Industrial machinery and equipment distributor, Maquinarium, and UK-based pre-press specialist Heaford are celebrating a decade of partnership and driving the flexo industry in Brazil forward.

Maquinarium was founded by Fernando Albuquerque in 2016 to act as a local agent and representative for leading machinery manufacturers looking to grow their presence in Brazil.

From offices in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, Maquinarium represents a range of machinery manufacturers from the flexo supply chain, including Corona Supplies, HMJ, Teg technologies, GEW UV, Meech, and many others.

Heaford was one of the first partners to come onboard with Maquinarium and Fernando is thankful for the relationship.

“Thank you for supporting us from the very beginning,” he says. “Over the last decade, the evolution of Heaford has been quite significant in my opinion, with newer, more automated machines.

“Heaford and its solutions are fundamental to where our business has grown to today. We allow the flexo industry in Brazil to achieve a high level of printing quality thanks to such solutions. Without these, where would we be? Without it, we would be sleeping. It is fundamental to the success of flexo.”

He continues: “ModularMount is a revolution. It allows printers to buy a more basic machine and then invest in the next stage of production in time. They can reuse the machine and not have to dispose of it when they need to upgrade.

“Narrow web printers have FTS, which fits the market’s needs in Brazil very well. This includes for the growing market for narrow web flexible packaging as well as label printing.

“We have a saying in Brazil, ‘One shoe for every foot’. Heaford’s solutions let us ask what a printer’s profile and needs are and find that shoe.”

As part of the continued relationship between the two business, a Heaford FTS flexo plate mounter has been installed by Maquinarium and will act as a demo centre for the technology in Brazil. Maquinarium’s FTS was also recently presented to attendees at the Flexo & Labels event in São Paulo in late May.

It has been so well received in Brazil that Fernando is considering adding to his demonstration capability with another machine.

FTS uses a patented design and is revered as the fastest mounter on the market. It is the go-to plate mounting option for narrow web converters seeking a rapid and repeatable process that delivers efficiency and precision. A practical and easy-to-use plate mounting option, FTS sees the plate lying flat on a table and making it very simple for the operator to mount with a high degree of accuracy and speed. FTS is also future-proof, with a multitude of retrofittable options to increase efficiency and support additional press purchases from different manufacturers.

Heaford International Sales Manager, Nick Vindel, was present at the show to support Maquinarium. He says: “South America is a diverse market, led by Brazil. Brazil is a huge market and ever-growing. It is showing the strongest growth signals in the region.”

As part of his assessment of the wider region, Nick says that reliability, flexibility, modernity, and some level of automation are pressing requirements for flexo printers in South America.

However, he also notes that mid-size converters are very price sensitive, which curtails investment decisions until there is absolute clarity on the financial benefit.

“This makes it important for Heaford to have a trusted and reliable partner in the region,” says Nick. “We are proud to call Maquinarium part of the Heaford family and look forward to working with Fernando and his team long into the future.” Fernando concludes: “Our relationship with Heaford has been really good and is fundamental to our success. We have both grown a lot alongside the industry and will continue to support the success of the flexo industry in Brazil.”