中文Omet Group has officially unveiled its new Suzhou manufacturing facility in the Pingqian Industrial Park, Wujiang District, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, marking a clear step up in the Italian press maker’s commitment to the Chinese market. The plant opened on 9 September and initiates dual-track production and assembly lines for bearings and printing machines following a relocation and production-line expansion.
The ceremony was more than a ribbon-cutting. It was a statement of intent about where Omet sees its future growth. Fabio Valle, general manager of Omet China, said the upgraded base will strengthen local supply-chain integration and underpin the company’s long-term commitment to China. He added that the Chinese market has become a core pillar of Omet’s global strategy, and that the combination of Italian technology and China’s industrial capabilities will create extraordinary strength.
Antonio Bartesaghi, chief executive of Omet Group, used the occasion to retrace the company’s arc. Founded in Italy in 1963, Omet has grown into a global leader in narrow and mid-web label and packaging printing solutions, with more than 2,600 presses installed worldwide. Since entering China through Suzhou in 2007, the company has delivered nearly 100 machines across high-end labels, cosmetic packaging and flexible food packaging. Those numbers matter because they show a sustained local presence rather than a periodic export push.
A live on-site demonstration by Zhang Songlin, sales director for Omet China, put the XFLEX K4 high-end flexographic press through its paces. The K4 is fully servo-driven and features 12-colour flexo printing, two cold-foil units and an in-line ECDC high-speed die-cutting unit. It integrates a short-path design, Vision-1 registration and fast changeover, and is equipped with Omet’s proprietary Switch system. Its push-pull flexo unit design lets operators move the print head out of the press so the vacated station can take additional units such as a screen or die-cutting module.
The demonstration underlined a practical advantage that matters to converters: multiple K4 presses support universal module interchangeability, so print heads and extra units can be quickly reassigned across machines. That enables truly flexible production and free combination of processes, directly addressing the pain points of multi-process integrated label printing and high-end cold-foil finishing. During the live run the press held high-speed printing at 200 metres per minute and in-line cold-foil production at 140 metres per minute, while also showing efficient job changeovers from clear-on-clear labelestock to single-layer film substrates with stable registration and reduced waste.
For Omet, the new intelligent manufacturing base is a response to demand it expects to keep climbing. China’s label and flexible-packaging sector wants diversified, high-end and customised printing solutions, and local production shortens lead times, tightens service and keeps more of the value chain inside the region. Local assembly of bearings and machines also insulates the business from the friction of long-distance shipping and currency swings that have dogged European exporters.
The move fits a broader pattern among label and packaging equipment makers, who are increasingly building capability inside the markets they serve rather than shipping finished presses across continents. For Chinese converters, that means faster commissioning, nearer support and easier access to spare modules. For Omet, it means the Italian engineering story can be told and delivered with Chinese industrial scale behind it.
The Suzhou expansion is not a departure from Omet’s identity but a reinforcement of it. Sixty-plus years of narrow and mid-web expertise, 2,600-plus installed presses and a deepening Chinese footprint together describe a company betting that the next decade of label and packaging growth will be won close to the customer. Booth demonstrations are one thing; a dual-track plant is the proof.
Source: Labels & Labeling (https://www.labelsandlabeling.com/news/installations/omet-opens-upgraded-suzhou-facility-china).
The decision to localise production speaks to a broader reordering of the label and packaging equipment business. For two decades the model was simple: build in Europe or Japan, ship worldwide, service through agents. That model is now under strain from freight cost, lead-time expectations and the simple fact that the fastest-growing label and flexible-packaging demand is outside the traditional West. Building in Suzhou lets Omet meet Chinese lead times, price in local currency and respond to regional substrate and regulatory preferences without a long supply line.
China’s label sector has matured from a low-cost converter base into a sophisticated market where cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food brands demand the same print quality as their European counterparts. That raises the bar for equipment: 12-colour flexo, cold foil and fast changeover are no longer premium options but table stakes for high-end work. Omet’s investment signals confidence that Chinese converters will keep trading up, and that the companies offering the most capable local support will capture that upgrade cycle.
For competing press makers, the lesson is uncomfortable. A flagship demo in a distant showroom no longer wins the order if a rival can deliver, install and service from across town. The Suzhou plant is Omet’s answer to that reality, and it raises the stakes for every international OEM serving the region. Local manufacturing is becoming the cost of admission, not a nice-to-have, and the groups that hesitate may find the upgrade market already served by those who committed.
