Striving for perfection—one constant—has held for 90 years, spanned three generations, crossed into multiple print processes and carried Rossini SpA forward. This 22-year FTA member’s focus on quality and commitment to evolve smartly has served it well each and every day, stretching from 1928 to 2018.
The family owned and operated Italian company’s continuous improvement initiatives have long focused on the manufacturing of outstanding products, delivery of first-class service and application of ingenuity wherever possible. Today, it’s widely recognized as a leader in the design and manufacture of rubber rollers and sleeves for flexo, gravure and offset printing. Expansion efforts have brought it into laminating, coating and digital machines.
Photo courtesy of Rossini SpA
Rossini plate sleeves, exemplified by its Everglass, Evergreen, Everstat, Starcoat, Photoflex, Stargreen and Thin A lines, represent mainstays of the business. Recent additions include central impression (CI) flexo drum cleaning machines, grinding machines and sleeve storage systems.
Felice Rossini, company president, saw it all happen. He sat down with FLEXO Magazine at INFOFLEX 2018 to discuss the company’s history, its present positioning, future hopes and a belief in paying things forward. The discussion took place just two weeks after Felice formally marked on April 15 the 90th anniversary of the enterprise founded by his father, Erminio.
History Revisited
“Back in 1928, our first products were printing rollers for offset. Then, still in the days before doctoring came into fashion, we entered flexo with the fountain roller—actually, rubber roller.
“It was 1957, when, at the age of 14, I first became involved in the business. It’s hard to believe that was 61 years ago now. I worked days in what was a three-person shop and studied at night.”
Felice proudly reports, “Today, the firm employs more than 400. It operates seven production facilities—two in Italy, plus one in each of these countries: the U.S., Spain, Romania, India and Brazil. It also has opened four sales offices—England, China, Germany and France.
Photo courtesy of Rossini SpA
“Over the course of time, the family business has evolved to include a second and third generation,” he adds. Joining Felice on the expanded management team are his wife, Paola; his daughter, Giulia; and son-in-law, Marco Tortelotti.
According to Felice, “Today, flexo represents the majority of equipment manufactured. Flexible packaging is our emphasis, yet we intend to get more heavily involved in labels. Our focus is on maximizing press uptime and facilitating quick change.” One trend he spoke of: “Sleeves, originally developed to handle 0.67 plate thickness and press speeds of 400 fpm, have become thicker and thicker to accommodate an entire press repeat range on press-adopted cantilever systems at more than 2,000 fpm. Innovation has allowed us to reach this point and there is much more to come in the future.”
Memorable Milestones
When asked to list out memorable milestones, Felice obliged, citing:
- 1928: Erminio Rossini founds company known today a Rossini SpA, headquartered in Navigli district of Milan, Italy
- Original workshop becomes small factory: Production begins gradual shift from leather to rubber rollers
- 1958: Felice’s entry into business as teenager
- 1965: Rossini moves to Barona area of Milan, begins manufacture of flexo and gravure print rollers for packaging
- 1971: Felice becomes CEO
- 1978: Speedwell sleeve system patented. It revolutionizes gravure printing because it eliminates the need to cut the web
- 1993: Flexo sleeves introduced. Today, annual production approximates 100,000
- 1996: Rossini North America founded and is first foreign manufacturing site outside Italy. FTA membership established
- 1998: Evergreen sleeve with rigid surface for flexo printing introduced
- 2007: Starcoat sleeve for flexo features PU protection ring
- 2008: Rossini Equipment Division established and CI drum cleaner is launched, along with grinding machines and sleeve storage systems
- 2008: FFTA Rossini North America Flexographic Research Scholarship introduced
- 2013: Debut of Evolution automatic cleaning system for flexo CI drums
- 2016: Stargreen sleeve for flexo with PU protection ring marketed
- 2017: Rossini North America expansion completed. Atlanta HQ adds 20,000 sq. ft. to accommodate new automatic production lines. Employs 65. Full-time GM is Marco Caccia. 1,800 sleeves produced annually
- 2018: 90th anniversary celebrated, development of Hydrobridge—unique carbon fiber carrier with hydraulic expansion
Of course, immediately thereafter, he stressed that everyone associated with Rossini is very much looking forward to the firm’s centennial, just 10 years away in April 2028.
Benefactor of Arts, Education
Felice and Rossini SpA are known to be strong supporters of education in both Italy and America. He sees financial backing as “essential and important.” Felice said, “Young people are our future. Investing in them is critical to meeting long-term goals and objectives. They will be the ones taking us where we need to go.”
Two students were awarded an FFTA Rossini North America Flexographic Research Scholarship at Forum 2018’s Awards Banquet: Katherine Treadaway of Clemson University (left) and Emma Linnea Landgren of California Polytechnic State University (right).
FTA members are familiar with the efforts, as they have encountered both Felice and Paola at Forum after Forum and seen them greeting students, sponsoring their trips and funding research projects that lead to Forum and Flexo Quality Consortium (FQC) presentations. And support offered, via the FFTA Rossini North America Flexographic Research Scholarship that goes to both students and institutions, so that together all parts of the industry can build the future workforce and develop skill sets necessary in an ever-changing production environment.
Beyond education, Rossini’s chartable initiatives are directed to FAI International—The Foundation to Preserve Historical Architecture in Italy. Its mission: conserve artistry, architecture and restore historical places. One project Felice noted that he was particularly proud of involved restoration of a church damaged in the L’Aquila earthquake. The building was refurbished and its trademark golden doors restored.
Future Expectations
With his eyes already on the centennial celebration, Felice indicated that likely next moves for Rossini SpA will see the firm start getting into digital printing in some form, support multiprocess or combination print, and seize any opportunities associated with it.
He said plans are to continue to diversify and invest in carbon fiber for many other applications. The objective: “Seize every opportunity to open the market for printing.”