Exclusive: Voices of drupa 2024- Barberan

In conversation with Alberto Gomez Palacios, Marketing Manager, Barberan S.A., and Xavier Jorge Font, Sales Manager, Barberan S.A.

Can you talk about your company?

Alberto Gomez Palacios (AP): Barberán is a family-owned business headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. We specialize in manufacturing industrial machinery for surface finishing and digital printing. Our portfolio includes advanced technologies for digital printing, roller coating, profile wrapping, laminating, and UV curing. We started digital printing in 2007. With a commitment to innovation and quality, we serve a global market across various industries, including furniture, construction, automotive, and packaging.

What do you mean by multi-substrates?

AP: Multi-substrates refer to our capability to print and apply coatings on a variety of materials. This includes corrugate, plastic, metals, and many more. Our machines are designed to handle different types of surfaces, providing versatility and flexibility for our clients to achieve high-quality finishes on diverse materials.

What about the colour configuration and durability of your inks?

AP: Our digital printing machines support a wide color configuration, typically up to 6 colors, ensuring vibrant and precise prints. The inks we use are formulated for durability, offering excellent resistance to UV light, abrasion, and environmental factors. This ensures that the prints maintain their quality and appearance over time, even in demanding applications.

Where is Barberan based?

AP: Barberán is based in Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain.

What prompted you to participate in drupa?

AP: Drupa is the world’s leading trade fair for printing technologies. Participating in Drupa allows us to showcase our latest innovations, connect with industry leaders, and explore new market opportunities. It’s an excellent platform for demonstrating our capabilities and meeting potential clients from around the globe.

Do you have any installations in the Middle East?

AP: For digital printing, we currently do not have any installations in the Middle East. However, we have a significant presence in the region for furniture lamination and other applications, with around 80-90 clients. This includes notable installations in Dubai and Doha, with our clients exporting to various parts of Saudi Arabia.

So I believe your machine is expensive?

AP: Yes, it is an expensive machine. But we are a customized solution. So when a client comes to us with their substrate, we work for them to print on their choice of substrate.

How come Spain is good at this technology?

AP: Spain has a rich tradition of engineering excellence and innovation. At Barberán, we join forces with technicians from around the world. This global synergy helps us stay at the forefront of technology. Our family-owned structure allows us to maintain a high level of quality in all our products.

Do you have a dealer in the Middle East?

AP: Yes, we have a dedicated sales manager who oversees our operations and customer relations in the Middle East.

Do you see a potential for your technology in the Middle East?

Xavier Jorge Font (XF): Of course there’s a potential and we are getting more and more enquiries from that area. But it’s a very price sensitive market and we are not the cheapest one. In terms of quality, in my opinion, we are the best, but it has a price. However, we don’t want to be a multinational. We only have a factory in Barcelona but have increased our production capacity. When we have a lot of orders we increase the delivery time.

How many machines have you sold in the Middle East?

XF: For the Middle East, in digital we don’t have any. But as you may know we have a lot of clients in the Middle East for furniture, lamination, and so on. We have around 80-90 clients. Even here in Dubai we have a few clients. In Saudi we used to have some. We have seen growth in Doha and Dubai where our clients are exporting to Saudi. But for us, manufacturing in Saudi Arabia is not having a big impact.

How many machines do you make per year?

XF: In digital we do between 10 and 15 lines per year. For lamination, wrapping, and lacquering, we do around 150 lines per year on an average. Some lines are very small. We have machines that weigh 40,000 kilos, and some up to a million. We do a lot of standard jobs but many clients need tailor-made solutions and Barberan is the only one which is capable of delivering.

Here at drupa, did you have any visitors from the Middle East?

XF: Yes we had around four or five interesting visits from Saudi and Doha.