A family business in Barnsley aims to help genuine brands stick it to the global trade in counterfeit goods.
JK Machinery, which specialises in the flexographic printing of labels and packaging, is in the process of developing a new type of security label which can be scanned by an app to quickly check if a product is authentic.
The company has already secured a patent for their innovative label design and is now ready to work on perfecting production of the prototype in bulk.
It has invested in a £9,000 printing press for this task, backed by a Business Productivity and Digitalisation Grant secured through Barnsley Council’s Enterprising Barnsley programme.
The grant is supported by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and part-funded by the government’s existing UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
JK Machinery technical director Jack Round said: “We’re very excited about developing this new type of security labelling for manufacturers and producers whose high-quality goods are often targeted by fraudsters trying to pass off their own fakes as the genuine article.
“The international trade in counterfeit goods has grown massively in recent years and we are keen to help our customers add more robust protection to their products.”
JK Machinery’s security labels will feature complex embedded code behind the print and invisible to the naked eye, which can be scanned by an app. The concept is intended as a step up from encrypted QR codes, commonly used today, which can be seen and potentially copied.
The aim to make it as easy as possible for buyers to check they have the real thing, and very difficult for fraudsters to crack the coding device and replicate it.
Round, whose grandparents set up JK Machinery in 1989, said: “The Business Productivity Grant has come at a perfect time to help us to purchase this costly machine which will not only allow us to develop our new product and bring it to market quicker, but also help us to increase production efficiency across the board. Everything would have been slower to achieve without the grant.”
The company has two key sides to the business – refurbishing, updating and servicing second-hand flexographic conversion machines for others, and running their own machines to produce printed packaging, labels and bags for customers.
Business support advisor at Enterprising Barnsley Paul Johnson said: “JK Machinery is a great example of manufacturing business in Barnsley. Their commitment to advancement and innovation not only benefits their business, but also contributes to the fight against counterfeit goods on a global scale. Proving Barnsley is a fertile place where innovation and manufacturing can thrive.”
The Business Productivity and Digitisation grant is being delivered across South Yorkshire via part-funding from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and £5.2m of investment through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
Companies who secure a grant– which must be match-funded – can invest it in either a capital or revenue project. The funded initiative must identify and address a challenge to business productivity.
