The story of Apple Die South Africa sounds a little too good to be true, the stuff that novels, or fairy tales, are made of.

It is the story of obstacles overcome, challenges bested and opportunities grasped. It is a story of honesty, integrity and tenacity. But, lets take a step back and look at the company since its inception, and what has transpired to get it to this point.

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Apple Die was founded in 2006 following a proposition from the late owner of the then, Collotype Paarl Labels, Thys Hugo, for the establishment of a plant to manufacture flexible dies in South Africa. However, the process of taking that suggestion to actually opening the plant presented its own set of challenges. Apple Die South Africa came into being when The Engraving Company, a long-established and respected company serving the packaging market, became the Southern African agent for Apple Die USA. Run by brothers Antron and Grant Hendricks, Apple Die South Africa successfully introduced imported flexible dies into the local market. However, high production costs and extended delivery times presented the opportunity to bring the manufacture of the dies into the local market.

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With the support and interest of local customers, including the then, Collotype Paarl Labels, now Multi-Color Corporation (MCC), the brothers began the process of looking for the essential financing to launch the first plant for the manufacture of flexible dies in Africa. As with any good story, this is where the tale takes another twist. The lack of vision combined with limited knowledge of the technology on the part of potential local financiers meant that obtaining the necessary funds proved impossible.

 

Not to be thwarted, the Hendricks brothers looked for an alternative. Based on the success of the imported, Apple Die flexible dies had achieved in the local market, it seemed that the American company was willing to fund the investment in South Africa. At a dinner during Label Expo in Brussels, Antron and Grant reached an agreement with Barb Wambold and Jim Ippolite of Apple Die USA. As is to be expected from any good story, the agreement was written and signed on a napkin in the restaurant. This saw the investment into a new plant and equipment for the manufacturing of flexible dies in Southern Africa. That was 17 years ago, and would make for an exciting little story on its own.

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But, that is not the end. According to the old adage, success breeds success. Such was the level of success achieved by the company in the local market, that just six years after the plant opened in 2006, the Hendricks brothers were able to assume full ownership of the local entity from Apple Die USA. This turned Apple Die South Africa into a 100 percent locally-owned company with BBBEE compliancy. Another milestone was that at around the same time Apple Die South Africa manufactured its 10 000th die. These achievements in just six years after its inception date.

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In any business, continued success relies on constant growth and investment. 2018 presented Grant and Antron with an opportunity to expand the local plant to the benefit of South African label manufacturers. Barb Wambold approached the brothers with an offer to supply advanced equipment from the Apple Die USA Florida plant to South Africa, thereby increasing capacity and improving the ability to service the Southern African marketplace cost-effectively and timeously.

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Moving the equipment was no small task. A complete revamp of the existing plant was required to accommodate the new equipment, but the process has now been completed and the plant is operational. With the new systems Apple Die South Africa is now on a par with state-of-the-art flexible die plants anywhere in the world. Grant – who oversees all technical projects – commented, ‘Following the installation and commissioning of the new equipment and the training of the operators by a German supplier, we are extremely positive. The results are truly phenomenal, we are achieving sharper blade edges with consistent tolerances within a few microns, to levels which we have never experienced in our die shop before.’

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Not only does the newly revamped plant provide customers with dies of superior quality, which allows them to convert difficult-to-cut materials with higher consistency, but it also reduces lead times. Grant added, ‘Customers can save thousands of Rands on import costs, exchange rates and it also prevents the chance of dies being lost in transit. All of this is a clear win-win situation for Apple Die South Africa and label printers in the Southern African packaging industry.’