Graphimecc | 63Graphimecc opens the curtainGraphimecc’s expertise in serialization, quality certifcation and high-tech converting is helping brands secure their global supply chains. Andy Thomas-Emans reportsSpark Jet inkjet printer with LED curing Encoding Lab customer support facility in Verona and dual Spark Cam inspection moduleraphimecc is full of surprises for those – like this writer – “The commercial market had who previously saw the company mainly as a manufacturer of high-quality fnishing machines. Gcaught up with what we had been The frst surprise: while Graphimecc does manufacture label doing for two decades”fnishing machines, it does not regard itself as a competitor to other manufacturers in that feld, as it focuses on certifcation of production output quality, not the converting process itself. fscal recovery using secure data encoding combined with overt, Surprise number two is to walk into a truly lights-out smart covert and forensic security features. label coding factory, where jobs arrive remotely and are run by Graphimecc’s customers include the European Central Bank and fully automated production lines specializing in high-security serial Banca Italia.numbering, RFID/NFC encoding, validation and delivery, often involving complex inline material constructions running multiple Pivot to brandswebs and inserts. A few years ago, Graphimecc looked at how it might apply these The third surprise is the machine manufacturing and assembly core technologies to brand protection and supply chain security. hall. Instead of the kind of serial production of standard modules ‘We saw that the market had shifted to a requirement for one usually sees, here there are a small number of bespoke traceability and sustainability and we started to have those machines under construction for specifc customer requirements, discussions,’ says Dr Vlad Sljapic, group chief commercial offcer at and not only for labels but also for tags and sheet products like Graphimecc. ‘Now the whole world was talking about QR codes folding cartons. and traceability and we recognized that the commercial market had Perhaps the fnal surprise is the ratio of engineers to production caught up with what we had been doing for two decades.’personnel. Graphimecc employs 24 software and electro- This led to Graphimecc forming partnerships with leading mechanical engineers out of a staff of 50, and these are graduates suppliers and converters in the brand protection and track and trace of companies like Ferrari with an average age in the mid-20s. feld, including Avery Dennison, Checkpoint, Beontag, All4Labels, So how does this all ft together? Eurostampa, MCC, Reynders and Schreiner Group. Graphimecc also reached out to work directly with some brands, including Audi, Government contracts Gucci, Merck and Zara.Graphimecc was founded in 1985 by Vittorio Avona. Andrea Projects ranged across healthcare, fashion and textile, industrial, Ranzato Vianello joined him in 1999 with the aim to develop a logistics, automotive and wine and spirits sectors. company focused on systems to secure and track high-value items, ‘We see a requirement in the branded goods market today for securing patents on what is today regarded as the bi-directional zero fault certifcation,’ says Ranzato Vianello. ‘You simply cannot print certifcation process. Ranzato Vianello remains at the track and trace your products if there are faults in your system to company as owner/CEO, with his sons Ivan and Marco now actively begin with.’involved in the business. Sljapic adds that it is crucial to understand the distinction In 2000, Italy’s National Printing House commissioned between inspection and certifcation: ‘Inspection is to understand if Graphimecc to design a system for the serialization of something is good or bad. Certifcation is a machine manufacturer’s pharmaceuticals in Italy, known as the pharmaceutical tax seal guarantee that there are no errors in the fnal products, regardless (BOF). The system was specifed to create 100 percent certifed of the operator’s actions. Most people offer an inspection report, printed output with zero error for encoding, traceability and anti- which is to understand there is an error, but not what you do to counterfeiting. take out that error. We design the machines that automatically From there, Graphimecc’s core business primarily grew through eliminate errors and guarantee that they have done a good job of it, supplying complete systems to the high-security printers who work even if the operator stops paying attention.’with government agencies. The EU’s Digital Product Passport (EU DPP) scheme forms an They deliver advanced technologies for ID documentation and important part of Graphimecc’s strategy in the branded goods Jul - Sep 2023