aengenvoort.
100% performance track record
In 2017, ROTOCON extended its reach beyond South African shores to Australia with the sale of an ECOLINE finishing machine to ex-Capetonian Mike Ellis, who needed to upgrade an old machine for his burgeoning self-adhesive label converting business.
Mike recalls being particularly impressed with the RSI 330 slitting, inspection and rewinding system’s output when he saw a few machines in action at a Cape Town label printer during a visit with ROTOCON’S founder, Michael Aengenvoort.
‘I placed an order as soon as I returned to Sydney and Luminar hasn’t looked back since Pascal Aengenvoort personally oversaw the installation and training of two operators with ease and professionalism,’ Mike enthuses. ‘The RSI 330 has served us very well over the past four years, we haven’t experienced any downtime or required any technical support. Its reliability has been legendary.’
Mike also only has praise for the machine’s performance levels and quick turnaround times that have enabled Luminar to meet customers’ specific label requirements as the demand for bespoke label production has increased.
‘Being challenged and customer-focused and bringing a fresh perspective is all part of the Luminar philosophy,’ adds MD Matt Ellis, who joined the family business in 2012 and has taken it over from his parents. ‘Lume means light and our team of 20 is dedicated to shedding light on customers’ products and businesses. We highlight their stories, brighten up their brands and ensure each product radiates through our top-quality labelling and packaging solutions as well as beginning to end service offering.’
During the past four years, Luminar has grown from a small operation in Castle Hill to a 1 000m2 facility in Riverstone in North-West Sydney. The company has also diversified its offerings to include short-run, digital and flexible packaging solutions that can be produced without plates and tooling for customers in the fast-moving consumer goods, technical, industrial and automotive industries.
Matt emphasises that Luminar loves to be one step ahead and is constantly looking at ways of improving its skillset and expanding its service offering by investing in state-of-the-art equipment, leveraging the latest technologies and implementing innovative systems. Part of this momentum and forward-looking vision includes considering purchasing more digital finishing machines from the ROTOCON ECOLINE stable.
Pascal points out that the two family-orientated businesses are aligned in their commitment to quality and innovation, which forms the cornerstone of their philosophy of always providing the best in customer service. ‘Although Luminar hasn’t needed to call on ROTOCON’s technical support for the RSI 330, we pride ourselves on rigorously training and certifying our technicians and admin staff according to OEM standards. This is essential because it takes very skilled individuals with a built-in level of commitment and initiative to elevate customer service to the next level,’ he concludes.
