Sandon Global, an anilox manufacturer headquartered in Runcorn, Cheshire, has reported record sales in 2023 as it embarks upon the new year with plans to build on the company’s success and mark 20 years of anilox excellence.

Floexgraphic growth was driven primarily from increased anilox sales to the flexible packaging and label sector in the UK, Europe, North America and Southern and Southeast Asia. Sandon Global also saw good gains in its European narrow web business, and notable success was attributed to its strong partnerships with leading OEMs in the global print and packaging industry.

Richard Millington, managing director, Sandon Global, says, “We are really excited to be entering 2024 on the back of a busy year. As a family-owned business, we have invested significantly over the past few years and our success in 2023 is demonstrated by this unprecedented sales growth. Credit goes to our dedicated team, and of course thanks to our loyal customers and partners for their valued support. It also gives me great pleasure to report our best-ever year as we enter our 20th year in business. We have been steadily expanding in existing regions and making inroads into new international markets to bring our unique award-winning anilox to even more flexo printers around the world. The Asian and Latin American markets both represent exciting potential for us, and, in 2024, we are also anticipating strong growth in the Middle East and Africa.

“We know that every printer needs an anilox that offers consistency, precision and quality and that is exactly what we aim to provide. As a global anilox manufacturer, it is our firm belief that we must invest in the latest technology and automation to continue to drive production efficiencies and help our customers produce first-class print results, every time.

“We are working on some exciting plans for digitisation of the shopfloor and automation in our manufacturing processes to ensure we remain competitive and improve our business processes. These developments will enhance productivity, and increase our flexibility and agility even further, to benefit our print customers worldwide. In addition, we remain firmly focused on investing in our R&D programme to push the boundaries of what is possible in anilox engraving and working closely with our partners and customers to move the flexographic industry forward,” Millington concludes.

In 2023, Sandon Global officially opened its new state-of-the-art UK-based headquarters, opened a new German office, invested in new plasma coating booths and laser engraving technologies, entered its third Knowledge Transfer Partnership – its second with the University of Manchester – to boost its production capabilities, and appointed several new international agents to expand its overseas sales network.

For the fourth year running, Sandon Global scooped the FIAUK Silver Award Supplier of the Year, with 15 Sandon Global anilox customers also picking up 41 FIAUK Awards across different categories in the flexographic print sectors. In addition to achieving the highest annual turnover in its 19-year history, Sandon Global also celebrated a record production month in November 2023.