There are few labelling industry identities who have been as instrumental in bringing Australia into the pressure-sensitive world as Werner Mokesch. Soon after jumping off a boat from his native Austria, a young Mokesch set about transforming a fledgling die-engraving operation into one of the region’s most versatile and creative labelling enterprises, spanning both application and applicator machinery.
He quickly recognised the Antipodes as the land of opportunity where he would develop his ideas for new systems and new processes for the labelling industry.
What has followed has been nearly four decades of innovation. Mokesch describes his 100% owned company, Impresstik, as “one of the world’s leading manufacturers of self-adhesive labels and labelling application machines”. He justifies this claim by saying he stays close to market needs and aims to introduce technologies not previously available to the industry.
An example of Mokesch being ahead of the field was the first-ever self-adhesive wine label produced back in 1978 for Wyndham Estate. In recent years, Mokesch believes the advent of waterless offset has made dramatic contributions to achieving quality outputs, particularly in shorter-run situations.
Mokesch, now a youthful late-60s, and his co-director wife, Sena, have grown the company from a virtual standing start 38 years ago with four employees and a turnover barely in six figures. He says Sena, a graphic designer, has been the most influential contributor to the success of the enterprise. Today it holds a leadership position that combines its wide-ranging output of roll-fed pressure-sensitive labels and other packaging products with leading-edge applications equipment. Though he’s hesitant to be too specific about the label printing company’s current turnover, he admits it is topping “double-digit million dollars”.
Mokesch thinks the trend toward pressure-sensitive technology will continue at the expense of wet glue applications, largely because of its efficiencies, plus the appearance and quality of the end product. Ecological factors, flexibility of design and accuracy of application all contribute to this trend, he adds. As a result, Impresstik can claim today that “we do not follow where the path may lead, we go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”.
Early problems
In a reflective mood, the quietly spoken Mokesch described the problems he faced in the early years to find knowledgeable people for a company still in its infancy. “I had to prove myself to potential employees that I could provide job security for them.”
Fast forward 30 or so years later and witness the regularity with which his company appears on industry awards listings. At the recent Innovative Practices Awards, it came away with not only gongs for manufacturing excellence but also one for general administration, reflecting such achievements as ISO 9001-2008 accreditation and the firm’s high standard of customer communication.
These commendations confirm the Mokesch principle of being “more than just a label printer but an overall packaging solutions supplier”. He maintains a 5% of turnover allocation to R&D, which he credits for the continually contributions to new processes being pursued by the company.
But the path to success has not been without its setbacks. Asked about these, Mokesch is quick to identify that his major hurdles over the years have been losing good staff. This has motivated him to make every effort to retain people by providing the best possible working conditions in which staff find themselves in a stable atmosphere and enjoy job satisfaction.
His total philosophy is underlined by a conviction that a label is more than mere decoration. “It needs to be a component of a package that contains essential information, such as temperature control, radio frequency and other functions that set the product apart from its competition,” he says.
Meanwhile his management approach sees him consistently insisting on the need to educate customers in how to utilise their packaging and how it fits into their internal manufacturing processes. “Before we ever print a label, our concern is for the end customer (the consumer) and the life cycle of the product,” he says.
He points out that labels fulfil the need to know where the product is to be stored and sold and under what conditions as well as the contents of the package.
To this end, Mokesch has endeavoured to bolster his team, which now numbers around 60, as well as adding specific marketing and management personnel. The evidence that this approach has paid dividends is obvious from the company’s list of blue-chip customers across multiple important industry segments.
Risks associated with package tampering remain high, and the need to offer manufacturers tamper-proof packaging is always increasing. It is Mokesch’s policy to ensure his company is at the forefront of consumer-friendly packaging solutions. He says Impresstik offers of a range of materials and label construction specifically developed to minimise risks and enhance product security. In addition to these solutions, other product-security labels including holograms and similar anti-counterfeiting devices and ‘seal’ labels are part of this trend-awareness offering.
Huge changes
The question as to whether the next five years will see dramatic differences in his industry elicits a strong conviction by Mokesch that there will be “huge changes”. He predicts that “we will be geared toward much smaller runs and to the need for much quicker turnarounds than today”. The escalation of digital technology will be stimulated by manufacturers moving to lower inventories that will require not only the right technology but more advanced management systems”.
There is another side to Mokesch’s endeavours. Some 30 years ago, he made a foray into the other universe of his industry – machinery. An opening had presented itself to extend activities to the wider labelling industry. Influenced by his graphic arts-oriented father-in-law (who he describes as his mentor), Mokesch was quick to appreciate the value of attaching an engineering arm to his application operation. He partnered with Swiss engineering enthusiast Peter Baumli to form 50%-owned Impresstik Systems. Mokesch says this is the only Australian label printing company to locally manufacture a full range of label applicators from low-cost semi-automatic models to automatic inline units and ultimately, fully integrated rotary machines for high-speed and complex applications. It recently delivered its 1,000th system for Australasian and overseas markets.
Having taken the path to pressure-sensitive technology from its early beginnings, Mokesch has spent more than 30 years bringing new methodologies and new applications to the marketplace. This has often been in the face of fierce competition, but he has continued to succeed.
How far this success will go in the future is the hands of the beyond-the-square thinking Mokesch and his machinery engineer partner.
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