At the 12th Specialty Films & Flexible Packaging Global Business Summit 2025 in Mumbai, Packaging South Asia had a conversation with Ashwin Hebbar of Rossini India about the company’s latest developments and long-term plans.
Headquartered in Italy, Rossini is a global leader in sleeve, roller, and mandrel technology for the printing and converting industries, with a strong reputation for innovation in gravure and flexographic solutions.
Hebbar said Rossini India has been associated with the conference since its inception, using it as a platform to meet customers and share updates. He highlighted a breakthrough on the flexo side – the Monolith 3D sleeve, manufactured from a single monolayer component, making it fully recyclable and aligned with global sustainability goals.
“Because it is made with one single component, it is completely sustainable. Rossini has already patented the machinery and the complete setup to make these sleeves. Internal trials with our close OEM partners will begin by the end of this year or early next year,” Hebbar explained.
The Monolith sleeve is positioned as a game changer, reducing equipment needs and lead times. “We can manufacture a sleeve within six to seven hours anywhere in the world. It’s really going to be transformative,” Hebbar added. Rossini will showcase a prototype of the sleeve at K 2025, offering customers a preview of the material structure and design.
He pointed to the company’s Fast Bridge sleeve, built with high-modulus carbon fiber, which has gained strong acceptance among OEMs running presses at speeds above 600 meters per minute.
Turning to India, Hebbar noted that Rossini India focuses on gravure, while flexo continues to grow steadily. “India is still predominantly a gravure market, but both gravure and flexo will co-exist. They each have their own niche,” he said.
Rossini India has been operating at full capacity for the past year and will undertake a major expansion near Pune, growing its factory from 8,000 square meters to 24,000 square meters. The project will triple capacity while ensuring no disruption to customers. The new site will support exports to Southeast Asia, the Gulf, and China. The new facility is expected to be fully functional within two years.
In line with its annual investment drive, Rossini India recently added in-house shell manufacturing for rubber rollers and mandrels, bringing more production processes under its own roof.
Hebbar confirmed that the Rossini family is committed to long-term investment in India. “This expansion is a long-term plan. Eventually, when India’s flexo market matures, we are ready to manufacture flexo sleeves locally,” he said.
