They say a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. The 34-year-old Italian-based manufacturer of automated ink, paint, and coatings dispensing systems Inkmaker belongs to the same ilk. Inkmaker Group has recently announced its rebranding to IM GROUP, the new holding brand that has Inkmaker as its founding member. The cornerstone of IM GROUP was laid to bolster technology innovation and extend value to businesses operating in adjacent industry domains such as adhesives, cosmetics, food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and more. The holding company aims to take the holistic value of its group of companies to new markets and stay ahead of the market needs globally. “IM GROUP is on a mission to deliver ‘total process-engineering solutions’ in the ink, paint, coatings and specialty chemical and adhesives industries,” says Christophe Rizzo, CEO EMEA/Americas, IM GROUP.

IM GROUP came into existence after several strategic initiatives by Inkmaker in the last few years. The most important of them being the flurry of acquisitions the company has made since 2019. The acquisitions include Rexson and Vale-Tech in the UK; Tecnopails in Italy; and most recently Swesa in Germany. Following the acquisitions, Inkmaker had set up a new group brand called Inkmaker Group which now stands void with the announcement of IM GROUP. The new holding brand has restructured its subsidiaries into “areas of excellence” where each brand will focus on a specific business domain.

As part of IM GROUP’s restructure, Inkmaker will focus on ink dispensing and software design; Rexson will be predominantly for paint as well as liquid ink, Vale-Tech will focus on narrow-web and paste-ink dispensing; Swesa will be dedicated to food, pharmaceutical, corrugated packaging, cosmetics and more; Teko will continue to emphasize POS Tinting and R&D Training; and Tecnopails will focus on filling solutions.

IM GROUP’s strategy is for each brand to still work individually with its existing clients in its own markets, yet when required, they share their expertise as part of the ‘total process-engineering solutions’ vision of the holding brand. This guarantees optimization of the IM GROUP’s resources and high flexibility to manage projects of all sizes.

IM GROUP offers holistic services from design to manufacturing through complete engineering studies and turnkey solutions in predominantly, but not only, the ink, paint, and chemicals domains. Key capabilities of the Group include: customised plant engineering and software design, highly accurate automated dispensing, process equipment from bulk handling to filling lines, among others. The group thrives on IoT technology, Industry 4.0 smart factory automation and artificial intelligence. IM Group’s IMAESTRO is a top-of-the-range software, which is the brain behind the highly optimized operational efficiency in its facilities. The company is expanding its R&D to introduce solutions like IMPRIMO and there are more to come in 2022. On a customer service level, earlier this month, the Software & Automation team launched a new training program for customers called ASIST—Advanced Software Intelligence Systems Training—which combines IoT automation and artificial intelligence, with the skills of IM GROUP’s experts, to boost the training level of its systems.

With its presence in several continents, the company is at an advantage during testing times. The company’s larger facilities pave the way to build more complex units. It aims to continue investing in R&D for newer breakthroughs and competitive advantage. “By establishing IM GROUP on World Earth day, we are making a global statement of our commitment to further our social responsibility and sustainable practices. To action this, IM GROUP is partnering with Deloitte to create a roadmap to reduce our eco-impact—the current resources we use and waste we create—so we too can do our part in reducing environmental pollution. And to align our ethical principles for a safe work environment with those of the United Nations’ Global Compact,” concludes Valentina Cigna, Global Director of HR & President of IM.