Celebrating 25 years of inception along with their biennial Conference themed, “Emerging Beyond Boundaries”, Label Manufacturers Association of India LMAI, delivered value! 

700 plus delegates were awestruck attending the seventh LMAI conference  at the picturesque and astounding venue, The Fairmont Palace Udaipur from 3rd to 6th July 2025. All 300 rooms at the property were booked at the venue Hotel and additionally 60 rooms were booked  in Hotel Aurika with a total of 360 rooms. 35 sponsors including some of the most renowned names in the world for the label manufacturing industry supported the event.  Kurz was the platinum sponsor and Avery Dennison the elite sponsor besides many others. Fairmont Udaipur Palace is an alluring destination to discover the charm of Udaipur, seamlessly blending timeless tradition with modern elegance, featuring a historic stepwell, one of Rajasthan’s largest ballrooms and exclusive events pool with jacuzzi and amphitheater. Nestled in the Aravalli Hills, it offered easy access to the city’s top attractions and cultural landmarks. In view of the author who has travelled the world over for diverse label events, 

This three nights-four days event, packed with amazing presentations and entertainment, was perhaps the biggest label event in the world”!

Traditional Rajasthani welcome awaited the delegates arriving by road rail and air. Local folk dancers, drums, music, garlands, traditional aarti and special beverages were a part of  the welcome on arrival while being ushered into the hotel. Excellent arrangements executed for their arrival and meticulous planning made it stress free checking-in for all guests. 

The conference was officially thrown open at 6PM on the 3rd of July 2025. The inaugural evening was themed patriotic, so the board of directors (BOD) were all wearing the Modi jackets and tricolor stoles around their necks.  

The welcome note was delivered by the LMAI President Rajesh Chadha.

The conference agenda information was given by the two conference Chairmen Manish Desai and Jaideep Singh. 

Pradeep Saroha events director of Labelexpo India came onstage to apprise  the audience about the upcoming Labelexpo Europe. 

This was followed by Raveendran Selvarajan, Managing Director of Seljegat Printers Pvt.Ltd. being conferred the fourth LMAI lifetime contribution award. 

It was a pleasant surprise that after a lapse of few years the LMAI founder president Surendra Kapur came to attend the conference.  

After a presentation by Stephane Royere from platinum sponsors Kurz, all the event sponsors were felicitated. 

Thereafter the Welcome night themed “Saar’e Jahan Se achha”, was thrown open for cocktails, dinner and entertainment by Mohit Verma and troupe. The delegates, eager to party, hit the dance floor until late in the evening. When asked to wrap up so that they are back in time for the presentations next day, happy people were heard saying, “Abhi toh party shuru huyee hai!” Means, the party has just begun.

The second day commenced with another presentation by Stephane Royere, Head of business area packaging and print, international sales and marketing, of Kurz India and followed by one from Jitesh Mehta senior Director LPM Avery Dennison India. 

The vibrant young girl Natasha Jaichandra director VEEPEE graphics enthralled the audience speaking on the ECG (expanded colour gamut).

After that followed an array of great presentations. Notable amongst them were from Appadurai country head of HP Indigo, Thomas Schweizer Global head of sales at Heidelberg Gallus.  

A huge attraction was LaBella!  She is an AI robot, she added glamour in leading delegates to wherever they wished to go!

Pawandeep Sahni, Managing Director of OMET India Private Limited made a high powered and energetic presentation pulling the audience into attention and becoming interactive. The presentation can be viewed on YouTube https://youtu.be/cVtHUPa-OGo?feature=shared Click the image on the left to watch the full presentation.

The preplanned motivational speaker’s slot had to be altered to the next day as Gaurav Arya, who was supposed to deliver the motivational speech, could not reach due to flight cancellations. The LMAI leadership must be commended for arranging yet another speaker in a short time. Anand Ranganathan, a renowned speaker, agreed to fly in on the next day that was final day and address the label fraternity. 

The label industry continues to evolve, emerging beyond boundaries. The wet glue or glue applied labels have continued to transform initially to self-adhesive labels, converted on narrow web label presses and register a high growth rate to reach more than 50% of all the labels produced in India. Later the narrow web converting started to expand owing to evolution and labels, moved into diverse tangents. To dwell on the impact of this expansion and the modalities involved, the first program on the 3rd day was a panel discussion moderated by the author Harveer Sahni and titled, “Narrow web label converting expanding to diverse applications”. The panelists were leading Indian printers in narrow web converting, Priyata Raghavan Deputy CEO of Sai Packaging, Mehzabin Nair Managing Director Skanem India, Ankit Gupta Jt. Managing Director Holostik Limited, Hemanth Paruchuri director Pragati Pack, Denver Annunciation Director Janus International and Stephane Royere of Kurz India. The impact and future of this expansion was discussed at length in the panel. 

The panel discussion was followed by a very interesting and confident presentation for Weigang by the young daughter of LMAI founder Amit Sheth.

More presentations followed until noon after which the motivational speaker Anand Ranganathan came onstage to deliver his speech. Following this a round table interaction was arranged for all sponsors to interact with printers. Each sponsor was given a table on which printers would visit in batches of six each to enable sponsors the opportunity to interact with their customers. 

The day culminated in a gala evening hosted by Kurz India. The dress code was “Men in Black” and for ladies it was “Glitter” to add shimmer to the vibrant evening started with an amazing 

laser show by special artists. 

After Jitender Pal Singh CEO of Kurz India addressed the gathering, LMAI past president Vivek Kapoor delivered a vote of thanks. 

It was then time for the celebrity performer Asees Kaur to add fun to the entertainment and prompt the delegates to hit the bar and the dance floor enjoying until late in the night or the wee hours of morning.

All good things come to an end, leaving nostalgic memories of fellowship, togetherness, networking, knowledge delivery and entertainment. It was time to go back home with perfect departures arranged so that there are no inconveniences.  This covering of the event would be incomplete without appreciating the amazing venue overlooking lush green hills all around, the weather was fantastic, the hotel staff was hospitable in the true sense of the word. 

The general Manager Vishrut Gupta was always around with his team responding to guests personally and as for the food, kudos to Amitesh Virdi the culinary director and his team who did a wonderful job delivering taste.

The events organizing company led by the beautiful Hemal Bhagwat created precision in every aspect of the stay from arrival to departure. Delegates have been showering praise ever since.

The LMAI board of directors need to congratulate themselves for having created and delivered this mind-boggling big event, bigger and better than the best in the world. The icing on the cake is wonderful appreciations pouring in from delegates and sponsors. It is an encouragement to imagine and plan more for the next conference!

Written by Harveer Sahni, Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi July 2025

More Images from the conference:

The late Umendra Kumar Gupta (hereinafter referred to as UKG), a veteran in the anticounterfeiting industry, founder and former President of the Authentication Solution Providers Association (ASPA) and CMD of Holostik India, was born in 1954 into a family of freedom fighters and farmers from Dhampur in the Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh. His father, a farmer who emphasized ethics and hard work, taught his children to live honestly, respect family values, and support one another. UKG’s parents established a foundation based on resilience and moral courage, which continues to influence their descendants. Coming from a close-knit bonded family of four brothers and two sisters, UKG after finishing his schooling at Dhampur pursued BBA and MBA from Banaras Hindu University. All brothers ventured into diverse businesses.

UKG, a man with entrepreneurial spirit, did not wait for the ‘right time’, he believed in creating opportunities rather than waiting for them. The urge to build something of his own was evident from the very beginning. Right after completing his education, he chose to start his own venture instead of taking up a job. In the mid-1960s, polyethylene entered India, and its plastic products gained popularity. UKG founded his first venture in 1978 to produce polyethylene bags that had become fancy at that time. He later pursued various projects including Sulfur crushing, water tanks under the POLYWELL brand, and warehousing through his company United Warehousing. His group of companies then were known as Ukay Group. The pivotal moment was in 1991 when he established Holostik India, one of the earliest hologram manufacturing companies in India, renaming his group of companies as Holostik Group in 2008, marking the beginning of his legacy. Holostik under UKG’s leadership, quickly grew to become the largest producer of holograms in the world. As the market evolved, they expanded to become a comprehensive anti-counterfeiting solutions provider. A remarkably self-driven individual, UKG believed in learning from every experience and from every person he met. Life itself was his biggest teacher.

UKG was an ambitious hardworking entrepreneur and indulged in products ahead of time. He continued to expand into new industries with passion and foresight. In 2008, he launched United Multichem, a venture into aroma chemicals and essential oils. In 2015, extending his global outreach for holographic products, Holoprint was established in Dubai getting a foothold in the Middle East and gradually expanding globally. In 2020, Holostik group invested in sustainability by launching NaturTrust—a brand focused on biodegradable products. Around the same time, CAMVEDA was launched to produce pure Camphor products under United Multichem. In 2005, Holostik began diversifying into holographic packaging foils and pouches, this marked their entry into secure packaging. They also introduced shrink sleeves, security labels in 2015 and mono-cartons in 2018  as a part of packaging. This evolution was a natural extension of their core mission to protect brands, ensure product authenticity, and offer end-to-end solutions that combine innovation, trust, and performance.

Though UKG’s first customer was Kores India Ltd., yet the turning point came in 1995 when T. N. Seshan, the then Chief Election Commissioner of India, approved use of holograms on Election ID cards. That endorsement not only validated the technology but also opened the doors for widespread adoption across government and private sector, initiating Holostik’s journey in secure packaging and authentication. Another milestone came in 1999, they convinced the excise department to implement holographic labels on liquor bottles as a measure to prevent counterfeiting and revenue leakage. With a strong holography background, entering the label business was new for Holostik. Security labels weren’t just another product added in their range, these provide anti-counterfeiting measures and authenticity while regular product labels are meant for aesthetics or branding. Shifting focuses on continuous innovation and extending security features to product labels, they also became a part of their offerings.

All businesses in their path from inception to growth come across hardships and difficult times, The fittest take them in their stride and move on. UKG too faced many hardships and one of the toughest ones was during his water tank business, his entire factory was engulfed in a massive fire. It was something he built from scratch, and he was in extreme emotional distress. A determined and resilient UKG built it all back as Holostik, single handedly and moved ahead in life to grow his business. None of his siblings were involved in the same business. Each of them chose different paths and built careers in diverse sectors. He respected and encouraged that individuality. Holostik was his own vision, nurtured independently, he worked hard and kept taking it higher with innovation and creativity.

UKG married, Vandana Gupta, in 1980, she is a well-educated person having completed her B.Sc., M.Sc., and B.Ed. . UKG and Vandana have two sons Ankit and Shobhit. She remains a pillar of strength for her family. Vandana chose to be a home maker, but her influence on the upbringing of her sons has been immense. While she was taking care of the household, her husband was scaling up his business setting new benchmarks. In 2010, Holostik was recognized among the top 500 fastest-growing Indian companies by Inc. magazine, and in 2013, they were named amongst the ‘Most Innovative 100 Companies’ by the same publication. In 2017 they were recognised as a leading SME in IT and IT-enabled services company. In 2019 their R&D labs were accredited by DSIR, receiving the prestigious CII Industrial Innovation Award. He was one of the founding members of Authentication Solution Providers Association (ASPA) and guided it to build brand protection ecosystem in India. He was the recipient of the coveted Economic Times Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

Each of these recognitions reflect UKG’s relentless pursuit of innovation and quality, a legacy that his inheritors would continue to carry forward. He was a legend in the holographic and authentication industry, sadly on the 1st of June 2021, the legend Umendra Kumar Gupta aged 67 years, passed away!

The Gen-Next

Carrying forward the legacy of their illustrious father U K Gupta are his two sons Ankit and Shobhit as Joint Managing Directors. Both brothers complementing each other are jointly leading the Holostik Group, which spans across multiple business verticals including print and packaging, chemicals, and real estate—with operations both in India and the Middle East. Shobhit specifically heads the chemical division, oversees their Dubai operations besides managing key segments of the packaging business. Their father was the guiding force behind Holostik. His presence commanded immense respect, both within the organization and across the industry. For both, stepping into their father’s shoes honoring his legacy, upholding the values he built the company on, and carrying forward the trust he had earned over decades was not an easy task. That transition eventually came to the duo with a lot of emotional responsibility with renewed motivation to take Holostik to even greater heights.

1981 born Ankit Gupta did his initial schooling at Modern School, New Delhi and followed it by Computer Engineering from Bangalore. Later he took a job in the Aditya Birla Group in Mumbai, where he worked for two years gaining valuable exposure to corporate operations, exposure to different functions, the scale at which things operated. He then pursued and completed his MBA at UCLA Anderson Los Angeles USA and IIM Ahmedabad (exchange transfer program) thereby earning alumni status at both institutions. Post-MBA, in 2007, he had a consulting job offer in Boston with a $100,000 annual package but the entrepreneurial ambition prevailed, and he decided to return to India and start his maiden venture in hospitality, setting up a restaurant named ‘Mocha in Delhi which he ran successfully for four years. Finding real estate an exciting business, he quit the restaurant business and began developing real estate projects in Gurgaon and later started a chemical trading business focused on flavors and fragrances, which continues within the Holostik group. In 2015, Ankit enrolled in the Owner/President Management (OPM) program at Harvard Business School. It was a transformative three-year experience spending a few months each year on the HBS campus, eventually becoming an alumnus of Harvard.

At this juncture, Ankit decided to join the family business by becoming involved in Holostik’s HR, Marketing & Communications departments. Meanwhile Holostik has evolved from being a prominent manufacturer of holograms and labels to a comprehensive authentication solutions provider. 

His brother Shobhit, holding an engineering degree from Delhi College of Engineering, completed his MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business in Canada. He started his career at Evalueserve Gurgaon and later joined Holostik in 2007. Together the brothers remain united by the common goal of taking their father’s vision to new heights.

In 2007 Ankit got married to Neha, an engineer with an MBA, who started her professional journey with HDFC Bank. For a brief period, she was involved in business, initially supporting the Mocha hospitality project and then in 2008 she was involved in setting up the HR department at Holostik. Over time, she explored different creative avenues, serving as the editor of a few publications, and as a director at NIMAI, a niche jewellery brand. She is now focused on raising her two children, son Vivan 14 years studying in 9th and daughter Jiya 11 years studying in 7th. Once the children are on their own, Neha may plan to return to some profession. Shobhit got married in 2010 to Mansi, and they are blessed with two children, son Aryaveer and daughter Nitara. Mansi has been a part of the sales and marketing team at Bentley Motors. She is now involved in the group’s CAMVEDA business, guiding the team on marketing initiatives. Both brothers express that the unwavering support of spouses has been instrumental in helping them focus on building and growing Holostik.

Talking about his mentorship, Ankit says, “My father has been my greatest mentor, his values, clarity of thought, and resilience continue to inspire me every single day. I stepped into the labels and packaging space as a second-generation entrepreneur. With a huge legacy, one inherits both the assets and responsibilities. It is not just about enjoying the perks of what the first generation built, it is about carrying that forward elevating it.” He further adds, “My most memorable success was launching the Café Mocha brand in Delhi. It was my first independent venture after returning from UCLA, it was a creative expression of what I had learned about entrepreneurship, consumer experience, and brand building. Confident after the success with Mocha, I could take on challenges when I eventually joined in leadership role in Holostik with deep understanding to scale-up the business.

 One of the biggest challenges for any second-generation entrepreneur is earning respect, it takes time for people to stop seeing you as just the founder’s son trusting your vision and decisions. For me, that journey of achieving credibility and proving my approach took some time. For Shobhit, the challenge was different. He took on the responsibility of starting Holoprint from scratch and building it into a specialized entity to cater to international markets. Establishing a new company under the larger umbrella of Holostik, carving out its space, and scaling it to a new level was no small feat. We’ve both faced different challenges, but what’s united us is the drive to build on our father’s legacy while creating something of our own.

Ankit was conferred on the prestigious Larry Wolfen Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit at UCLA in 2006. He has made presentations and shared technical papers at more than 20 events hosted by reputed organizations like CII, PHD Chamber, IHMA, ASPA, and several other key platforms in the printing and packaging industry, engaging with diverse audiences. In 2017, he was interviewed by Radio One as a Shark for startup investments for sharing insights on entrepreneurship and what makes a venture investable.

Both Shobhit and Ankit are committed to sustainability. One of their key initiatives has been the installation of a 500 kWp solar power plant at the Greater Noida manufacturing facility, reducing carbon footprint and embracing clean energy. They have developed sustainable alternatives like paper holograms and are exploring holography on wide web paper substrates to replace polyester. The Holostik Group consists of seven diverse companies including Holostik India, United Multichem, Holoprint, NaturTrust, Utopia Digitech, CAMVEDA, ThinkNext Village, and United Services operating with a workforce of over 750. They operate from more than seven state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities spread across over 40,000 square meters. Their corporate headquarters are in Okhla, New Delhi, apart from 12 offices strategically located across the country. Holostik’s exports to more than 90 countries are a testament to their quality, innovation, and reliability.

Ankit summed it up interestingly on behalf of Shobhit and himself. The brothers are united in delivering excellence to the legacy passed on to them by their father, the legend; Umendra Kumar Gupta. He says, “Success does not come overnight—it is built through consistency, perseverance, and staying true to your values. I strongly believe in the philosophy of ‘Ek aur ek gyarah’—because when people align with a shared purpose, 1 + 1 can truly become 11. Plan well, de-risk wherever you can, and most importantly—keep going, no matter what. Or as I like to say… Lage Raho Munna Bhai!

(Lage Raho Munna Bhai! Is name of popular Indian film but it actually means; Keep working brother! Or in the author’s interpretation it means, “The show must go on!”)

Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi May 2025

The last Labelexpo India 2022 was witness to an interesting evolution in the display of high-end label printing presses. For the first time since the inception of this show, the European and American presses running live were missing.

However, the flexo presses displayed at this all-important label exhibition were made in India. This was an indicator towards the Indian press manufacturers to have come of age. These Indian manufacturers are now, not only announcing sales in India but also succeeding in the global label arena. An interesting part of this evolution is that most of the successful brands of flexo presses that have been developed come from Faridabad, the neighboring industrial suburb of New Delhi. Faridabad is a part of NCR Delhi and a major industrial hub of the state of Haryana. It is famous for henna production from the agricultural sector, while tractors, motorcycles, switch gears, refrigerators, shoes, tyres and garments constitute its primary industrial products. There is reason why most of the leading brands of Indian made flexo presses are from this city. These presses include Multitec, Webtech, NBG, Label Flex and many other smaller ones. Even UV Graphic technologies now headquartered in NOIDA, started their manufacturing in partnership with Faridabad based Multitec. 

The credit of printing equipment manufacturing industry flourishing and growing in this city goes to the establishment and transformation of a company founded by Kishan Das Kohli, a man who fought for the independence of India prior to its partitioning.

The Printers House now renamed as TPH Orient group was founded by Kohli in 1946 as an agency house bringing global printing technology to India. He was responsible for installations, commissioning, providing technical expertise and operators for the imported equipment. For the pioneering work he did for the printing industry in India, he received numerous awards that included the Kohinoor Ratna award. An enterprising businessman, he started manufacturing printing presses in India in the mid-1960s initiating his maiden startup manufacturing unit in Faridabad to build letterpress and offset printing presses there. Around this manufacturing unit, an ecosystem of mechanical engineering professionals and engineering companies was built and went on growing. Many companies now making flexo presses or any other type of presses in Faridabad first started out as their vendors. Making any type of press requires components such as frames, cylinders, etc.

The Printers House helped create the infrastructure and this supply chain in Faridabad, which is what makes it ideal for printing press manufacturing hub. Later another company Sud and Warren led by Baldev Sud, Arora and Ahuja  also commenced manufacturing  slitting machines and later web-based computer stationery. The company did not grow as envisaged and some of their ex-employees are now narrow web label press manufacturers

I, the author, having had two factories in Faridabad since the 1960s, producing stationery and silicone release papers under the brand Weldon, had  heard a lot about The Printers House and the kind of work they had done. Weldon’s vendors in earlier days used to print their packaging on the old traditional treadle presses and when the Mercedes automatic presses from TPH were launched, it was a game changing moment. The author reminisces an evening during a party in connection with Printpack India in 1991, he was introduced a tall smart man who was surrounded by print industry stalwarts of that time. He was  Manmohan Kohli, heading The Printers House (TPH) and was the son of the founder K D Kohli. Manmohan was an alumnus of ETH Switzerland, a university of science and technology from where he passed out as gold medalist engineer.

He pioneered the evolution of printing technology in India. Under his leadership TPH became a name to be reckoned with globally, having installations in over 60 countries. Manmohan Kohli, a legend in Indian printing equipment industry,  passed away in June 2022 at the age of 83 years passing the reigns of the company to his only young son Rishab Kohli who now aged 28 years heads TPH as Managing Director.

The first few years of Rishab’s schooling were at New Delhi based Sanskriti School and thereafter he was sent to Gordonstoun school in Scotland. Finishing school in Scotland, he joined Georgetown university in Washington DC where he studied economics and had the opportunity to go through numerous internships in Washington DC including prominent lobbyist firms and international organisations. Completing his education at university, he initiated his career in the United States in finance/investment banking in the US where he worked between the US and Europe extensively. Thereafter he returned to India and in 2020 he took over the reigns of The Printers House now renamed The TPH Orient group, as CEO. Backed by his experience and pedigree in business he envisioned to create a group of companies in India that would cater to the printing , packaging, and other industries.

On assuming the leadership in TPH, Rishab worked with numerous partners across the globe to acquire technology and bring it to India. He saw the label segment growing rapidly and felt there is high reliance on imports on capital equipment in this segment. On his indulgence, TPH  launched their flexo and inkjet label press, extending their application to packaging as well. Given the infrastructure available at TPH, Rishab has decided to produce equipment with economy of scale to make it cost effective and such that customers feel secure with their investment and service. He felt the technical expertise to produce flexo and digital label presses of global standards was still needing upgradation, so he or his team travelled to acquire appropriate technologies.

Rishab mentions that development of the first fully digital ink delivery system made by them in India that successfully printed a full color label at high speeds is huge achievement for TPH. Being the first of its kind developed in India, it will remain as one of the most memorable moments. With the ability to print at 1200 DPI with in-house dynamic RIP (RIP stands for Raster Imaging Processor software), it is a prime competitor to the established leaders in the field of digital label printing. He gives credit for support, guidance and help to the late Ramani Vishwanathan who was a pioneer in digital printing in India. He helped Rishab create this technology. Justifying his move into Digital label printing equipment he states that Inkjet is crucial for label printing due to several macroeconomic factors and market forces. With the rise in short run jobs and customization in packaging, a roll fed digital press is crucial to meet the needs of end clients. Additionally, with the speeds of inkjet presses increasing and head technology advancing at the pace that it is, the mid to long runs may also be catered to by inkjet.

As regards the flexo press developed by them, he asserts, “It is the fastest Indian made machine of its kind at this moment. Additionally, we offer sleeve technology and narrow web along with wider width options.”

The TPH Orient group is now a diversified group of companies and a market leader in printing machinery, packaging machinery , printing consumables , engineering services for defence, aerospace, and solar. They have 800 employees spread over a 20-acre campus and 6 factories in Faridabad working in numerous segments. They also now manufacture inkjet presses, flexo presses, folder gluers, web offset presses, printing chemicals etc. They have one of the largest CNC machine shops in north India and perhaps largest in Faridabad. According to Rishab, TPH Orient group is the largest Indian exporter of printing machines with exports to 60 countries. They have service engineers and offices in 12 locations in India and presence worldwide. They are considering extending manufacturing operations in foreign locations.

Talking of challenging times in his short career, Rishab says, “Covid was a tough period, but we got through it, taking every day at a time. But a lot was learnt, and we came out of it stronger.” In his journey so far, a key member of TPH board of directors, Naveen Chahal, has been a mentor to him. Being an extremely experienced person, his guidance has helped the turnover grow to over 15 times the figure when Rishab took over. In printing and packaging Rishab acknowledges the guidance of Christoph Mueller, director Koenig and Bauer, for his guidance in quality enhancement of their products.

Rishab Kohli sums up his vision for the future as, “The key for Orient in the printing and packaging industry is to provide a holistic solution to the printing and packaging community worldwide. We have a simple goal which is to be the largest equipment supplier in our field coming out of India and ideally Asia in this segment. With our infrastructure , scale, and history this is a realistic and an important 5-year goal.”

 Written by Harveer Sahni, Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi August 2024