History & Journey
From humble beginnings to becoming a global leader in sustainable printing and packaging.
K R Ravindran fresh out of University with a family background in printing, forged a friendship with Merrill J Fernando and together they floated Printcare Ceylon Ltd. Their belief was that bulk tea exported out of Sri Lanka would switch to value added tea bags if acceptable
packaging became available. Whilst Ravindran was the CEO of the company from its inception Merrill J Fernando was the Chairman, also from inception until his passing in 2023.
Their pioneering efforts were successful and the nascent tea bag industry in Sri Lanka blossomed. Partly because of the superior packaging that now became available, changing the country from a supplier of bulk tea, to one of value-added packaged tea.
Built our first factory when we diversified into the production of high-quality folding cartons and high end display boxes catering to the quality conscious consumer. Our ability to produce a variety of finishes enables us to add substantial value to the customer enhancing is appearance and brand on the shelves. Having started as Universal Packaging we changed our name to Printcare Universal after a few years.
Our second factory which we moved into in 1995 was a purpose built beautifully landscaped complex in the outskirts of Colombo. Premises which brought delight to our work force and captivated our overseas visitors. Listed on the Colombo stock exchange as Printcare Plc and our shares began trading in the stock market.
Established Printcare Pre-Media to facilitate the pre-press activities for the group and to offer such services to the US and European markets. The advent of the specialized pre press division gave the whole group a definitive edge.
Promoted Packages Lanka Ltd, a joint venture with Packages Ltd of Pakistan one of the foremost flexible packaging units in the South Asian region. Packages Lanka quickly blossomed into one of the primary suppliers for flexible packaging in Sri lanka.
Built our second factory for packaging a few kilometers from our headquarters. Invested in variable data printing capabilities for specialized security printing applications such as lottery tickets, phone cards, promotional games and security certificates. And to provide numbering solutions for inventory management and anti-counterfeiting solutions. This was the advent of Printcare Secure (pvt) limited.
Further established Printcare India Ltd in Coimbatore, South India. The company would provide teabag packaging to the Indian market which hitherto was being serviced by fragmented suppliers. Very quickly the company became a pre eminent supplier of tea bag labels and envelopes to the tea industry in India.
Delved into the self-adhesive and wet glue label market with sophisticated new equipment. . Very quickly established ourselves as a front runner for the finest quality labels to the FMCG, pharmaceutical, alcohol sectors. Supported our principal customers to move packaging back to Sri Lanka where such quality was hitherto unavailable.
Focusing on the growing apparel sector formed a joint venture with Rpac International an American company specialized in this segment. The new company was called our Rpac Printcare. Established Printcare UK (pvt) limited in England. The company hugely prospered. In 2020 Printcare divested itself off the R-Pac shares.
Further diversified into the digital printing/ packaging segment with Printcare Digital Services (Pvt) limited. Printcare Digital became the first full-fledged digital supplier of packaging, capable of producing any form of packaging with a minimum order quantity of one! And of course more quantities with the ability to do unlimited variations.