Uteco’s 40-Year Journey

In 2025, Uteco proudly marks a momentous milestone: our 40th anniversary. Since our founding in 1985, we’ve been at the forefront of the printing and converting industry, pioneering technologies that not only meet but anticipate the evolving needs of our customers.

From our early days as a small, ambitious company, Uteco has grown into a global leader, synonymous with innovation, quality, and reliability. Our journey has been defined by a relentless drive to push the boundaries of what’s possible—introducing groundbreaking solutions that enhance efficiency, improve sustainability, and set new standards for the printing & converting industry.

As we celebrate 40 years of excellence, we reflect on the achievements that have brought us here while looking ahead to an exciting future.

Uteco Converting S.p.A. was born in 1985 in San Martino Buon Albergo, Verona, when an entrepreneur and four experts in flexographic printing set out to redefine the industry. Just a year later, in 1986, Uteco made its mark with Bronze, its first two-color flexographic machine. The momentum continued in 1992 with Jade, a groundbreaking press featuring robotic cylinder change—an industry first. By 2000, Uteco was ready to expand beyond Europe, opening its North American sales office in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2004, Uteco raised the bar again, unveiling the next generation of gearless flexo presses, ONYX, at DRUPA. The following decade, from 2005 to 2017, was defined by relentless innovation—launching new product lines, establishing a cutting-edge R&D center, and expanding into gravure, coating, and laminating solutions. The company’s 30th anniversary in 2015 marked another milestone with the debut of the compact Onyx XS and the advanced Next 450 gravure press. Growth accelerated in 2018 when NB Renaissance Partners acquired a majority stake, propelling Uteco’s market expansion. By 2022, a major rebranding and a new Strategic Plan reinforced the company’s leadership, introducing high-performance machines like OnyxGO, now our best-selling product, and OnyxRACE.

In 2024, Uteco took center stage at the industry’s biggest events, including DRUPA, where we introduced OnyxOMNIA — the world’s first FlexoDigital machine. The same year saw the launch of the Flex-Converting Alliance.

FlexCA, is an Alliance of Companies through binding Equity Agreements to offer best-in-class products to Converting Industry. The widest and unique Portfolio in the Converting Industry, covering Extrusion, Printing & Slitting. Our offerings include: Extrusion with GAP and CMG; Printing and Coating & Laminating with Uteco machines and Smartjet's digital technologies; Vision Systems for Quality Control with Vision; Slitters Rewinder with Bimec.

Nowadays, with an installed base of more than 4,000 machines worldwide, Uteco has become one of the leaders in the printing and converting industry. From the USA to Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, our presence spans across the globe, delivering high-quality solutions for our customers, wherever they are in the world.

However, our success goes far beyond the machines we design. It lies in the relationships we’ve built—with customers who trust us as partners, suppliers who help us deliver on our promises, and employees whose dedication and expertise drive everything we do. It’s these collaborations that have turned our vision into reality and made Uteco a name recognized and respected worldwide.

With innovation as our compass, sustainability as our commitment, and partnership as our foundation, Uteco is poised to continue leading the industry for decades to come.

Visit our website to discover some highlights of our 40 years.