54 | Kuresabring to Kuresa. ‘It is a fundamental change for us,’ he admits. ‘It is not an easy transition, given our background in conventional printing. A lot of work is required in pre-press to adjust our existing jobs from conventional to digital. But once you have got the parameters right for a particular job, the repeatability means that you can perfectly replicate the same job again just by pressing a few buttons. That speed and ease with which you can recall a job is another key advantage.‘It has only been two months since the installation. The press is working well. But it will take a while for us to fully adapt. It is a challenge. Our sales team needs to learn how to take full advantage of having this extra option.’ Yoshiyama emphasizes that the support from Durst during the installation process has been frst-class. The press manufacturer runs a technical support offce in Mexico, and Kuresa received regular visits from technicians from that offce as well as Durst’s Italian headquarters during the installation. Press operators were given three weeks of training and will continue to be trained in the coming months. Personal care is one of Kuresa’s key markets Kuresa has converted one of its six Ilma presses into a fnishing line for the Durst Tau RSC press. It is equipped with a fexo unit, “There is still huge potential for lamination and die-cutting. ‘We are using the converted Ilma to start with, but we might invest in something more specialized per capital label consumption in the future,’ says Yoshiyama. ‘We have everything we need to serve our existing clients, but of course, as we continue to grow to rise in Peru. We are more and attract new business, there might be more capabilities that we need to add.’optimistic about the future growth of the local market than we were Future growthKuresa’s investment in the Durst Tau RSC inkjet press is part of a two years ago”strategy to continue its impressive growth trajectory over the past 20 years. ‘We want to continue to grow in the region, to sell more labels into more countries. We are looking at widening our portfolio not been used effciently. The addition of Swiss precision to the to include new options to offer our clients, such as shrink sleeves enormous practical talent of the technicians and mechanics from and fexible packaging,’ reveals Yoshiyama. ‘While this could have Peru quickly gave Kuresa a strong competitive position.’been done with our Ilma presses, the Durst machine brings us the When Kuresa moved into label production in the late 1990s, advantage of enabling shorter runs. Jaime Yoshiyama and his management team traveled extensively, ‘Domestically, we are prospecting customers in the agriculture visiting industry suppliers and attending trade shows. The sector, mainly labels for exporters of berries in clamshell packaging, company developed strong relationships with companies such as and producers of Peruvian liquor Pisco.’ Netherlands-based Kolibri Label (now part of Optimum Group) and The converter is also setting its sights further afeld. This year Spanish converter Germark. ‘We have a management culture of it began a partnership with a Florida, USA-based distributor for ensuring that the company’s leaders are kept up to speed with the various converters in the fexible packaging sector, which is now latest technology and advances in the industry,’ says Yoshiyama.selling Kuresa’s labels to brands in the US. Kuresa is its only label Kuresa’s long-term membership in Finat is a further example printing partner. of the company’s international outlook. The self-adhesive label ‘We are looking at ways to ensure Kuresa’s continued growth,’ association’s competitions have provided a useful yardstick for says Yoshiyama. ‘We are open to all possibilities for the future, Yoshiyama to compare the quality of Kuresa’s production to that whether that be partnerships with other companies or setting up a of leading European converters. Its multiple victories demonstrate factory in a new market, for example.’ that it has not been found wanting – indeed, it added two more Kuresa’s history of international cooperation goes back to the Finat Label Competition awards last year, in the combination 1980s and remains an important part of the company’s culture. By printing and rotary letterpress printing process categories.then, its Pegafan brand of adhesive tapes was one of the biggest Meanwhile in Peru, despite recent political instability (the in Peru, but a shift in government policy towards importation saw country had six different prime ministers last year) the local the arrival of foreign tape brands in the local market. According to industry is growing and demand for labels ‘continues to rise’, says Yoshiyama, this encouraged the company to rethink its strategy. Yoshiyama. In 2022, as the local economy opened up following It began to search for a technology supplier, modernized its extensive lockdowns during the pandemic, Kuresa achieved growth production facilities and invested in the training of its workforce. of 25 percent across all three of its core business areas. Growth This search led it to Swiss adhesive tape manufacturer Cellux, in the frst half of 2023 was up 11 percent compared to the same whose president Dr Daniel Blansjaar – a Dutchman who has lived period last year. ‘There is still huge potential for per capital label in Switzerland for many years – then became chairman of Kuresa. consumption to rise in Peru,’ emphasizes Yoshiyama. ‘We are more His son Guido Blansjaar, also based in Switzerland, is Kuresa’s optimistic about the future growth of the local market than we president. were two years ago.’‘When Dr Blansjaar and his engineers arrived at Kuresa in the 1980s, the performance of our machinery and the quality of our products began to improve enormously. Because of our lack of For more information on Kuresa, visit kuresa.petechnical knowledge at the time, the existing machinery had labelsandlabeling.com