Page 40 - Packaging News magazine Sep-Oct 2022

PRINTING & CONVERTING
Immij drives packaging business with innovation
Leading print and packaging business Immij is investing strongly in packaging – developing innovative solutions, acquiring Roden Print & Packaging, and installing new packaging converting equipment. Wayne Robinson reports.
The company is taking a major step forward, with big investments. It has acquired MacBird, which took Immij into Immij Green Life – designing and printing plant tags for the plant grow- ers and fresh produce markets. Also Burtons print and packaging in 2016 and more recently Roden Print & Pack both in Sydney and is installing its own inhouse packaging equipment for Melbourne, specifically a new SBL A1 die-cutter, a SBL carton gluer line, and a Heiber and Schroeder carton tray forming machine.
And while commercial print is, and will remain, a core component of the Immij business, and one it is well
equipped to produce, with a fleet of the latest LED UV presses, it is in packaging that Immij sees the greatest opportunity for growth, and it is taking decisive steps to position itself as an indis-
pensable supplier.
Mark Randles, group
general manager says, “We have built our reputation on high quality and shorter lead times than the current market can offer. We are determined that having a full inhouse operation will only ben- efit our clients even further. Being able to produce the entire job from start to finish with complete control over sched- ule and quality is where we want to be,
and what we will now have.”
Immij has plants in both Melbourne
and Sydney which delivers strategic benefits for packaging clients, with about 70 staff in each location. Staffing is the number one issue in industry now, Randles says, “We look after our staff, we offer them upskilling, they know they are in a business with a clear direction for the future.”
The new die-cutter and folder gluer have gone into the company’s Mount Waverley plant, with the Sydney site taking in another carton gluer from Roden Print & Pack. Randles says, “Packaging is a growth opportunity, but it is not for everyone. You must have the
AS SOCIETY, BUSINESS and the print industry evolve, smart print busi- nesses similarly evolve to stay relevant, valuable, and sustainable. They evolve though only if the senior execs or owners are open-minded, see the way the wind is blowing, and have the courage to make changes.
Immij principals Michael Smithe and Alistair Hill created Immij 14 years ago. In the intervening years there has been the GFC, cheap offshore pricing, Covid, and the rise of the smartphone, all of
which have impacted on the growth prospects for commercial print – and caused the Immij owners to look to recalibrate the business.
Immij principals are print industry leaders. They have been at the forefront of all service and technology changes in the industry for over 50 years
In fact, as the times have changed Immij has not been standing still or hoping things would
return to the way they
were before.
This machine will create new opportunities as customers move away from synthetic packaging.”
MARK RANDLES, GROUP GM, IMMIJ
40 ❙ SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2022
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