15 October 2024
Commercial and packaging printers to see new opportunities from Saudi Vision 2030
Click on image to download high resolution version
There can be no better example of the opportunities opening up for commercial printers in Saudi Arabia than Riyadh-based Tenaui commissioning multiple high speed Canon inkjet presses in a new center of excellence. The opening of Tenaui’s Commercial Digital Printing Center comes at a time when the Saudi imaging and printing market is set to quadruple in size by 2030, driven by an increasing demand for personalized and short-run print jobs.
Tenaui’s new facility is equipped with Canon's VarioPRINT i300 and VarioPRINT iX-3200 inkjet presses for high-volume commercial printing applications. The presses cater to a wide range of printing needs, from books and magazines to brochures, flyers and other commercial materials.
This landmark facility aligns with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals for economic diversification and technological advancement combined with sustainable businesses solutions that reduce waste and energy consumption.
Wide format will be another key commercial print technology to take advantage of the opportunities presented by Vision 2030. This is a market with a young demographic with increasing disposable income, bringing new opportunities for personalized textiles, wallpaper, furnishings and other luxury-oriented home décor applications.
Another factor driving the rapid expansion of the commercial printing market is the predicted exponential growth in domestically sourced packaging, which has already increased the demand for printed promotions across the food, retail and beverage industries.
An analysis by the Astute Analytica consultancy identifies retail, education, and advertising as key drivers of growth in the commercial print sector. Retail alone has seen a 15 percent increase in demand for customized packaging and promotional materials.
The drive to become self-sufficient across a wide range of consumer and industrial goods and services will also vastly increase the opportunities for package print and converting companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The recent announcement that Nestle will build its first food manufacturing plant in the Kingdom with an investment of 270 million riyals ($71.95 million) is an example of how the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program will increasingly create demand for locally sourced printed packaging of all kinds.
We have already seen Dubai-based label powerhouse Kimoha start up production in Saudi Arabia, and it is likely that labels will be one of the first areas to benefit from the growth of domestic food and consumer goods production.
The Astute Analytica report suggest that a move towards personalization and shorter runs will ultimately favour digital printing, though there will undoubtedly still be plenty of work for conventional presses on longer runs of commodity products – or hybrid presses able to handle longer runs while adding variable print.
As well as rigid containers, food and beverage products are moving into stand-up pouches and sachets. Industrial products will move into larger-format flexible packaging, which favours bigger CI presses – almost certainly water-based to meet the Kingdom’ sustainability requirements.
A trend towards what is felt to be more sustainable paper-based packaging will favour folding carton production, opening opportunities for inline flexo and digital as well as the more traditional sheet offset formats.
Continuing growth of e-commerce will push demand for increasingly sophisticated corrugated transit packaging, opening up opportunities for digitally printed personalized packaging sitting alongside more traditional direct flexo and litho-lam corrugated.
In summary, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 project will create exciting and growing opportunities for printers and converters across the entire commercial and package printing space.