2009: the first presses leave Industria West
FoilPress opened its doors in 2009 in Industria West, Johannesburg, with a small team and a practical goal: help South African printers and packaging firms get cleaner foil results without constant stoppages. The early days were hands-on from the start. Sibusiso Mthembu led the business, spending long hours with customers who needed a press that could handle short runs, fine detail and repeat work under real production pressure.
Those first installations were important because they set the standard for everything that followed. Clients wanted straight pressure, stable heat and a machine that could keep pace when orders came in back to back. FoilPress built its name by arriving on site, checking the setup properly and making sure operators knew how to use the equipment before the job went live.
- Base of operations established in Industria West, Johannesburg
- Initial focus on card, packaging and commercial finishing work
- Early customer base built through direct service and training
2010 to 2012: learning from the floor and the workshop
In the next few years, the business grew by listening closely to what happened on factory floors. Some customers needed help with pressure setup. Others were battling uneven heating, poor foil transfer or dies that were mounted a little off centre. FoilPress responded by tightening its technical process and building stronger support around installation, calibration and operator training.
By this stage, the team had started shaping a service culture that still guides the company today. Kagiso Molefe became central to technical work, while Willem Coetzee kept workshop standards practical and consistent. Lerato Ndlovu’s client support helped customers get answers quickly, especially when production deadlines were tight and a small fault could hold up a full order. The lesson from this period was simple: if a customer can trust the machine and the advice, they come back.
- Press installation and operator training became core services
- Technical fault-finding was formalised for faster breakdown repairs
- Foil matching advice began supporting better finish quality across different substrates
2013 to 2015: wider demand and stronger production support
As more card and packaging businesses started looking for dependable foil finishing, FoilPress expanded its support beyond single installs. Production teams wanted faster turnaround, fewer wasted sheets and less time lost on setup. That meant the business had to do more than supply machines. It had to help customers run them better every day. Anika van der Merwe took a bigger role in sales during this period, working with businesses in Roodepoort, Randburg, Midrand and Sandton as well as beyond Gauteng.
The company also began supplying spares more actively, which made a real difference for shops running in hot weather, dusty areas or during load-shedding. A machine that sits idle can cost a lot in missed work, so keeping common wear items available was a practical priority. Customers appreciated that FoilPress understood not just the machine, but the full production cycle from die mounting to final finish.
- Spares supply expanded to support ongoing production
- More site visits were carried out across the City West corridor
- Advice on production optimisation became part of the normal service offering
2016 to 2018: from local support to national reach
By the middle years of the business, FoilPress had become known for reliable service well beyond Johannesburg. Presses and foils were moving nationwide, with clients in different provinces needing the same level of accuracy and support. This period pushed the company to improve logistics and keep technical standards consistent whether a machine was going to a craft workshop or a busy manufacturing plant.
Nokuthula Dlamini helped keep operations organised as the workload increased, while the technical and support teams worked more closely together. Preventive servicing became more important too. Customers were seeing the value of scheduled checks on heaters, pressure settings and mounting points instead of waiting for a fault to stop production. That approach saved time, reduced waste and made it easier for small teams to keep output steady.
- Nationwide supply of presses and foils became a key part of the business
- Preventive servicing was used more widely to reduce downtime
- Support grew for customers working with tighter deadlines and mixed material types
2019 to 2021: staying steady through pressure and power cuts
These years tested many South African businesses, and FoilPress had to stay practical through it all. Customers were dealing with load-shedding, shifting delivery schedules and more pressure to get work out on time. In that environment, breakdown repairs, heater calibration and correct pressure setup became even more important. A small fault that might once have been a nuisance could now set a job back by hours.
The team responded by making servicing more disciplined and by giving clients clearer guidance on what to check before a run starts. Many businesses also needed help understanding how different materials behave in humid coastal conditions or in dry inland heat. FoilPress kept the support personal and direct, which mattered when customers needed a quick answer and a workable plan, not theory. The business continued to earn trust by staying calm and useful under pressure.
- Priority support grew around load-shedding related downtime
- Heater calibration and pressure checks became more frequent
- Technical advice was tailored to inland and coastal operating conditions
2022 to today: a mature team with the same practical focus
Today, FoilPress serves a wide mix of clients from Industria West, Roodepoort, Randburg, Midrand, Sandton and Germiston, while also supporting businesses across South Africa. The team now includes Sibusiso Mthembu, Anika van der Merwe, Kagiso Molefe, Lerato Ndlovu, Willem Coetzee and Nokuthula Dlamini, each bringing a clear role to the company’s day to day work. That structure matters because customers still need the same things they needed in 2009: good machines, good foil, honest advice and follow-through.
The business continues to focus on installation, training, servicing, repairs, foil matching, die mounting and production support. What has changed is the scale. FoilPress now works with businesses that run small craft batches as well as larger production lines, but the approach has stayed grounded. The aim is not to overcomplicate the job. It is to keep foil finishing precise, consistent and commercially useful.
- Support now covers a broader national client base
- Services span the full machine life cycle from install to breakdown repair
- The company remains based in Industria West, Johannesburg