When looking at growth opportunities for packaging, one region where there is excellent potential is Latin and South America, particularly in Brazil. With more than 200 million people, Brazil’s packaging industry has plenty of room to grow.
 
The opportunity to expand into this potentially lucrative market drove the recent acquisition of Creative Industria e Comercio Ltda., a leading flexo and gravure ink manufacturer in Sao Paulo, Brazil, by INX International Ink Co.
 
Creative Industria e Comercio Ltda. is a 20-year-old company begun by Pedro Americo Ribeiro. The company has 64 employees and a 107,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Sao Bernardo do Campo – Sao Paulo.
 
One key to this acquisition and cooperation is the need to supply multinational brands globally.
 
“Our multinational customers are in Brazil,” Rick Clendenning, INX International Ink Co.’s president and CEO, said. “We had to add resources in Brazil to grow into the packaging market in the country, and Creative was a great answer for that.”
 
“In the last five to seven years, the multinationals are growing a lot in Brazil,” said Jose Carlos Ribeiro Jr. “The per capita consumption of packaging is developing in Brazil. There’s a lot of space to grow when the country grows. It is tougher to compete due to technology and raw material supply. We had to decide whether to expand or join a larger group.”
 
Gustavo Ribeiro, Creative’s industrial director, said the company is largely focused on the Brazilian market.
 
“We are mostly focused on Brazil,” said Gustavo Ribeiro. “We have very good expectations that things are changing.”
 
Jose Carlos Ribeiro Jr., commercial director for Creative, said that Brazil’s economic struggles aren’t having as much of an impact in the packaging sector.
 
“Brazil has been in a crisis, with a recession,” Jose Carlos Ribeiro Jr. noted. “It is a time of struggle, but in the packaging industry, we don’t feel that large a decrease since it is for food and beverages.
 
“Usually the economy rebounds,” he added. “Brazil’s gross domestic product was down 3.5% in 2015, and the country faced 11% inflation. This year, inflation is between 4% and 5%, and GDP is at 0.5% growth.”
 
One area where INX can assist Creative is through the resources to expand its technology and manufacturing capabilities.
 
“We will certainly be able to improve the quality of our products and services, and we now have the support we need to remain competitive and increase our sales in South America,” said Guilherme Ribeiro, Creative’s financial director.
 
“We are at full capacity, so we will surely have to expand. INX is the perfect fit, as it is similar to the way we run our company,” added Gustavo Ribeiro. “We see INX as a very good partner. We worked together closely when we were being acquired, and are very happy to be part of the team.”
 
Clendenning said that the Creative team is an ideal addition to INX. “By working together closely, we can learn from each other as we try to grow our business in Brazil and other parts of South America,” he noted.
 
“We don’t want to affect what they are doing as they are very successful,” Clendenning added. “There are four family members who are very interested in growing with the business. They picked the right partner to protect the employees and grow the company. They have a very good relationship with their employees and customers and are motivated to compete for the multinational business. All of us at INX know we are very fortunate to have Creative as part of our team.”