Graph Pak has signed a four-year agent deal with Asian company SBL in a bid to target the medium priced range in finishing solutions. SBL Group was established in 1968 and specialises in auto die-cutting and creasing platen, foil stamping, high speed folding and gluing machine, as well as die-making machine, precision scroll saw machine. The company also has window patching machine, automatic laminator machines. Speaking with Australian Printer, Tom Ralph, Graph Pak managing director, says SBL, previously represented by Heidelberg, has been around for a long time and the deal extends the company’s offerings.
Tom Ralph Graph Pak managing director
Ralph says, “We have been offered the agency for a four-year-term for Australia and New Zealand, and the team and I are all set to go to Taipei for training to ensure we have all the knowledge about the brands and the machines’ capabilities. “Graph Pak has a reputation for excellent services and product knowledge and it is critical for us to stay true to that reputation with SBL’s products, which is why the team and I will travel to SBL in September.” He says Graph Pak has been offering the market with high end products and this new deal will allow the company to target medium sized businesses with affordable products. “SBL has an excellent reputation which reflects Graph Pak’s reputation for excellence and already we have seven hot propositions for die cutters, foilers and also folder box gluers.” Ralph says the company has been looking for such a partnership for a few years following the collapse of the Spanish company Inramik, which went down after the GFC. “We had a four year deal with Inramik and during the global financial crisis that company went into liquidation and we were left looking for a new partner,” he says. “This deal fills in a void that existed ever since the GFC and while I had been looking for a new partner, we were not going to jump with just anyone. While the print industry’s reaction has been positive to the news, Ralph says the partnership will not be a major game changer. Ralph says, “To be honest with you it will only account for seven to 10 per cent of the market share but I want to ramp that up dramatically. “We have been diligent in contacting SBL’s existing customers to ensure they know that we are the new agent for the company. “SBL is a technology company that cannot be ignored and we know that the Australian market will receive it well.”
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