MASTERING VERSATILITY

In today’s highly competitive packaging market, a product’s physical appearance serves as its primary handshake with the consumer. Whether on a cosmetic shelf, in a high-end spirits cellar or at a wellness boutique, the container must do more than simply hold a product. It must communicate a story of quality and prestige. As the global demands shift towards intelligent production environments and stricter energy regulations, the technologies driving decoration must evolve.

“Fermac ink-jet technology ensures cutting mould-preparation expenses and reducing waiting times”

For more then three decades, Fermac – the family-owned Italian manufacturer – has sat at the vanguard of this evolution. Based in Parma, Fermac has established a worldwide reputation for manufacturing advanced printing systems. Today, the company serves as a versatile co-pilot for global decorating brands across multiple luxury and essential markets. These include beverage and tableware, beauty and cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and homeware. The company’s core vision drives decoration on glass, plastic, ceramic or metal substrates.

The global manufacturing sector is currently experiencing a profound demographic and technological transformation. Across decoration plants worldwide, automation and data capture are no longer luxury options. They have become critical operational necessities. Fermac addressed this trend by reimagining the internal architecture and operational interface of its screen-printing and digital-printing machines. 

The modern factory floor must appeal to a tech-savvy younger generation of workers. By integrating sophisticated automation, the industrial decoration work on Fermac machines becomes highly desirable for younger operators. By cutting tedious manual set-up procedures, the machines are engineered to store many electronic alignments automatically. This structural shift reduces changeover times and manual labour. Consequently, machine operators are freed from repetitive mechanical tasks. This frees them up to focus their working hours on high-value supervisory roles, quality inspection and data-driven performance tuning. A prime example of this automation philosophy is the pioneering FxxS Series – code named the ‘Black Widow Machine’. This automation series is designed to meet the complex demands of the cosmetic and luxury packaging industries. The FxxS Series operates on a platform-free, carousel system that uses two robotic arms for automatic loading and unloading. The series easily handles everything from delicate cosmetic jars to heavy glass bottles. It can achieve reliable, high-speed production of more than 85 pieces/min with minimal manual intervention.

In high-throughput plants, unexpected downtime is incredibly costly. To ensure continuous production globally, modern machinery must be intelligent, communicative and highly accessible. Fermac machines are fully remotely connected, introducing a highly efficient era of plant management.
The machines transmit operational diagnosis securely. As a result, the vast majority of troubleshooting, parameter adjustments and maintenance steps can be executed completely remotely with Fermac’s global technical support team.

As the industrial landscape shifts, sustainability has become a strict regulatory mandate. Fermac is deeply committed to following this green line. The company actively helps worldwide packaging manufacturers to adapt to local environmental regulations, reduce their energy consumption and significantly lower their carbon footprint. Fermac has achieved this by heavily investing in state-of-the-art UV and UV-LED curing systems. Traditional thermal curing lehrs require immense thermal energy and output a considerable amount of carbon emissions. To the contrary, the integrated UV/UV-LED curing systems ensure decoration plants achieve premium finish, while keeping operations fully compliant with evolving environmental laws.

For luxury brands, metallic embellishments – such as gold and platinum – represent timeless shelf appeal. To deliver this efficiently, Fermac has integrated an advanced hot-stamping module directly onboard its printing machines. Traditional inline configurations are still in place. However, they require packaging to travel between separate physical machines. The hot stamping onboard module is a servo-driven, foil-management system operating harmoniously under one roof. A single operator can manage multiple, high-end decoration processes without stepping away from the machine. Adhesion is meticulously secured by printing a primer – partially polymerised under the UV light source – before the foil is applied. This process ensures precision is met under zero workflow interruptions.

Behind every electronic alignment, robotic handle and remote diagnostic tool there is a deep devotion to engineer an ergonomic design that stays true to Fermac’s Italian heart. The company’s technology is developed not just to run, but to inspire. Machines are built in Italy, collaborating with a specialised local network of suppliers. This ensures that every system achieves the highest level of precision. 

Fermac can be visited at Hall 12, Booth A31 at Glasstec. This event will take place from 20–23 October 2026, in Dusseldorf, Germany. Come and discover how Fermac’s Italian engineering can elevate any production line into the future.