Not by chance, but by choice

The entry into the SIT Group of ACM, a Lombard company specializing in UV-led flexographic printing and digital printing, as well as in the production of flexible packaging for the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, was confirmed at the end of July.

The recent acquisition of 70% of ACM by SIT Group - a protagonist on the international flexible packaging scene - is fully part of the expansion and consolidation plan announced a few months ago by Simona Michelotti, by her daughter Neni Rossini (president of SIT Group SpA) and by the CEO Claudio Carattoni (see the article “SITuation & Action”, ItaliaImballaggio January/February 2019, Ed.).

With the declared aim of becoming one of the European players able to guarantee customers quality products, but also physical proximity and speed of service, the company has not only expanded and improved the capacity of the current plants (San Marino, Pesaro and Padua ), but has also invested in the acquisition of a state-of-the-art industrial reality, specializing in productions that enrich and complete its offer.
The synergistic growth project involves the previous owners of ACM - Massimo Raffaele and Antonio La Franceschina - who will continue to play a managerial role as partners, actively contributing to the integration of the two realities and to business development.

Knowing how to change with the changing market ... Almost a mantra for SIT that today, therefore, takes on the potential of full flex HD printing techniques for narrow web and digital printing, “inheriting” the skills developed by ACM in terms of customized productions, mock-ups and short print runs.

To be precise, in the Cremosano (CR) plant, ACM uses LED systems, where the film drying technology enables numerous advantages, both from an aesthetic point of view and in terms of market response, with the supply of small quantities and fast delivery times: a technique, among other things, with “zero emissions” which contributes to increasing the sustainability of the processes. 

In addition to printing, ACM manufactures plastic or paper bags and trays, and is equipped with devices for special applications, such as the creation of  the “window effect” on the packaging, easy opening, micro-perforation and anti-counterfeiting. To complete the circle, the Lombard company has recently verticalized the production of flexo plates which, in the near future, may become a further synergistic element with the other companies of the group.
 
Recognize each other. A happy encounter, that between SIT and ACM. Beyond the mutual conveniences, that is born out of and lives on the sharing of values that are fundamental for both companies: the authentic and genuine passion for work, the enthusiasm that drives them to design the future by just simply going for it, always with a sense of responsibility and deep respect for all the people involved in the activities.
Fundamental assumptions leading to the creation of a strong and united team, able to listen to and study the needs of the market, to offer innovative, efficient and distinctive solutions.

A rational and organic development
SIT Group has activated a wide-ranging industrial expansion plan, with the intention of combining productive efficiency, advanced organizational models and global relationship skills.
The investments fielded by the ownership for 60 million euros between 2018 and 2020 involved at various levels the three plants in Faetano in San Marino (also site of the headquarters), Pesaro and Stanghella (PD), whose tasks and destinies have recently been redefined.
As expected, the expansion of the historic factory is being completed in Faetano, which foresees a second plant in a contiguous area of 5 thousand square meters, where four rotogravure printing machines will be placed, along with a laminator all the auxiliary equipment, including the solvent recovery plant, as well as automatic systems for handling and storage of materials... everything purchased from scratch. The plan is scheduled to be fully operational with production as early as  the beginning of January 2020. 

In Faetano too the “old” adjoining production area will be restructured, destining it mainly to finishing operations and, at the same time, the engraving line that will bring the company’s capacity to exceed 16 thousand cylinders/year has already been expanded.
Padua will continue to supply the local market with flexo printed packaging, thanks to the great reactivity and service attitude expressed in these years by the company.

Radical changes though for the Pesaro site, now a state-of-the-art facility in terms of rationality and safety: 22 thousand square meters, of which 14 thousand covered, with 4 gravure machines and 2 new Uteco flexo.
The growing interest of big end-users in flexo has indeed induced SIT to make the two printing technologies coexist in Pesaro, so as to guarantee a back up of the productions both in gravure and flexo with the plants of San Marino and Padua.