Founded in 1976, Colombian company Minipak S.A.S. provides high-quality flexible packaging to the Americas.  Over the years, the company’s approach and investments have enabled them to enter new markets, including chocolates, snacks, food, pet food, personal care, and even industrial applications, with more sophisticated products. Minipak has founded success in this market with Bobst equipment.

The company first established a relationship with Cerutti, which was acquired by Bobst in 2021, and then continued to investin  its technology. Currently, the company counts seven Bobst gravure presses among its assets and is about to install a brand new one.

“The investment level, which represents up to 15% of Minipak’s turnover, is targeted towards state-of-the-art equipment, the best technology available and reliable technical services to deliver an operation that is efficient and competitive,” says Humberto Portilla, vice president of production of Minipak.

Continued investment has also enabled the business to broaden its geographic reach – today, it exports more than 70% of what it produces to more than 35 countries around the globe.

Minipak also invests in maintaining its assets to ensure optimum performance at all times. Recently, the company invested in a Retrofit program to its 10-color, inline lamination, Bobst RS 6003 HS gravure press. The result was an increase in output of 20% working at speeds up to 600 m/m, greater automation and protection against unplanned downtime of the machine. “Being able to convert cold seal applications at the maximum speed of conventional materials was a must for us, and the collaboration of Bobst and the Minipak team made it possible,” says Portilla.

However, the increase in capacity was not enough to meet the increase in demand, which led the company to consider investing in more capacity. The natural decision was to purchase a new 9-color Bobst Master RS 6003 gravure press.

“Two main reasons explain our decision for Bobst machinery: Number one is the brand itself. Bobst brand resonates among the main large corporations as the ultimate technology in the industry, so when they are evaluating suppliers like us for their packaged goods, the Bobst brand on the equipment nameplate is a plus. Second, from an internal perspective, is the reliability of the equipment and the repeatability of printing, which guarantees we deliver consistent quality time and again to our customers,” says Portilla.

The recent investments not only support Minipak’s geographical expansion, but also provides the company with the quality and performance needed to deliver more products, especially cold seal applications, to customers.

“Improving our capacity with a higher degree of technology has been key for us to gain significant new businesses worldwide, mainly in more sophisticated products. The move toward cold-seal applications is a good example of that. We recently closed a deal with a leading global chocolate producer, which was only possible due to this capability,” adds Portilla, mentioning some key differentiators as the color consistency achieved by color registration features, and tension control provided by the servo systems, which enables working on thinner and more complex materials. “There are also significant logistics gains, allowing us to deliver faster. Considering an export to the US, currently our main market, we can deliver in five to six weeks. In some cases, we were able to deliver in less than two weeks. This is especially important in a moment when companies are witnessing high pressure on the cost of working capital and interest rates.”