Southwest China | 131World class converters emerge in southwest ChinaSouthwest China’s geographical isolation has meant label converters remaining small and fragmented. Now, development of communications has created opportunities eagerly seized by a new generation of world-class converting companies. Yolanda Wang reportsouthwest China includes Sichuan province, Chongqing Municipality, Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province and the STibet Autonomous Region. Label converters in this area are generally characterized by the low level of consolidation and small scale, which is common for Chinese label printing enterprises. In addition, due to the geographical limitations of the location, the speed of development of label converters in this region is lower than that in east China, south China and other regions.In recent years, with the development of increasingly effcient transportation and communication networks, many international top 500 enterprises have set up factories in southwest China, including in the electronics, automobile and aerospace industries. In addition, the development of local industries including food, Weigang ZJR-330 fexo press in Tianxing Printingwine, bottled water, pharma and others has driven demand for label products. In the future these combined trends will bring great “As a label converter, we need to cope opportunities for label converters in the region.For this reason, L&L wanted to give the top ten label converters with a hostile macro-environment” in southwest China the opportunity to be better known by their industry peers. We also express our sincere thanks to the support applications, as well as ‘one object one code’ labels. Hundreds given by the Sichuan and Chongqing label association. of millions of the company’s QR code labels are being used by Foxconn, Bosch and other global Top 500 brands industries. In Tianxing Printing 2017, Tianxing established a dedicated smart label operation Established in November 2010 with a production area of called Guiyang Tianxing and set up an offce in Chongqing, 12,000sqm, Tianxing Printing is a high-tech enterprise with an marking a breakthrough in the intelligent packaging market in annual sales revenue of nearly 200 million RMB (USD 31m). Southwest China.In 2016, Tianxing was listed on China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), entering the new technology Chengdu Megavisiondivision in May 2017. The company’s business is mainly focused on Founded in 2005, Chengdu Megavision has a production area of the printing of anti-counterfeit labels, barcodes and packaging. 4,000sqm and 60 employees. The company produces roll and sheet Tianxing Printing’s battery of presses includes a Weigang ZJR-330 labels for the food, wine, pharma, household chemical, industrial fexo press, Label Source satellite letterpress, intermittent offset chemical, anti-counterfeit and electronics industries. Daily label press and a Rhyguan high-speed die-cutting machine. output can reach up to three million pieces and annual capacity As well as decorative labels, the company prints a wide range of more than two billion labels. The company’s long-term clients commercial work, including business forms and instruction leafets. include a wide range of well-known enterprises including Red Star, It is also a lead supplier of paper products for the Bank of China, Jiangxiaobai, Gemmy, China Resources Sanjiu and others.China Construction Bank, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Chengdu Megavision’s converting equipment includes three Sichuan Guanghan Jinyan Distillery and others brand owners. Bobst fexo presses, a digital press, intermittent offset label press Tao Tian, general manager of Tianxing, says innovation is the key and screen printing presses, as well as fnishing equipment including principle of the company’s development. ‘As a label converter, we high-speed hot stamping and die-cutting machines and automatic need to cope with a hostile macro-environment. Firstly, increasingly inspection systems. Today it is one of the best-equipped and most ferce competition; secondly, shrinking profts as we face price heavily automated enterprises in the label printing industry in increases from our downstream material suppliers and lower southwest China.prices our from upstream brand customers. Finally, we need also Liu Jincheng, the founder and general manager, has a design to consider rising staff wages and rising costs of operating a background. ‘A label printing company is not only the manufacturer company. Only with support of innovation, can the company and converter of label products, but also a key contact between break these shackles.’ brand owners and designers,’ says Liu Jincheng. ‘As a label converter, Tianxing Printing has put this philosophy into practice, and today we need to give full play to our advantages in understanding has more than 40 technology and design patents. printing materials, printing technologies and fnishing processes to In line with the trend towards the Internet of Things, Tianxing provide constructive opinions and suggestions for the brand owners’ Printing has developed additional functions on its product product design at an early stage. We can recommend appropriate packaging including anti-counterfeiting, product tracking, materials and processes based on a consideration of the brand’s mobile marketing and brand promotion using QR codes, image, impact and concept, so as to achieve a deeper strategic invisible watermarks, digital watermarks, dot matrix technology cooperation with brand owners.’and RFID labels. Megavision provides professional services from pre-press design, QR code labels are used for anti-counterfeit and track and trace document processing and typesetting to printing production, Jan - Mar 2022