Kuldeep Goel

Kuldeep Goel

This article was published in Packaging South Asia in their July 2009 issue

At a young and tender age of fourteen years boys are playing cricket or watching movies in their spare time. They have no worries about business and money. It is an issue that is attended to by their parents. Kuldeep Goel was destined to go through a different and tough life as a teenager. While still in school he collected his pocket money for months and with another Rs.500.00 pooled in by his doting mother, he managed to start screen printing work from his one room residence.

His father had separated from a joint family business in commodities. They had moved from their home in Sonepat, Haryana to Delhi some 35 years ago, while his father had a job as a clerk in Railways at a meager salary of Rs.170.00 per month. In those difficult times, Kuldeep Goel had a burning desire to excel and succeed. 

He worked hard to get his small business going. As a young boy he produced stickers and labels by the screen printing process. He fondly remembers the first label he made for Rajkamal Aggarbatti and it fetched him less then Rs.100.00. He went on to supply labels to traders in Delhi’s auto spare parts market in Kashmere Gate, where traders would pack and sell parts in their own brands. Having no conveyance of his own, he would hire a cycle to deliver his produce to Kashmere Gate. One day when he parked his hired cycle and went to deliver the labels to his customer, he was shocked to find that the customer had closed shop and vanished. With that went his previous payment and also that for the goods that he was carrying. Dejected, he walked back to his cycle to get yet another shock. The cycle was gone! Stolen! He was heart broken but did not give up. He never wanted his parents to know and suffer the trauma of loss so he negotiated with the cycle owner that he would pay him in the next six months. That was the acid test which he passed. The next six months Kuldeep went on foot, shop to shop peddling outsourced calendars till he paid off the cycle owner. He went back to his screen printing business with renewed fervor. In 1985 he lost his father and joined his relatives to start a screen printing business. By 1987 Kuldeep was all set to start his successful startup venture Stickline in sector 58 NOIDA.  His work got appreciation and won prestigious accounts like Yamaha and LG.  His quality and excellence was being talked about. His enterprise is the first Indian company to win a global award for excellence in label printing. He decided to move ahead and make new investments and achieve technical enhancement. He built another factory which is now his flagship company Anygraphics.

He has, as of now three label presses, eight screen printing machines, Digital Printing Press, CNC Cutting machine, a fully automatic robotic Dome Label making machine which was perhaps one of the first few such installations at that time. He has a strong ambition for growth and is looking at new horizons. He is a self made man, who has moved on in trying circumstances and found time to complete his B.Com. He then briefly pursued education in law, which he had to leave midway, because time was short. From a humble one room dwelling that the whole family lived in, Kuldeep now resides in one of the finest penthouses in NOIDA’s Sector 92. His mother has always been source of inspiration and support for him. A few days back he has commenced construction of his new and biggest factory so far, which is slated to have a covered area of 100,000 square feet. When asked about the equipment that he would install and the products that he would produce, his face lights up. You can make out from the faint murmur that he utters, “It will be the latest, thee biggest…” His voice trails off and with a strange smile on his face he says, “Just wait and watch”!
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi-110008 http://www.weldoncelloplast.com/

United We Stand

United We Stand

This Article was published in Packaging South Asia in June 2009
In a rare display of unity, label printers from all over India came together in Orchid Hotel, Mumbai on the 6th of June 2009. The occasion was the annual general meeting (AGM) of LMAI, the association “Label Manufacturers of India.”  Even though they fiercely compete with each other and would not be the ones wanting the other to be better off then themselves, yet a strange atmosphere of friendship and fellowship was evident in the gathering. All decisions at the AGM were unanimous!Hearing this anyone may come to the conclusion that there may have been a handful of attendees and those deliberations may have been maneuvered. Contrary to this, Label manufacturers and suppliers from across the country were present. There were members from New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Sivakasi, Hyderabad, etc.  It was a full house! The new president Vivek Kapoor of creative Labels Mumbai took over from the outgoing President Manish Desai of Mudrika Labels. Vivek Kapoor announced his new team consisting of three associate members and rest all label printers. The election of the new Vice President, who would take over as president two years later, was conducted and unanimously. Ajay Agarwal of Syndicate labels, New Delhi was elected as the vice president. The printers had expressed their resolve to give LMAI a truly national character by electing a person from North India to take over reigns two years hence. Industry suppliers extended their support substantially. Most of the important Labelstock manufacturers including the two multinationals, Printing equipment suppliers, Consumable suppliers, etc. were present to rub shoulders with their important label printer customers. Fellowship and networking in the label industry acquired a new meaning. It is time we create more platforms and systems whereby the constituents of this industry have more opportunities to meet, share knowledge and make new and fruitful associations. This will also provide them the possibility to debate on tricky issues and problems facing them and also evolve ways to address these issues. One needs to draw example from the FINAT Congress. While I write this email the FINAT Congress 2009 is taking place in Antalya Turkey. Last year the Paris Congress was attended by almost 550 delegates. The sense of satisfaction of having spent quality time in learning, networking and entertaining was evident amongst all those who attended representing the Global Label community. At the LMAI AGM in Mumbai, as a member of the FINAT committees I had the pleasure of carrying a felicitation and thank you letter from the outgoing FINAT president Jan Fredrick Vink to the outgoing LMAI president Manish Desai. The letter also announced the formation of the FINAT Board of the young managers club and that Pawandeep Sahni of Weldon Celloplast Limited, has been inducted as a member of the board from India. It is time we also look at the possibility of creating a forum for our next generation on lines of FINAT Young Managers Club. At the last label show these youngsters looked bright and inspiring, walking tall along with their parents/mentors. They have been trained hands on and are intellectually equipped to take the challenges facing us today. Another unique aspect of the meet at Mumbai was the informal meeting of the members after the AGM had ended. An extremely healthy and positive brainstorming was carried out. Issues and problems facing the industry in these trying times were put forward and debated upon. Almost all present participated by giving their inputs paving way for making representations to authorities or persons where ever required. The dynamic general secretary Mr. Deshpande provided much needed information on government grants, incentives and subsidies available to the printing industry at large. At this point of time the printers also have started to plan a conference some time in November 2009 at Goa. This will provide the much needed platform for the label printers and suppliers in the industry. This will provide the much needed unified industry platform and networking opportunities. We need to congratulate LMAI for this effort to bring the industry together. United we stand!
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi-110008 http://www.weldoncelloplast.com/

Label Industry growing and still time to worry!

Label Industry growing and still time to worry!

Recession hit the western world. It also in a little milder way affected the Indian industry. The label industry in India put up a brave front and never accepted that the downturn had hit them as it hit the label printers and industry suppliers around the world. While the economies around the world were sadly reporting recessionary trends and some actually declaring they were in the midst of a recession, Indian GDP was fortunately still growing. Thanks to the large population and a huge middle class driving demand for consumer products. While all in the Indian label industry have felt the small or big pinch, but they were in unison, “the demand for labels was always there.” Last few months have shown the sheer resolve of the Indian label printers, they started to invest in presses both new and used, conveying to the nation that, “it was time to grow” Even the industry suppliers were investing!What is interesting is that even the big world players and producers of label materials (or Label stocks) who were facing the brunt of the slowdown in their home territories or in their major focus areas, were observing all this for a long time before the it dwelled  on them that it was going to get slow. They had already decided to move into India and had set up shop, they were well set to achieve their operating levels here. While their western operations were putting in their best to fight recession, here they were on way to prosperity. Merrily they were picking up market shares and acquiring units, adding capacity and lo! They are already market leaders. Our local producers were or even today are also expanding but they are running their plants at much slower speeds that they are accustomed to. The larger share of the market has been acquired by the multinationals while the remaining is still meaningful for the Indian producers as they are able to sell their capacities and are striving to sharpen their manufacturing capabilities to match the international standards. It is extremely difficult to match the price levels and financial capabilities of the large multinational players. It is evident that the local manufacturers will coexist with those foreigners, who when they came in were considered, “big brothers”…but in a much smaller way.Label printers have continued to grow slowly and steadily in India. They have sharpened their skills. Today Indian label printers are a force to reckon with. They are equipped with the latest presses employing the finest of printing technologies. They continue to invest not only in pre press and high quality finishing equipment but also in the latest quality control systems including 100 percent defect detection systems. The Indian Label Association, LMAI is actively trying to project India as a major hub for outsourcing high quality labels for the label users in the western world. Many Indian label printers have invested and are successfully running label printing units in various countries. There are others who are continuously successful in exporting labels. The international acceptability has been achieved. Now the WORRY! Most of the bigger label printers are now worried by the increasing number of international label printing companies already here or planning investments in India. The size of the companies and the scale of their operations will obviously harm the interest of the Indian label printer. Our printers, even the larger ones run their companies with a handful of presses. Majority of them have just 1-5 presses but they have reason to express their concern when companies with scores of presses and huge investment move in taking with them there international customers away from those that these companies patronized. Definitely even when the market is growing… there are worries!Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi-110008 http://www.weldoncelloplast.com/

The Guru

The Guru

The headmaster was thoroughly disappointed with him! He never did well in his studies in school. He tried hard but would not be able to impress his teachers. Ironically his headmaster wrote on his report card, “you are destined to be a life’s failure!” This would hurt any youngster, it also hurt him a lot, but how many of them take it in their stride and accepts that as a stimulus to change and carve themselves a future? He accepted the challenge and indulged in a mind boggling effort to become an achiever. It was a stimulus that changed his life and provided him the reason to endeavor in achieving success. He had the will to refrain from being a school dropout and at a rather late age of 27 years he entered University. His first brush with the Labels was when he joined TIRA, the paper printing Organization for whom he successfully organized the first event, a conference. That was his entry point into the world of labels in the year 1974 for Mike Fairley!!! 

With awe referred to, as the international Label Guru!At the last Finat Congress held at Antalya, Turkey Mike Fairley was unanimously selected as the winner of the prestigious R. Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award. Widely regarded as the label industry ‘guru’, Mike Fairley has been writing and talking about Labels for more than 30 years. In the year 1978 he founded the Labels and Labeling magazine and the Cowise International Publishing Group both of which are now a part of the Tarsus Group PLC. Mike has been a successful industry consultant, he has consistently been at the forefront of introducing the latest innovations in label materials, technology, markets and applications, as well helping label industry supplier and converter companies to implement their education, training and marketing strategies.

Sometime between 1978 and 1981 I was in England and came across the magazine labels and Labeling. I was immediately interested and wished to subscribe for the magazine. In those days of strict foreign exchange regime it was not easy to send money outside India in foreign exchange. Such was my wish to get this magazine that I found my way to Mike’s home in North of London and when I knocked at his door he was surprised that someone from India came all the way to find how he could get the magazine each month. From that small interaction I remembered him as an extremely pleasing personality. I met him twenty years later at Labelexpo Asia in Singapore waiting for taxi at the end of the day. Mike was the same the pleasing and smiling person ready to help and offered me to take the next taxi before him.Thereafter I have been a close friend of Mike. I have always felt richer in my knowledge of labels each time after having met him and shared our thoughts about the industry. It makes me happy and proud that Mike is the recipient of the R Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award. This award will be conferred to him at the “Gala Dinner” organized for the World Label Awards ceremony on the 23rd of September 2009, in Brussels. The Labelexpo 2009 also begins on the same day. I am in awe that Mike Fairley continues to stay abreast with all the new developments in the industry around the globe. Having achieved tremendous amount of success, fame, appreciation and recognition… he continues to be modest. We wish him good health and look forward to many many more years of guidance to the Label industry.
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi-110008 http://www.weldoncelloplast.com/

Digital! The new buzzword in Indian Label Industry.

Digital! The new buzzword in Indian Label Industry.

Labelexpo Brussels 2009 stood up to the test of trying times. A few months before the event, the show organizers were a worried lot. Bookings were not a problem as they had a higher no. of exhibitors numbering 544 compared to the 511 in 2007. In fact another hall had to be added to accommodate the increase. The worry was to get enough visitors to justify the investment made by the exhibitors. Termed as the largest label show on earth, a befitting and aggressive marketing campaign was put in place. The new hall that was added was a theme hall featuring the latest developments in digital printing! Going with the trend, the marketing campaign was built up by sending personalized mailers to printers across the globe using digital printing! There was a concentrated effort to prove the point that the economic downturn in at least the label industry was tapering off. The visitors came and showed their resolve to bring about growth and shine in the industry. The number of visitors was marginally lower then the previous show by 2% and stood at  24169, but the quality of visitors were very focused and knew what they had come looking for. They came from 125 countries, making the show to be a truly global label event. The exhibitors were not disappointed.Leading Indian label printers visited the show and were evident by their interest in newer technologies. Machine suppliers were tight lipped on how many printers or who were in the market to actually shop for new equipment. Our label printers who have braved the storm are now cautious yet getting into the expansion mode. It is evident that they are all now looking at either newer technologies or new innovations. Their intense discussions with suppliers in the digital section were obvious. The young Annunciation brothers at Janus International in Mumbai India were the first ones in the narrow web label industry to acquire the HP Indigo Label press but then following the slowdown there was a lull thereafter even though digital presses continued to be installed by label printers around the world. At Brussels, leading the industry from the front and setting the trend for future, Amar Chhajed of Webtech Labels bought a Xeicon digital Press with online finishing and decorating capabilities. If you recall that in this column in April 2009 I wrote, “Label printers at this juncture should use the opportunity to innovate and use the full capabilities of their equipment to develop new products that would add value for them as well as for the users.” Amar went a step ahead and also bought a Longford Botham Booklet inserter! That is the way to go!IPEX South Asia 2009 was held in Mumbai in October 2009. It was a rather small show and visitors travelling from far and near were probably expecting more from the show as they felt that after an hour there was nothing much to see. What is interesting is that it was an outrightly digital print show. Over 50% of the space was occupied by companies like HP, Xerox, Epson, Cannon and Kodak. The visitor profile was however very interesting. Industry leaders were seen popping in and out of the show even if it was for a very small time. The show was small but was always busy. I guess it was the strong brand that pulled the high profile visitors in. During this period HP, the industry leader in digital Print technology organized, “The HP Infotrends conference” at Grand Hyatt Hotel. Spread over two days with 20 speakers the show attracted 200 participants. I was pleasantly surprised to note the presence of leading label printers at the event. LMAI President Vivek Kapoor, Gururaj from Wintek Bangalore, Gautam Kothari from Interlabels, industry stalwarts like Narendra Prachuri of Pragati, Hyderabad and Gautham Pai of Manipal Press were amongst those who attended. Truly the buzzword in the label industry appears to be…DIGITAL!Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi-110008 http://www.weldoncelloplast.com/

Raveendran, humble yet successful!

Raveendran, humble yet successful!

Some 25 years ago I heard of Mr. Raveendran of Sivakasi. I came to know that he was doing a good job in self adhesive labels in Sivakasi and I decided I had to meet him. There was a printing exhibition being held in Chennai so I called him and fixed that we meet there. When I arrived in that dusty ground where the exhibition was being held in tents, similar to those that were being used in India those days for weddings, I realised that I did not recognize him and had never met him. I asked an exhibitor about him and was told he was just here! Anyway I spent the rest of time looking for him unsuccessfully. I eventually met him later at another show.

I was surprised at the simplicity of the man and to this day he continues to surprise me by his simplicity and humble nature. I continue to meet him at almost every important label event in all parts of the world. He has a voracious appetite to learn some more.Descendent of a family where the grand father was in grocery business and father trading in chemicals for fireworks, matches and printing, all what Sivakasi is known for. The family’s foray into printing was by chance. An uncle who bought a Japanese flat bed press in seventies was unsuccessful. Raveendran’s family bailed him out and ventured into printing business. At that time they were printing unsupported stock or wet glue labels and garment labels. 1982 saw Raveendran visiting Drupa and witnessing the success of self adhesive labels in the west.

He returned to setup his flagship firm “Seljegat Printers”.  From the first flatbed label press, Seljegat began its journey into self adhesive labels. They imported their first flexo press a Mark Andy but were disappointed as the Indian agents sold to them an obsolete model. Raveendran proudly remembers that the company realized their mistake and replaced the equipment with a brand new Mark Andy 2200! Success followed them in form of customers like KIWI- TTK LTD AND RECKITT COLMAN & COMPANY. Seljegat has travelled a long way since then. Raveendran fondly remembers that they had to hang their labels on a drying line for hours to dry them. Today Seljegat is operating from a 40000 sq.ft. factory where another 25000 sq.ft. is under construction. With a capital investment of over Rupees 12Crores and 160 employees they spin out sales of over Rs.18 Crores. They have 13 roll to roll presses using a host of different printing and decorating processes.Raveendran who is the face of Seljegat is a highly qualified person with an M.Tech, degree acquired after completing his B.E. in chemical engineering. Seljegat is a family run business and all three brothers jointly spear head it. They compliment each other and are proud that their parents motivated them to be honest businessmen. The industry today vouches for them. Jegatheesan the elder brother having overall control of the business, Raveendran is looking after the new product development and investment and Jeganathan is looking after the Finance and executions. The younger generation is also joining in.  Jegatheesan’s son is an MBA looking after marketing operations. Raveendran’s son Prashanth who is a mechanical engineer is looking after the production and implementation of MIS Systems to bring professional management to this company. Before the year comes to end the following expansion programmes have already been put in place for implementation; A)    ODRI (Offline Digital Reference Inspection) system with A2 Scanner (600 DPI) for ONLINE clearance of First printed label.  B)     Offline inspection slitting and rewinding system Rotoflex with NIKKA Inspection system. C)    Esko Graphics CDI Spark 2530 Computer to plate system and Advanced software. D)    Intermittent Feeding label printing machine – Iwasaki – JapanI have had the opportunity to visit Sivakasi three times. The last time I visited when Anil Arora took a group on a southern sojourn as a part of his road shows to promote the India Label Show. Raveendran was there to receive us, take care of us and see us of at unimaginable hours! He was a perfect host to the Industry. Before that I went another time and I was surprised by his penchant and indulgence in quality control. I had to spend a lot of time in his lab to get my materials tested to his satisfaction. His yearning to learn more was evident from the amount of questions that he would ask. Now my first visit! I flew in from Chennai and he sent an ambassador taxi to pick me up from Madurai. That is the nearest airport. He is always a perfect host. He took me around to all his places of work. His office in the city, introduced me to his brothers, even arranged for me to visit other printers. When I went to his factory I was surprised to see a brand new elegant bus standing there. I thought like other enterprising south Indians he too had a transport company. No! It was a bus that ferried his employees to work in the morning and dropped them home in the evening. I was impressed. When we had finished with the factory tour and our discussions he asked my taxi driver to take me to a restaurant for Lunch and he would follow to join me there. So that after lunch I could leave straight to airport. As I got down from the cab and waited for my friend Raveendran, he came and I was surprised. Modest as he is, he came on a simple old motorcycle!  This man provides for a brand new bus with reclining seats for his employees works hard, is a millionaire many times over, is successful and yet so humble. The success emanates from a mantra that Vanaja, his wife gave to him, “BE GOOD AND DO GOOD” automatically every thing will fall in line.

Label industry and the need to go green.

Label industry and the need to go green.

Climate changes, global warming and environmental degradation are issues that now have become matters of concern to a large part of the urban population of India. A rapidly growing population is contributing to serious problems like paucity of land, soil erosion, depleting forests, destruction of natural habitat, an ever increasing demand of energy, water and infrastructure. All of these lead to air & water pollution, climate changes and finally scarcity of essential inputs necessary for urban living. Research has shown that carbon emissions, which grew by less then 1% per year during 1990 have tripled to a growth rate of over 3.5% since 2000. Nowhere in the world has the level of growth shown a decline in the last decade. Legislations and controls are being implemented on vehicles, industry, transport, etc. to bring down the level of pollution emissions and damage to the environment. Industrial groups and associations around the world have recognized the need for corporate responsibility. They are propagating to their associates and members to implement procedures and systems for reducing the adverse impact of emissions or industrial waste on the environment. Industry is now required to implement treatment of effluents and adopt manufacturing processes that do not adversely effect the environment. Recyclability is being encouraged to reduce waste. Corporate social responsibility is the need of the hour. Pressure sensitive label industry in India has been quite small as compared to that in other countries in the western world. Now with the Indian label industry on a growth path and getting bigger, we need to dwell on the fact that this industry generates a very high level of waste. It is high time that the self adhesive label Industry attends to this issue and looks at solutions for reducing the impact of this waste.The label industry generates waste at many stages in its path from the time of production of the self adhesive laminate to conversion into labels and then at the stage of final usage in the end users factory. Almost 50% of the self adhesive label stock ends up as waste! The various stages at which this waste originates are as follows;

  1. Trimmings and off-cuts generated during the slitting process in the label stock manufacturing process.
  2. Waste matrix removal at the converting stage in a label printing unit. Waste matrix generation increases if a label user opts for a complex shape for his label.
  3. All the release liner used as backing material in label stock is waste, once the label has been dispensed and applied to the product it is meant for. This occurs at the end user stage.

With a per capita usage of label stock in India, by modest estimates, having reached much over half a square meter, the total consumption of label stock in India is estimated to be around 600 to 700 million square meters per annum. This translates to a total tonnage of label stocks of around 100,000 tons per year. If we take 50% as wastage and with no organized disposal or treatment system in place, we have 50000 tons of waste material that is impacting the environment in India. I am sure this column will be an eye opener and my colleagues in the industry will realize the gravity of this problem which is growing at a fast pace. A fair sized label printing unit in India consuming around half a million square meters of label stocks each month is a part of the chain that would be generating close to 500 tons of waste each year. I am sure many printers who fall in this bracket will agree that it is time they dwelled on this problem seriously. They need to indulge extensively and contribute their bit by indulging in waste management and recycling wherever possible to reduce the adverse effects of this waste on our environment. Waste matrix removed from the release liner during the label printing process has not met with much success in the re-pulping process by the paper mills in a effort to reconvert the matrix into paper. This is due to the fact that water is extensively used during re-pulping and pressure sensitive adhesives do not dissolve in water. Wherever a process has been evolved to repulp this waste, the paper produced did not stand upto performance standards. Once recyclable PSA’s are developed and made available at affordable prices, printers will be able to send the waste matrix reels to paper mills. Till such time these rolls will either find their way to land fill adding to soil erosion or be incinerated without recovery of the energy so generated and polluting the atmosphere with the smoke and gasses so generated.Release liner is a compulsory waste generated in all self adhesive products. One of the only paper mills to have developed a technology to repulp the siliconized release paper is Ahlstrom Werke in Germany. Here the participating companies pay the freight and ship the liner free of cost to the mill. Such a system does not exist in India. Efforts are needed to address this gigantic issue. Release liner recyclability can be attended to in a limited way if the end users of label also cooperate with the other constituent of the entire supply chain consisting of the laminate producer, the label printer and the label user. Designing linerless labels, recycling and re-using release liners, re-pulping to produce papers can reduce the impact of this waste on the environment. This can only be achieved by a joint initiative by the industry at large. Government support by subsidizing the efforts will also drive people to consider indulging in these initiatives.Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi-110008 http://www.weldoncelloplast.com/