Consumables
Digital Flex, 50 years of dedication to flexography
Wednesday 01. July 2015 - Digital Flex entered its 50th year of business at the start of 2015, and it has not failed to celebrate this milestone. It started by attending Converflex with its own stand and then initiated its celebrations with two unique events.
The first event was an Open Day on the 6th of June. The families of all company employees met at the historical headquarters in Monza to spend a full day where their relatives usually work. The experience was made even more special with snacks for kids, aperitifs, an hour-long performance of Superzero, and a wonderful outdoor dinner in the company’s courtyard. It was an emotional day, which will forever be remembered by the families.
The second event was the big party on the 20th of June. In the wonderful setting of Parco di Monza, by Saint George Premier Restaurant, Digital Flex’s customers, suppliers, and partners embraced the invitation to get to know the five members of the company’s second-generation management team. They have enabled the growth of their flexo pre-press business, serving brand-owners, printers, graphic designers, and recently taken it to the international market.
In the welcome speech, Renato Vergnano, President & Managing Director of Digital Flex, recalled the company’s beginnings when it was still known as Nuova Roveco and flexography was based on volcanic rubber and later used the first photopolymers. A lot of dedication, passion and study of materials were then needed to achieve good results.
A close relationship between DuPont and Digital Flex began and the pre-press company became a benchmark for performing tests on new materials. Luigi Robbiati, Past VP Marketing & Sales of DuPont EMEA, continually acknowledged the expertise involved and recalled great cooperation.
Renato Vergnano, Andrea Vergnano, Senior Executive Vice President, and Franco Collini, Vice President & Sales Director, were the creators and curators of every detail of the party. Participants enjoyed unforgettable moments, with a great lunch, enhanced by live music and a singing duo who sang – as a surprise – the famous Verdi’s air “Libiamo nei lieti calici” which led to a festive toast. Other toasts followed until the final toast during the cake cutting.
Andrea Vergnano also took the opportunity to show participants the video they had created for the 50th anniversary, which unveiled the interior and exterior of the large industrial building where Digital Flex is based. The establishment was built in accordance with eco-sustainability standards, with a photovoltaic system, a fume reduction system, water recycling and solvent recycling. “For us, environmental sustainability is an added value. It’s a big challenge that we accept in order to always offer our customers the best.” It was also possible to see the pre-press technology in action and the countless workstations for artwork preparation, colour management, and realistic representation of the final product.
The major landmarks in Digital Flex’s growth
The company history started in 1965, when four young entrepreneurs established Nuova Roveco in a 220m2 space, thereby setting up the first Italian pre-press company entirely dedicated to the flexographic sector. In 1997, Nuova Roveco became a holding company and founded its operational branch named Digital Flex, the first Italian company and one of the first companies in Europe to install a flexo CTP system for making digital plates.
Since then, the company has expanded, introducing new production units for photopolymer plate processing, including sleeve, and supporting evolution through advanced hardware and software solutions and highly innovative materials.
Today, the company is located in a 4,300m2 area and has highly specialized production equipment, based on top line technology, with flexible production capability, and employs 60 staff over two working shifts. “We manage 10,000 orders per year and produce 20,000m2 of photopolymer plates, but due to our flexibility we are able to increase our productivity by one third,” comments Andrea Vergano. The working process follows the latest quality and security guidelines and the company has held UNI EN ISO 9001:2008 certification since the year 2000.
On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, Digital Flex renovated its headquarters in Monza, and increased its production structure. Additionally, it created Futurflexo, a graphics studio dedicated to packaging design, set up as an independent company within the Nuova Roveco Group. It also gave itself the patent for its Flexo HD Plus technology as a gift. This technology was developed by Digital Flex in order to achieve excellence in flexographic printing. With this European patented technology, Digital Flex is able to guarantee greater printing consistency throughout the whole production process.
First Nuova Roveco, and then Digital Flex, have served as leaders in innovation, high quality standards, fast execution, and market competitiveness. “The many seasons of work, dedication, efficiency and innovation have given us a long series of successes and awards which we are very proud of,” concludes Renato Vergnano. “Today’s season starts with the power of past experience, ready to move towards a secure future, in which we will continue to anticipate our customers’ desires and needs.”