Harveer Sahni

Total Post: 298

Winds of change!

Winds of change!
Earliest Iwasaki Label Press
When I sat down to write this column I was in a nostalgic mood. The Indian narrow web label industry has completed 40 years of existence. It was toward the end of 1971 that Jeetubhai now of Finearts, Mumbai and his partner P P Bhagat took the pioneering step of installing a flat bed narrow web label press in their concern, International Trading Company at Kalyandas Industrial Estate in Worli, Mumbai. Four decades have passed and I feel it is time to take stock of an era gone by and the path traversed. The industry has tr
ansformed over the years. Those days, that was speed! From manually made screen printed stickers to machine made labels in roll form on a flat bed label press, was a path breaking change. Then, from the times of those slow flat bed label presses to state of art technologically advanced combination presses with decorative capabilities in wider widths and running at speeds in excess of 200 meters per minute shows the ever-changing nature of this industry. I had in my article, “History of the Indian Label Industry”, chronicled the events that lead to its growth to present levels since inception. Every decade has witnessed conspicuous changes.

 
The Label industry has evolved from being the one that originated out of screen printing in the middle 1960’s, transformed to print in roll form in the 1970’s and till the decade of 80’s the industry was producing self adhesive labels largely on flat bed label presses. It was during the nineties one saw a major shift when the label industry started using high speed flexo rotary machines. As we entered the new millennium, high end modular presses with decorative capabilities were replacing the outdated and slow flatbeds. With a growing new literate generation, the market for labels in India saw rising volumes. As organized retail became order of the day, demand for high-end labels and sophisticated packaging also grew. The last few years have seen faster changes and adoption of global technologies. Printers have opted for enhancing capacities and attaining technologies matching their global counterparts. Presses using diverse printing processes like Gravure, screen, flexo, cold foil, hot foil and embossing all in a single pass are being acquired by some of the leading printers. From printing simple labels to booklet labels, Braille labels, scratch cards, security labels, etc. Indian printers are now adapting themselves to deliver all. At this time I am reminded of Guru Nanak’s saying, “Eh Marag Sansar Ko, Nanak Thir Nahi Koye” means in this journey through the world, nothing is stationary, everything changes. The winds of change keep the label industry on the move!
Eyeing Indian Label Markets
 
Last month we heard of two international companies investing in Indian label ventures. The news has caused quite a stir in the label fraternity. It is time for them to evaluate the way forward. These are happenings that this industry which was concentrated with local players, will take time to adjust with. Suddenly they find these foreigners with deep pockets in their midst. It appears to be a matter of time when other players will move in. Privately, industry constituents talk of rumours of more investments happening but it will be a while before we hear some concrete news. India is a big country with large population and growing economy. Still we do not have large label companies with 20 plus presses. Due to this reason there appears to be space at the top end of the market which tempts the investors to indulge. In a scenario where large international label companies with their global tie-ups with FMCG buyers come to India, it is natural that they will take away business from these buyers, depriving the midsize label printers of opportunities. Most of the printers feel FDI is good and may give rise to more opportunities and create bigger demand yet there are others who feel insecure and uncomfortable by these developments. I discussed with many printers that people who are operating with one or two presses may face the brunt of this and suffer. Mahendra Shah at Renault feels it is not a level playing field and that printers here will be impacted adversely, these foreign companies have access to cheaper credit, existing tie-ups with buyers and due to their large buying capacities, raw material prices are lower for them. Moreover with economies of scale they become more competitive in prices. Himanshu Kapur at J K Fine Prints, Mumbai airs similar views while Jigesh Dani at Mahrishi Labels Ahmedabad says, “This is not going to happen overnight but in long run with foreign players coming to Indian market and investing huge sums, small players will have to either merge or close down or come up to the level to compete in terms of technology, price etc.” Amar Chhajed at Webtech Mumbai too agrees, this may have adverse effect on our midsize printers but feels these foreigners will go where the market is, if it is India, they will come here. The industry he adds is growing at a steady pace of 15% but growth should have been more and in that case by now, these worries should have receded. Anuj Bhargava at Kumar Printers, Delhi says segmentation of the markets will take place. India has a huge unorganized market which these foreign companies will not service and will become the mainstay of the midsize printers. Sudhir Jain of Jain Transfer feels if smaller players exist in advanced economies like USA and Europe, India should not be different. Chandan Khanna of multi location Ajanta Packaging says, “As long as the 100% Indian companies have done a good job on service, quality and expectations, volumes will actually grow”. With comments from these friends I too feel that that the markets will evolve, segmentation will become identifiable and people will eventually settle down to accepting ground realities. The bottom of the triangle will get bigger and competition will be intense there. The middle segment will perhaps become more innovative and very specialized to retain profitability. The top end printers will keep catering to the niche and large volume FMCG buyers.
 
Omet Folding Carton Press
Stagnation in business is not good and leads to struggle for survival. It is imperative for a healthy business to move on. Innovate, expand, invest, diversify, etc are passwords to a growth and health of any business enterprise. Offset printers who are involved in package printing have been the biggest investors in the self adhesive label industry. There are two main reasons for their moves in this direction. One that labels are a part of a package and second, the industry has been having a steady double digit growth for years together. The reverse investment by label printers in sheet fed offset presses was not visible on a substantial scale till now. In recent times, many narrow web label printers have either already drifted, or are planning their shift or are expanding their existing activities in the sheet fed offset segment for package printing. This is so as to get a share of the large packaging industry, growing at a rapid pace in India. Sudhir Jain lead his company to evolve, on lines with the industry changes, over the years. He had started off being a screen printer who graduated to narrow web printing with Flatbed label press and then on to Flexo rotary label printing. Few years ago he foresaw the growth in packaging and realized that offset printers were likely to get into labels to take away his customers. He came to the conclusion that users prefer a one stop shop for their packaging supplies. So he invested in a sheet fed offset. The gradual but slow expansion of narrow web label printers into offset or more aptly I would say packaging is becoming evident and visible. Why I say packaging rather than sheet fed offset is explained by Amar Chhajed who also has expanded into sheet fed offset. The narrow web label printer is used to doing all conversion online on a press in a single pass. For him it is difficult to imagine shifting materials from machine to machine to complete one job. This was always a deterrent but need of the hour is prompting the label printers to move in this direction. Fortunately with advances in technology now the possibility of making folding cartons on an online press has become a reality. No wonder there is an overwhelming interest and response of printers both narrow web and offset in package printing to attend the Weldon hosted Omet Open House at Pragati Pack, Hyderabad in April 2012 where an inline folding carton press with combination printing and converting capabilities is being displayed. Mahrishi labels, Seljegat and Sanjeev Sondhi lead Zircon technologies are other printers who have moved in this direction. I would like to make a point that Zircon is one company that has been on the fast track and moves on unruffled by the foreign investments. His continuous investments and expansion moves into the narrow web label and offset segments are creating ripples. We need Indians to indulge and create infrastructures that are able to stand up to international competition.
 
Drupa, the Mecca for offset printers is just a few weeks away. Package printing companies from India will of course be there as also will be, the commercial offset printers to witness the developments and changes in their industry. Narrow web label printers will also now be visible to consider the adoption of technologies that are in synergies with their business. There is an imperative need for the label industry to innovate and diversify into related fields. Most of the printers that I spoke to in the last couple of days believe that innovation are the way forward. Although the response is unanimous on the need for innovation, R&D and product development yet everyone agrees enough is not being done. While asserting that innovations has been the way forward for them, Chandan Khanna feels industry should grow, label converting and packaging will also grow. Innovations are complimentary to growth. Rakesh Kukliya from UPSL Chennai, a Gautham Pai lead Manipal Press group Company, says, “This is an area that requires immediate attention and involvement. It is the bedrock of any organization. Apple is an excellent example. IPods & IPads are not inventions, but are innovations. It is time we looked at, not what we can do with what we have and find clients, but to look at what the client wants and ensure we are geared to meet this expectation.” Time has come when the label industry needs to rise to the need of the hour and indulge in introspection. Printers need to research and decide the way forward and move ahead. Creation of infrastructure adding newer capacities, investing in newer technologies, creating wealth is the way forward in this growing industry. It is necessary to bring the much needed change in the Indian label industry. The industry has come of age and ready to experience the “Winds of change!”.
 
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi-110008 March, 2012

Bringing excellence to Xel-lent and beyond!

Bringing excellence to Xel-lent and beyond!
Kiran Asher and Vinesh Bhimani
Vinesh Bhimani’s Kimoha Entrepreneurs Limited, Dubai, UAE is a shining star amongst label printing companies run by Indians in Middle East Asia or for that matter by anyone outside their homeland. His persistence and commitment to succeed has enabled him to bounce back to success from extremely adverse circumstances. With over two decades of relentless effort and dedication, he created his label brand “Xel-lent”. He achieved perfection by creating labels and print packaging products that would stand out in the market place. During my recent visit to his facility, I was overwhelmed by the way he accorded a welcome (which I gathered is a customary practice whenever any of the company’s stakeholders visited); All the TV monitors in the company, and there were quite a few), had a welcome message for me apart from announcing the recent award received by their Chairman Shri. Kiran Asher  from the President of India at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at Jaipur in January 2012.  Carrying the hospitality further, my picture (commemorating my visit) was taken and gifted to me in an elegant folder along with customized gifts. He has experienced success and rejoices the fruits of bringing excellence to “Xel-lent” and also to all the businesses and operations at Kimoha.

Whilst Vinesh Bhimani’s  grandfather lived in Africa working for a private bank in Zanzibar, his  father preferred to return to India and set up shop in a free and independent India in 1947-48.  Nizamabad in (AP) India became the family’s base and in partnership with his uncle bought a rice mill.  They did not meet with success and lost all that they invested, in a year’s time. However they were persistent and restarted a small floor mill (Atta Chakki, as they call it in India). This venture, by virtue of their hard work prospered to become a successful rice mill! In 1962 Sanjiva Reddy, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and later the President of India, conferred upon this mill an award for safety. 1970-71 saw Vinesh’s father parting ways with his uncle and in conjunction with his own brothers (whose responsibility became his after the demise of Vinesh’s grandfather) taking over the management of the rice mill. Vinesh then still young and attending school during the day would spend his evening and nights in the rice mill.
Vinesh graduated in Commerce from Nizamabad, and his father crafted different plans for him. He did not want him to join the rice mill, instead wished that he would take up the offer of RRL Jorhat, (Regional Research Laboratory) to use their technology to manufacture carbonless paper.  The seed for his involvement with Paper was sown and necessary equipments ordered from Kolkotta by the family.  Meanwhile Vinesh was sent to Mumbai for a one month management course. He was to stay with his uncle (mother’s brother). The uncle was the fifth generation from a family that was heading the 142 year old large and respected trading firm Khimji Ramdas, based in Oman. Vinesh’s uncle made him an offer to come to Oman but his family was ready to start the carbonless paper unit in Nizamabad. Unfortunately the equipment failed to perform and they lost all the money they invested into this project.
 
At this point of time Vinesh was sent to Oman to get a “feel” of things before returning to Nizamabad and start something else there. That was 34 years ago and he never returned to settle down in India. Vinesh had joined Khimji Ramdas as a trainee and left at the post of a General Manager in 1988. From Oman he came to Dubai and with the experience gained in Oman he, with his brother in law Kiran Asher, started a trading company. They made their first deal of importing Turmeric from Hyderabad, India and exporting to an Iranian customer against a post dated cheque. The cheque bounced and they lost most of the money invested! Whatever stock of turmeric was left with them was brought by them and stored in a Jebel Ali warehouse. As luck would have it, that night, a water pipe in the shed burst and they lost all that remained. Vinesh Bhimani was a devastated and embarrassed man. He blamed himself for his brother in law and partner Kiran having lost money. He offered to sell his house in Mumbai to repay Kiran. Perhaps God had other plans for Vinesh. Kiran asked him to stay on and wait to let things settle down, they decided to stay together. It was now time to start “Kimoha”.  Briefly they started packing food items but soon shifted to manufacturing telex and fax rolls. Nostalgically Vinesh reminiscences that they participated in an exhibition and Sheikh Mohamed, the current ruler of Dubai, visited their stand and asked them if they manufactured these rolls in Dubai. He then advised a big stationer accompanying him to buy from them. For many years this stationer remained one of Kimoha’s biggest customers. Business began to grow with exports to many countries and Vinesh started to travel extensively.  During his travels he would be fascinated by the baggage tags, each time he would check in at the airlines counter. He would study the tag at length and vowed to produce it one day. He went to Japan to visit suppliers of thermal paper as also to learn about the product. It was a matter of time now, his mind was made, “he would manufacture the baggage tags and self adhesive labels”.
Vinesh Bhimani went to the first Labelexpo that was held in Brussels and also attended the presentation made by the international label guru Mike Fairley. All this effort was made to learn about the products that he intended to produce one day. He had a voracious appetite to acquire knowledge about the products that he intended to indulge in. At Labelexpo, machine suppliers were wondering who this man from UAE was and what all he was talking about. He was a new entrant and wanted a label press to have features that were not for beginners. He wanted a 24 inch repeat and three die stations, etc. Little did they realize how focused this man was. Before the show ended he was decided on the configuration of the press, it had almost everything on it, the repeat he wanted, print stations, turnbar, sprocket hole punching, fanfold, etc. It looked expensive but when he called his partner Kiran Asher, the answer was in the affirmative. Kimoha was on way to success.
 
Initial hiccups were normal. There were no operators so Vinesh had to go to India for recruitment. In 1995 Kimoha got their first contract for baggage tags from Emirates Airlines but with a rider attached. They were warned that if they do not deliver they would have to quit UAE! All appeared to be going smoothly when a nightmare struck, the die got damaged on line and all hell broke loose. They rushed a person to UK by the next flight and return immediately after collecting the die. They delivered and kept their commitment. Kimoha has not looked back thereafter.  At three Labelexpos thereafter, they kept buying new presses one after the other. With just two employees in 1988 in an 18 square feet office, Kimoha has come a long way. They now operate out of a 200,000 square feet brand new facility at Jebel Ali, Dubai. The factory is immaculately clean and systemized. They have 8 label presses, five Aquaflex and three Gallus alongwith a host of other finishing and converting equipments. The total workforce at Kimoha is in excess of 230 employees. Kimoha offers a range of baggage tags, label products, flexible packaging and stationery. With a sales turnover of 100 million Dirhams (Rupees 125 Crores) their products have presence in 35 countries. Their presence in the baggage tags segment is very strong with supplies going to over 30 international airlines.
Purnima Bhimani married Vinesh in 1978, she was by his side in business that day and she is still there in office daily supporting him actively. She takes care of finance and planning of the interiors at Kimoha. She has given her best to the growth of this enterprise. Their only son Jay is 15 years old and studying in Gurukul, Hyderabad. Jay may join the family business one day but the parents feel it is too soon to say as young people are quite unpredictable. He may want to do something else. After all the family has a history of drifting in diverse fields. The great grandfather was a banker and the following generations drifted to Rice mill, Floor mill, International trading, Food packaging and on to Labels, Printing and Packagings. Kiran Asher, Vinesh’s brother in law and partner who has been his staunch support is the Chairman of Kimoha. Vinesh’s brother Rajesh has also been with Kimoha for 15 years. He is responsible for besides other things the house keeping at Kimoha. His work shows! The facility is amazingly clean. Vinesh Bhimani works hard and his team is like his family. He tirelessly communicates with them to instill family values. His staff sometime receives emails from him that were written at 3am in the morning. He took 267 people one day to visit Burj Khaleefa, in an effort to deliver his message of aiming high and having higher virtues in life. Each day starts with the entire Kimoha family (the workforce) joining in morning prayers. At lunch they are served a high-end restaurant catered meal and are allowed some extra time to play indoor games before returning to production. Education of employee’s children, medical expenses, insurance, etc., is areas where the company supports its employees.
 
Kimoha has been honoured as one of the top 100 SMEs in Dubai in the first ever ranking initiative held recently and they stood:
 
–          38th rank in the overall top 100 SME companies in Dubai
 
–          3rd in the top 10 SME in the INNOVATION category and
 
–          10th in the top 10 SME in the GLOBAL ORIENTATION (EXPORT)
When asked about his vision on what his venture will be five years hence, Vinesh Bhimani is pensive in his thoughts. He is non-committal on what Kimoha will be. He firmly believes that he has to be doing something different and specialized. He wishes that his entire Kimoha family remains bonded together and involved in creating something special. Size is not what matters. The goal is, to be unique and achieve a status where the entire team has contributed, to bring excellence to Xel-lent and beyond!
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi February 2012

Leading European label company Skanem acquires 51% of Interlabels India

Leading European label company Skanem acquires 51% of Interlabels India
Gautam Kothari, CEO and owner of Skanem Group, Ole Rugland
and Bhavin Kothari.
Indian label industry was still wondering how to react to the news of Bangalore based Wintek having been acquired by ITW, when news came of yet another European multinational label and packaging company Skanem investing in India's biggest label printers Interlabels, Mumbai. All this in a span of less then two weeks. Headed by the brothers Bhavin and Gautam Kothari, Interlabels has been on the forefront in this industry. Bhavin Kothari has been one of the founders of LMAI (Label Manufacturers of India) and later the President of this association. They have steadily grown and expanded over the years to acheive success and position of strength in the label industry. The press release from Skanem that came today,  is reproduced below:
 
SKANEM GOES TO INDIA!
 
Skanem Group partners with the Indian labeling company Interlabels in order to take part in a growing market in South Asia. Skanem is buying 51% of the shares in Interlabels. Owner and CEO of Skanem, Ole Rugland, says: ”India is a market with a great potential and rapid consumption growth. Through this partnership, we get access to this exciting market.”
The introduction into India represents a strategically important step forward for Skanem Group. This is Skanem’s first establishment in India, but Skanem already has one factory in Asia, which is located in Bangkok, Thailand. Skanem Bangkok opened its doors in 2007. Ole Rugland says: ”Interlabels is today a well run, profitable company. Our aim is to support this profitable growth. We therefore want to build on the existing management and staff on site.”

Ole Rugland further explains that during the process of finding a partner in India, the importance of the company culture was emphasized. He says: ”By partnering with a company that matches Skanem’s corporate culture, we will strengthen the Group’s overall vision and strategy. Interlabels is a professional company with great experience in handling demanding customers and complex orders. They also have competence and a solid knowledge base, which will be extremely useful for the cooperation in India, as well as for Skanem Group worldwide.”
 
An exciting alliance ensuring continued focus on innovation and leadership.
Interlabels already has a leading position in India with 2 factories, as well as a factory in Nairobi, Kenya and a large customer reach. Managing Director for Interlabels, Bhavin Kothari, says: “We believe this alliance with a global leader like Skanem will help ensure a continual strong focus on innovations and leadership in the South Asian region.” Bhavin Kothari further explains the strong synergies between the two companies: “The product range and customer profiles of both companies are quite similar. We also believe that Skanem’s global presence and expertise combined with Interlabels local experience and coverage will make the venture a formidable force in the Indian label industry.”
 
FACTS Skanem:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • One of Europe’s largest producers of self adhesive labels
  • Established 1905 in Norway
  • Ole Rugland, present owner and CEO, took over the company in 1986
  • In 2002 Ole Rugland and Skanem purchased the company SE Labels and a new period started for the Group with self adhesive labelling
  • HQ is located in Stavanger, Norway and the Group has 11 label sites in 8 countries (Before the new partnership in India); Norway, Sweden, Denmark, UK, Poland, Russia, Germany, Thailand, as well as a metal can factory in Norway and a PVC film factory in Sweden
  • Employees: Approx. 1,000
FACTS Interlabels:
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • Established 1983 in India
  • Employees: 200
  • Leading producer of self adhesive labels and label applicators in India
  • Exporting into Middle East, East Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
  • Factories: Mumbai, Baddi (Himachal Pradesh district) and Nairobi, Kenya
Posted by Harveer Sahni Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi on 17/02/2012

ITW acquires Indian Label Printer Wintek, Bangalore!

ITW acquires Indian Label Printer Wintek, Bangalore!
 
 
Wintek Flexoprints based in Bangalore India, has been acquired by Hyderabad based ITWSignode, ITW India Ltd., a subsidiary of the multibillion dollar fortune 200 global industrial products company ITW is head quartered in Illinois, USA
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RVS Ramakrishna lead, ITW Signode in India is the leading Industrial Packaging solutions provider with manufacturing facilities at Rudraram-Andhra Pradesh, Surangi-UT of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Pune – Maharashtra and Rudrapur – Uttarakhand. ITW Signode’s comprehensive packaging solutions include products and services. Product offering encompasses strapping, wrapping, taping, and protective packaging consumables, tools and equipment to apply the consumables, and parts. A wide range of services include on – site packaging, on – site maintenance, preventive maintenance, AMCs, field engineering, package testing and packaging design, audit and consultancy. ITW Signode is a part of the almost 100 years old ITW or Illinois Tool works, USA.
 
ITW has proven strategies of increasing market penetration with product innovations, extending current products to new industries and acquiring businesses that improve customer offerings and provide the foundation for continued success in the 21st century. They have 825 decentralized business units in 52 countries employing approximately 60,000 people
 
 

In picture the winners! Hameed, Helmut Schreiner,

Isidore Leiser, Gururaj and others

Wintek started as a pre-press house from humble beginnings and later diversified into label printing. Hard work and persistent efforts of partners Gururaj Ballarwad and K M Shahul Hameed paid dividends. Soon Wintek became the leader in producer of high quality labels in South India. Continuous investments were made by them on an ongoing basis not only to add capacities but also to enhance their decorative capabilities for producing state of art labels. They have won numerous awards for excellence not only in India but also at the global level. While Gururaj confirmed the news of having been acquired by ITW and that he would continue to be with Wintek, however he did not wish to give more details of the financial deal. He left that for ITW to disclose at the appropriate time.
 
I will update this news once I have the more news and have talked to ITW.
 
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi India February 2012

Indian label industry goes cold, blows hot!

Indian label industry goes cold, blows hot!
Bottle with self adhesive filmic label



 
 
Till the end of the nineteen-nineties, none of the handful of Indian labelstock manufacturers, offered or was able to consistently supply, filmic self adhesive label materials. After 1997, Avery Dennison started to produce or distribute filmic labelstocks in India on an ongoing basis. Till then, most of the high-end label printers supplying to leading FMCG brand product companies like Unilever and P &G were solely dependent on imported materials. Once the availability of these filmic stocks became easy, the market was expected to grow at a faster pace.
 
 
Shrink Sleeves
 

 

Bottle with Shrink Sleeve



With the start of the new millennium, the consumer product market started to grow with the advent of organized retail catching on in Indian markets. Consumer goods became more sensitive to shelf appeal and this led to growth in demand for self adhesive or pressure sensitive filmic labels. Getting the consumer’s attention became imperative as consumers themselves chose the product from the retail shelves rather than the shopkeeper convincing them to buy a particular product. At the same time shrink sleeves (invented by Fujifilm way back in 1960) started to also gain a foothold in the Indian FMCG product market. Sleeves provided the advantage of 360 degrees graphics and advertising space on the product itself and began to carve out a distinct and high growth market segment. Although pressure sensitive film labels lost their opportunity of gaining big volumes from the expanded market in specific segments, the usage of self adhesive or PS film labels grew and prevailed.
 
Despite the entry of shrink sleeves, the PS filmic label segment continued to grow at a steady pace of 10 to 15% a year. My own assessment was that at that time of 2000-2003, the overall self adhesive label demand had started to grow at a much faster rate. In the year 2003, in my presentation for the Cham Pressure Sensitive Symposium at St. Moritz in Switzerland, I had assessed that the pressure sensitive adhesive label segment was growing in excess of 25% while the filmic label segment was registering an even more rapid growth. Eventually the shrink sleeve segment carved out a definite market segment for itself and the PS film label segment settled down with a steady growth rate of around over 20%.
 
Prominent FMCG branded food and cosmetics products, where volumes were large, preferred to use shrink sleeves as they not only provided opportunities for 360 degrees graphics but also were cost effective. This was because the large runs for these product segments could justify the conversion on high speed wide web gravure printing presses. On the other hand labels for products that needed shorter runs continued to use PS filmic labels, as shrink sleeves were not viable for short runs on the wide web machines due to the cost of cylinders and other prepress requirements. In some cases where customers do demand shrink sleeves for shorter runs, the narrow web flexo label printers pitch-in to produce them. Instead of eating into each other’s market share, shrink sleeves and PS film labels have finally settled down as two distinct product segments.
 

 

Organised retail.



According to Bhavin Kothari of Interlabels in Mumbai, both products have separate identities and as far as the PS filmic labels segment is concerned, the market is steadily growing at over 20% a year. On a personal note I rate the growth of PS filmic labels at a higher figure of almost 30%. Rajesh Chadha of Update Prints New Delhi says 80% of all the labels they produce are filmic and the segment has steadily grown over the last 10 to 12 years. Gururaj Ballarwad of Wintek Bangalore states that 65% of his company’s produce of labels is film-based and that the growth seems to have accelerated further in recent years with organized retail spreading more widely across the country and consumers demanding better labels and aesthetics. Gururaj adds that PS film labels with highly decorative features give a more elegant and rich look to cosmetics and toiletries and users have started to recognize this. Raveendran of Seljegat, Sivakasi and K K Bajaj of Regal Creative New Delhi also agree that film labels are preferred by FMCG brands these days especially where production runs are smaller.
 
With the availability of more advanced grades of film label stocks where the gauges have become thinner and squeezability is also built-in, and with thinner release liners being offered, the product is getting upgraded. Even the press and tooling manufacturers have come forward to offer possibilities to convert these new materials. These materials, while they aim to produce better quality labels, will also help reduce the adverse impact on the environment by waste generated in converting labels. A clear 25 micron film facestock on clear 25 micron film release liner will definitely have more labels per roll. The plastic waste generated has better recyclability and will reduce the tonnage going to landfills. With faster growth becoming evident in the film label segment the label industry can sense the heat from thinner film labelstock that uses film liner.
 
Winter chill
 
In the beginning of 2011, the Indian label industry was in a buoyant mood. Printers were nearly unanimous in their opinion that the self adhesive label industry was growing and doing well. Every industry that is registering growth needs to increase their capital investments in new machines to upgrade to the latest technologies and to enhance capacities. In the words of Amar Chhajed of Webtech Labels Mumbai, “If we plan to grow 40% in a year, we have to make capital investments in new equipment and enhance capacity to produce 40% more!” As we came nearer to the middle of 2011, the news of a second slowdown in Europe made the industry go cold. There appeared to be a little lull in the industry even though everyone was convinced that the label in India will sustain growth year after year. The industry seemed to have pressed the ‘Pause’ button.
 
Since the Labelexpo Europe at Brussels was fast approaching, printers wanted to divulge their expansion plans and decide on equipment only after watching the latest on display at the premium show. I have in my overview of the Labelexpo, mentioned that it was busy time at Brussels for the Indian printers as they had big investment decisions to make. We expected investment announcements to start in weeks following the show but the currency situation played the spoilsport. The Indian Rupee value depreciated against the US$ and the Euro. The cost of equipment escalated by over 10% and another chill ensued! Simultaneously as the year ended, the price of labelstock and other raw material inputs also shot up putting additional pressure on margins that were already becoming thinner due to intense competition. End users had both options and offers from existing label suppliers as well as new entrants – they refused to accept price increases. The label industry felt the pinch along with the winter chill.
 
Hot again!
 
The 2012 new year brought the news of a slight upward movement of the Indian Rupee and hopes that it would continue to firm up. The demand for self adhesive labels has started to show healthy growth in the last few weeks. Label printers seem to be smiling again and seem to be preparing to loosen their purse strings for many of the investments that have been on hold. The confidence level is building up and after having faced the cold, the Indian label industry is almost blowing hot!
 
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi-110008 16th January 2012.

“Gentleman of the Label Industry”

“Gentleman of the Label Industry”
Ananth K Rao
In the early nineties at the first Screen Print Exhibition in Nehru Centre in Mumbai I was standing at my booth in the show when I saw a tall handsome man walking with long steps briskly toward me with another industry friend on his side. As they reached my stand they impulsively stopped and I was introduced to this man Ananth K Rao owner of Stay-on Papers, Hyderabad. I was really amazed by the friendly vibes this man emitted and am happy to say that he became my best friend in the industry that moment onwards. It was later that I realized he was the industry’s best friend. Ananth is a labelstock producer in Hyderbad who ventured out in the field, when the industry was still at a nascent stage and maturing to find acceptability of self adhesive labels amongst the industrial consumers of labels. It was a time when the self adhesive label was still a sticker and was in the process of being accepted as regular label. Wet glue labels were the order of the day. The kind of friendship Ananth Rao extended was exemplary. I remember a very interesting incident. I went to Hyderabad and it was my first visit there to explore the possibility of supplying to him release papers, which he later started to produce himself. From my landing in the town till I departed, he took me around and was the perfect host. He also took me to screen print dealers who were his customers requesting them to buy from me. At one shop where the customer did place the order, I asked for advance payment. While customer refused, Ananth pitched in and offered to pay on his behalf. I was embarrassed and let the order pass. That evening I was invited to Ananth’s house for drinks and later dinner at a famous restaurant. Before we left his home, he went in and brought a packet which he later handed over to me saying that was the advance money and I should send that dealer’s order. I was stunned! How could this man do this without there not being anything in this deal for him? I was overwhelmed by the extent of his magnanimity. It is a matter of record when most labelstock customers of mine started opting out to produce silicone release papers themselves, Ananth forced me to start producing labelstocks and in other terms be a direct competitor to himself! He is an amazing person. Over the years I realized that anyone in the label industry, whether he is a supplier, a customer, a machine supplier, media person or a competitor… Ananth is the natural host for them in Hyderabad. He goes on to offer unconditional help and support. It is for this and many other reasons that I call him, “Gentleman of the Label Industry”.
 
 
Born into an agriculturist family with large landholdings, Ananth Rao went to Lawrence School, Lovedale for his basic education until ISCE (Indian School Leaving Certificate) followed by Pre-University course at Loyala College Chennai. He then completed his B.Com. from Badurka College Hyderabad, affiliated to Osmania University, before proceeding to United States to pursue further education in management studies. After completing MBA from University of Florida, USA in 1979, he did a two year stint with Southland, owners of Seven-Eleven Stores before returning home in 1983. Self adhesive labels had caught his fancy and he decided to venture into the field. He initially started trading in Labelstocks procured from another pioneer in the field, Kilaru Prasad of Prasad Accumeter Pvt. Ltd., also based in Hyderabad. Prasad, who also had moved to India from USA where he had worked for Accumeter, makers of hotmelt coating equipments, had taken the agency from Accumeter to sell their products in India. He had also installed an 8 inch wide demo hotmelt coating machine in Hyderabad. While trading in Labelstocks, gave Ananth the opportunity to study the market and help him establish, it also helped Prasad to showcase the equipment to prospective customers while he was producing material. In fact they were both complementary to each other. Prasad was successful in selling two more 8inch coaters one to Ananth’s Stayon Papers and another to Klaas Equipment who later sold it to Interlabels. Thereafter Prasad went full time into producing and selling self adhesive labelstocks.
 
The initial years into production, Ananth faced many problems. Though technically he had support from Prasad, yet raw materials were difficult to source due to import restrictions and licensing. Release base paper to this date is imported and even Hotmelt adhesive is imported. He found his cost of production higher than his competitors because he was coating 8 Inches width while other units coming up those days were coating 20 inches. His wastages were higher and volumes were low. In 1991 Ananth found his first success when he got orders to supply labelstocks for state excise labels on liquor in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. As volumes started to swell, it was time for him to move on and expand. In 1994 he decided to integrate backward by investing in a silicone coater and start producing release papers himself, which were outsourced till that point of time. A year later he started to produce Hotmelt pressure sensitive adhesive however presently he outsources most of his requirements of adhesives. In 1998 he felt it was imperative to invest in another wider coater to produce cost effectively. He bought his second hotmelt coater, this time a 20 inch wide equipment. In 2000 to cater to diverse needs of the label market he installed an emulsion adhesive coater. His total coating business now employs a workforce of 40 and operates from premises spread over 50000 square feet. The equipment that they have include two 1.5 meter coaters, 2 one meter adhesive coaters for labelstocks and tapes, three hotmelt adhesive coaters of widths 1 meter, 500mm and the old 200mm coater modified to coat 250mm (10 inch) which is still working alongwith a range of finishing equipments.
 
Ananth now wishes to consolidate his position by investing in modifications on existing machines so as increase coating speeds to achieve economies of scale and to make efforts to reach full capacity utilization. He hopes that in 5 years his company will be double the size of present operations. He loves the industry because it brings him in contact with people from very diverse fields due to labels being used on every product. However he feels bad that the industry is too price sensitive with long credit terms, leaving business exposed to increased risk.
 
Ananth’s wife Sree, is his perfect companion and a homemaker. Both love to socialize and are extremely active in the Hyderabad social circuit. His daughter Sagari is happily married to Arjun, a software engineer based in USA while son Rahul is actively involved in the affairs of Stayon Papers. Ananth does not plan to diversify in other fields and feels on this matter, his son Rahul is free to take a call. His other business interests are in real estate, he also owns a hotel in Hyderabad. He is on the governing body of Hyderabad Race Club and he has been the President of the famous Secunderbad Club. Most evenings Ananth is seen at the club with his eminent friends from the city and industry friends visiting Hyderabad. He loves to make friends, be with friends and look after his friends. No wonder I call him “Gentleman of the Label Industry”
 
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi-110008 December, 2011.

FDI in retail, Government defers it, Industry gives a thumbs-up!

FDI in retail, Government defers it, Industry gives a thumbs-up!
 
While the Manmohan Singh Government has deferred the implementation of their decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in organized multi-brand retail in India, and is still battling it out with its allies and the opposition, I decided to interact with leading players in the Label and Print-Packaging industry to get their views on how this decision will impact their industry and them. The total size of the Indian packaging industry is estimated to be close to 19 Billion US Dollars with a per capita usage of about 15 US Dollars as against the global market size of over 600 Billion Dollars and 100 Dollars per capita usage. The industry continues to grow at a healthy rate of around 17%. With the expected inflow of FDI in retail, this growth is set to get a further boost. The politicians are adamant that the decision will affect their vote banks adversely because they are convinced that the local neighborhood retailer and the farmers will suffer. Contrary to this, the industry leaders are sure that the FDI decision will benefit the farmers with better prices and that the small retailer will stand to be complemented by the presence of organized retailers. They feel, it will drive rapid growth in the packaging industry. . I sent to them a set of questions to answer. I list below the questions and their response. Unanimously they give a “Thumbs Up” to this decision!
 
Question: Do you feel that this will drive in a boom in the label and packaging industry in India?
 



 

Ramesh Kejriwal, Parkson.



 

 

 



 

 

“Definitely!” says Ramesh Kejriwal, Managing Director of Parkson Packaging Ltd. He further adds, “The business will move from unorganized converters to organized ones requiring quality and volumes.” Priyata Raghavan at Sai Security Printers, echoes similar views, “Yes, most definitely! It will drive the demand for packaging not only in volumes but also in quality”.

 

 
 



 

Suresh Gupta PPL



 

 

Suresh Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Paper Products Limited, reiterates, “Modern retail certainly drives modernisation in packaging, i.e. increases demand for quality and standardisation in packaging”. Amar Chhajed, Webtech Labels, one of the largest label printers in the country states, “If FDI in retail becomes a reality, it will give a boost in demand for all kinds of packaging including labels”. Amila Singhvi at International Printo-Pac Ltd. feels that the increase in demand due to FDI in retail will make the industry focus on sustainable packing and shelf ready packs. Viresh Sheth of Kris flexipack is of the opinion that the decision will bring funds and technology to the table. Jigesh Dani of Ahmedabad based Mahrishi Labels is sure that it will create lot of opportunities and improve quality of packaging.

 

 
Question: Will it impact the local packaging industry in a positive manner?
 
India is the worlds’ largest producer of fruits (46 million tons) with a global share of over 10% and second largest producer of vegetables (80 million tons) with a global share of over 15%. In spite these achievements, about 20 to 30% of the produce is lost annually due to lack of adequate infrastructure and less use of modern post harvest technologies. Fresh horticultural produce has limited shelf life ranging from a few hours to few weeks at ambient conditions. Packaging is required not only for food preservation and protection but also for safe transportation of products during storage and handling. FDI is likely to bring in technology in cold chain development, supply chain management and Packaging. The growth in the consumer market due to rapid urbanization has also continued to drive growth in packaging. Small converters have been able to grow substantially due to the opportunities coming their way. With limited existing foreign investment in the packaging sector and the expected boost in demand due to the FDI in retail, packaging companies will also expect foreign investments and alliances. The industry leaders feel that the FDI decision will have a positive impact on the industry.



 

Viresh Sheth Kris Flexipack



 

 

Amar Chhajed feels there is no cause for worry as the Indian packaging industry has upgraded to some extent in recent years. Jigesh Dani comments that it will create competition for local venders however still healthy competition is good. Viresh Sheth believes that it will boost demand and packaging companies need to establish pan national presence to service the retailing giants who are expected to invest. Priyata Raghavan is expecting the larger players, playing a dominant role and lot of international packaging companies joining hands with local converters. Ramesh Kejriwal says, “Yes, the decision will make a positive impact but innovative display values need to be built into packages.”

 

 
Question: Will it bring in that expected billions of dollars?
 
“All major global retailers would like to be present in the growing India market and many will invest. Importantly, in addition to retail footage this will mean investment and training in farm to store logistics infrastructure including cold chains, road-rail-water transport systems, etc. Equally importantly is the fact that standards on nutrition, hygiene and safety in the food chain will be strengthened, and productivity improved.” says Suresh Gupta.



 

Amila Singhvi
IPP



 

 

Amar Chhajed, Webtech



 

 

Amila Singhvi asserts, “FDI will encourage investment in Indian packaging from multinational players which should be good for the sector as a whole.” Amar Chajjed has expressed thoughtfully, “The first few years will surely see a major inflow of dollars being invested by global retailers to setup stores as well as backend infrastructure. The potential for retail is so huge and untapped in India that it would be a big window of opportunity for most global retailers who are currently experiencing downfall or stagnancy in the developed economies. What needs to be seen is whether this retail boom also translates in boosting the overall manufacturing sector for locally produced goods.” Ramesh Kejriwal is sure that the investment will come. Priyata is not sure if the billions will come however she says, demand will peak before leveling out.

 

 
Question: How is the industry geared up to meet this demand?
 



 

Priyata Raghavan, Sai Security



 

 

“Not really!” says Ramesh Kejriwal “most converters are still using low-end technologies with lot of manual work”. Viresh agrees that the supplier has to be well equipped in terms of technology, quality and presence. Priyata feels that capacity and quality parameters need to be ramped up but good quality of raw materials like paper and board will be a bottleneck for growth. Suresh Gupta is sure that the industry is prepared to scale up to meet the demand as it arises.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Question: Will innovations in packaging become more evident?
 
“Absolutely!” Says Ramesh Kejriwal. Jigesh Dani is confident that new and innovative ideas will come to shop shelves. Suresh Gupta asserts, “Modern retail formats will certainly drive innovation!” Amila Singhvi says, “Packaging will evolve, we expect to see more of shelf-ready packaging, dispensing options and multi-packs suitable for retail stores.” Viresh agrees, “Packaging being the first handshake with the consumer it will have a significant role in order to break this clutter. This will call for more innovative designs and material”
 



 

Bhavin Kothari, Interlabels



 

 

It is really interesting to see and realize the confidence of these leading personalities in the field of labels and packaging. Some of these people have grown from a stage where they were just very small start-up ventures and are now large by any standards. The kind of investments that they continue to make has paved the way forward for the Indian packaging industry. The summing up comments of some of them made are quite interesting. Amar Chhajed, “I genuinely believe that the Indian packaging industry has a great future and it must believe in itself. Focusing on Innovation, Value creation and Quality, we can excel against almost anyone in the world.” Jigesh Dani, “Off course as a nation India is emerging very strong and one must not doubt the self sufficiency but if you want it to grow and come out of the shadow, this is welcome step.” Bhavin Kothari of Interlabels, India’s largest label manufacturing company gave interesting comments, “It is very unfortunate that the politicians want not to understand the correct picture. Direct investment in organised retail by the largest corporate houses in India already exists, Tata’s (82billion USD), Reliance (60billion USD), and Aditya Birla (35billion USD). So just because the color of money is different, it is ridiculous to assume there will be problems. The large Indian corporate houses will learn the ropes in matter of time. Further so if any decimation of the ‘kirana’ store is to happen (which I believe will never happen) it will happen without FDI”. Suresh Gupta, “Modern retails will certainly gain market share very fast as it drives much needed modernisation of the retail sector. However, the kirana store will remain the "backbone" of the retail sector, and the Indian consumer will benefit greatly from the "jugalbandi"(duet) between the two formats. Whatever benefits the consumer will benefit the packaging industry” Viresh Sheth, “This will also directly spur infusion of fresh CAPEX (capital expenditure) and high-end technological innovations”



 

 

Gautham Pai, Manipal
Tecnologies Ltd.



 

 

Gautham Pai, Executive Director of Manipal technologies says," FDI in multi brand retail , in my opinion that is good for the country . The investments in infrastructure , supply chain and technology are long over due .I believe consumers will benefit from a quality , verity and experience perspective . Vendors will benefit from direct sales and efficiency/transparency in the system . Large numbers of jobs will be created . Middle men will suffer . Will boost packaging sector in a big way".

 

 
 



 

Saket Kanoria, TCPL



 

 

Finally to sum it all I got the views of Saket Kanoria, Managing Director of TCPL, “I feel that should FDI in multi brand retail happen, and am sure it will at some point, it will certainly open up lots of doors and opportunities to a host of smaller suppliers who will get access to international chains and give them the potential to scale, as well as export. I think that the political opposition notwithstanding it will be very good for India, consumers and the economy in the long run.” The industry surely has given their thumbs-up for the decision to allow FDI in multi brand retail!

 

 
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi. December 2011

Indians, busy at Labelexpo Europe 2011

Indians, busy at Labelexpo Europe 2011
 

Indians, busy at Labelexpo Europe 2011

 
 
 
Six years ago in 2005 when Weldon Celloplast Limited exhibited at Labelexpo in Brussels, they were the only one Indian exhibitor at the show. Indian visitors at that show were in quite a few numbers but looked more like tourists using Labelexpo as a reason to travel to Europe. They were visible walking around leisurely in the walkways more like window shopping with casual interests. They would drop by at some stands, make enquiries and then move on. Neither were they taken seriously by the high profile exhibitors displaying their expensive equipments nor were they sure of their expansion plans. The world attention was getting to be more concentrated on this huge market with a growing young and literate workforce creating high demand for consumer products. The Indian label market was obviously heading for phenomenal growth. Six years down the lane a lot has changed. Indian label printers have become a confident lot as they are more focused and sure of the path that they wish to traverse in an effort to meet the growing and exacting demands for labels. From a mere one Indian exhibitor in 2005, the 2011 show opened on 28th September 2011, as the largest label show on earth with fourteen Indian exhibitors, up from four in the previous show in 2009. As for the visitors, the Indian label printers have become a sought after segment for the exhibitors. These printers are now transformed into committed buyers, they are seen as business persons with firm plans to empower their companies with the latest printing technologies available anywhere. Instead of being seen as window shoppers in the walkways they were now engaged in serious discussions in the stands of leading material, toolings and equipment manufacturers. No wonder then that a gentleman walked up to me at the exhibition to say, “Not many Indians this time!” I could not answer immediately as at that time even I was wondering why. Earlier this year on the 5th of January 2011 I had predicted and tweeted on twitter, “Labelexpo Brussels will probably see the biggest number of Indian visitors. Indicates high growth in narrow-web label segment. My prediction!”. I started to look around to evaluate the situation myself. I was pleasantly surprised that the Indians, though not visible walking around, they were short of time to cover the most. They were in deep engrossing technical discussion at various stands across the show, meeting prospective suppliers of materials, toolings and equipments. My prediction made at the beginning of this year was true and had become a reality. Michael Hatton, Marketing Director- Labelexpo confirmed to me that in 2009 there were 338 Indian visitors and this figure had swelled to 429 at Labelexpo Europe 2011. There were more Indians then before and the reason that they were not visible waking around is, “They were busy at Labelexpo Europe 2011”.
 
True to the claim that Roger Pellow and his team made in the pre-show promos, Labelexpo Europe 2011 held from 28th September- 1st October 2011 at Brussels, was the biggest and most successful labelshow in the world till date. The show reported 28636 visitors from 118 countries which is an 18.6% increase over the previous show. The number of exhibitors grew from 544 to 550. It indeed was the largest show in the history of this 30 year old Labelexpo. Adding to the success is the fact that over 81% of the space for next Labelexpo is already booked. The Labelexpo team has been continuously innovating to bring value to visitors patronizing this prestigious show. Besides ensuring a huge number of working presses and equipments, new features like the Digital Printshop and the Package Printing Zone are endeavors to expand the horizon and vision of label printing companies. Most of the exhibitors to the show appeared to be satisfied with the results however some of the exhibitors in Hall 12 felt that due to the sheer size of this growing event and the increasing number of exhibitors, enough visitors did not reach them in the numbers that they were seen in first few halls. For this reason there is a strong debate that the show should be extended for one more day in future. Some exhibitors also aired the view that the venue should be moved to another location in Europe. Personally I feel such specialized events are linked to particular venues and cities and moving them may become counter-productive. Anyway it is for the organizers to decide but as for now the next Labelexpo will still be at Brussels.
 
Roger Pellow & Jade Grace of Labelexpo Group
with Raul Sylvestre of Lartec
End of the show quotes are an important part of any show and indicates the level of success it has achieved. Many exhibitors have expressed their satisfaction at the show. Jakob Landsberg of Nilpeter expressed, “Labelexpo Europe 2011 was more successful than we dared to hope for. In the current financial climate, our industry looks forward more optimistically than the rest of the world” UPM’s representative echoed similar views, ”Despite the challenging economic situation surrounding Europe these days, Labelexpo Europe 2011 nevertheless brought out the collective drive and enthusiasm in the industry. We saw plenty of people poised to push the label to the limit and we liked that!” Gavin Jones, Tectonic International Ltd said: “Labelexpo Europe is always a great shop front for our range of products and this year was no exception!” Cristina Toffolo of Gidue reports success with their innovative product range. In words of Jason Oliver Sales Director, EFI, “I’d simply say that we at EFI Jetrion were completely overwhelmed by the show.” It was heartening to see Ranesh Bajaj of Creed Engineers and Pawandeep Sahni of Weldon proudly beaming when Rotatek and Omet put up the signs on the presses displayed at their stand as sold to their customers in India. Rotatek was sold to Update Prints in New Delhi and two Omets were sold, one to Unique offset Mumbai and the second to Arunodaya Hyderabad. Other press suppliers may also have finalized deals for India but they did not respond to my email requesting information. Leading press manufacturers like Gallus, Mark Andy, Omet, MPS, Edale, Delta Industrial, Orthotec, etc had well attended stands and all felt that the show delivered the desired results. Ajay Mehta of SMI, the leading Indian Labelstock manufacturer is overwhelmed by the quality of visitors at his stand, he felt it was the right platform for his company to find recognition in the international markets. Young KD Sahni at Weldon feels his new and innovative security label products could not have found a more appropriate event to showcase. Amit Ahuja, the only Indian label press manufacturers to have ever exhibited with a working press at Labelexpo, was very busy for the entire duration of the show and carries home a whole lot of leads to work on. The press on display has been sold to a customer in Moscow, Russia. Indian label film manufacturers Cosmo films and Polyplex too reported a steady stream of visitors.
 

Kurt Walker, President-Finat
 Finat, the international association of the self adhesive label industry has played an important part in the success of Labelexpo. This event also marked the 20th year of partnership with this event organizer. In words of Kurt Walker President Finat, “ In all respects, this has been the best show ever” Jules Lejuene Managing Director Finat concludes, “The Finat booth saw hectic activity and was the meeting point for many luminaries of this industry”.












 
The Global label awards function and gala dinner, held on the sidelines of Labelexpo was a grand event before an audience of 550, the awards celebrate and honor those who promote best practice in the label industry. Some of the label industry’s leading companies and individuals were recognized for their outstanding contribution to the sector as the winners of this year’s Label Industry Global Awards.







Mike Fairley, Helmut Schreiner and
Dean Scarborough CEO Avery Dennison
  Helmut Schreiner, executive manager/owner of the Schreiner Group, was given the R. Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Avery Dennison. The Label Industry Award for Continuous Innovation – sponsored by Labels & Labeling, NarroWebTech and Label & Narrow Web – was presented to Brazil's Novelprint. EskoArtwork triumphed in the Label Industry Award for New Innovation category which is designed to underline technological advances made in the previous year. A host of other winners were also awarded at the function which was interspaced with good entertainment followed by a great dinner. Dean Scarborough, CEO of Avery and Mike Fairley were an important part of the deliberations at this function.
 

The LMAI Team
 The Indian Label industry was well represented at this exhibition. Leading the industry’s presence was the Label Manufacturers association of India(LMAI), President Vivek Kapoor. Most of the members of his team were also in Brussels for the event. Vivek and his team have created a very positive atmosphere in the association. The recent events like the GOA conference has brought unity in the industry and instilled a sense of camaraderie. Normally at the previous labelexpo’s I noticed that Indian printers would pass by their counterparts in the Indian industry in the walkways by giving a symbolic nod or a smile. This time around the bonding was evident, you could see the Indian printers standing in small groups discussing what was good and must-see at the show. These small and important get-togethers helped them reach their target exhibitors without wasting time. Printers from across the length and breadth of India were seen moving around. If it was Update Prints, Anygraphics, Zircon and Prakash Labels from North India, the west had an entourage from Creative labels, Renault paper, Webtech, Interlabels, PPL, Total print, Ajanta, Unique, Mahrishi Labels and many more. South Indians were also present in substantial no.s, Wintek, SGRE and Global from Bangalore, ITC from Chennai, Pragati and Arunodaya from Hyderabad, Raveendran from Sivakasi and so on. The list is long. This pan national representation conveyed the seriousness and firm resolve of the label industry in India to take the growth challenge head-on. These printers are now more than willing to invest, expand, innovate and globalize. They are shopping for the best equipment from presses to inspection systems, no wonder they were busy at Labelexpo.
 
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi. October 2011

Packaging Grows as India Grows!

Packaging Grows as India Grows!
I have always been of the opinion, “it is the package that sells!” Every manufacturer of consumer goods realizes that good quality is imperative for long term success of the product. However it is an immediate and important need to first tempt the shopper to impulsively lift the product from the shop shelf. For this the manufacturers have to rely on the package design. The consumers get to experience the contents of the package only when they have reached the confines of their homes. It is another issue that repeat sale will happen when the customers find the product contents are meeting with their satisfaction. Thus it is necessary that a good product is packaged in an attractive and effective packaging. With the urbanized Indian consumer’s style of shopping undergoing a sea change from visiting traditional shops for buying goods to patronizing organized retail vends in air-conditioned ambience, packaging is getting the attention it should.
 
 
The current economic scenario and changing lifestyles in India are attracting the interest of many around the world. By the latest count, the Indian population crossed the figure of 1.20 billion people. In the last decade the addition to the population has been 181 million people, almost near to the total population of Brazil, the fifth most populous country in the world! India accounts for 17.5% of the world’s population. The Indian economy is growing rapidly, registering an 8.5 % growth in GDP. It is second most favored country for foreign direct investment (FDI) attracting an investment of US$ 25.9 billion in 2009-2010. Foreign exchange reserves have reached a figure exceeding US$ 276 billion. According to a report by McKinsey, the economy will grow five fold in 20 years. India is the biggest democracy in the world with a large English speaking population of which 64.8% is literate leading to a bulging middle class segment. Couple this with the fact that 64% of all the people in the country are in the workable age group of 15-59 years and 54% of the population is under the age of 25 years. This huge number of over 600 million young people will be getting education, working hard and earning more to spend more. It is obvious that retail spending in India is poised to grow exponentially.
 
According to the report, “Strong & Steady, 2011” Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), India’s retailing sector currently estimated at US$ 500 billion is expected to grow to US$ 900 Billion by 2014. According to some reports, in two years retail real estate stock in India will become double, from approx. 50 million square feet to almost 100 million square feet. The Indian retail industry is the fifth largest in the world and is growing at a fast pace. Rapid urbanization and higher spending power of a young generation are factors contributing to this amazing growth. It is interesting to note that due to the changes taking place, the large number of working women in an otherwise traditionally conservative society, are also responsible for this growth in spending. Retailing in the country is still at a nascent stage and it will be some time before it becomes the predominant and accepted way of selling across the nation. Most of the Indian consumers are used to the idea of visiting the traditional neighborhood stores for their needs. The shop owner is virtually the pushing salesperson for the brands that provide him better margins. As organized retailing becomes more and more acceptable, shoppers are experiencing the difference. There is a wide variety of products lying on the shop shelves yearning for their attention. The persistent shop owner pushing particular brands is missing. At this point in time the printed package is of prime importance. Innovative packaging tempts the shopper to reach for the product.
 
The highly fragmented Indian packaging industry is spread evenly across the length and breadth of India. The total industry size is estimated at US$ 19 billion as against the global market of US$500 million. The per capita usage of packaging in India is small at US$ 15.00 per person as compared to a global average of US$ 100.00. This does indicate the potential for growth in this market. According to Indian Institute of Packaging, the packaging industry in India is growing at a rate in excess of 15% per annum. However some industry experts express that the growth is much higher at 20-22%. Food and beverage account for 85% of packaging materials consumed in India, Pharmaceuticals 10% and balance 5% is other industries. Close to 50% of all the packaging materials used is converted into the printed packages, flexible packaging accounts for 22%, printed cartons 17%, Labels 3% and others about 8%. The rest of the 50% materials are accounted for by rigid packaging, metal, glass, caps/closures and others. The printed cartons and labels have been largely printed and converted by the offset printers employing various die-cutting, converting and decorating operations offline. The offset printing industry is well established in the country and has spread all over. This segment attracts continuous investment, expansion and up gradation. Self adhesive labels remain the forte and specialization of the narrow web label printers, who continue to grow, expand and technically upgrade steadily. In this segment the technology changed from letterpress printing process to flexographic printing and further on to combination printing using various printing and converting processes online with their narrow web presses. These include flexo, offset, screen, hot foiling, cold foiling, etc. Flexible packaging and Shrink sleeves are other segments of package printing that have attained a big market size owing to a steady 17% growth rate in recent years. The industry in these segments has been employing only the rotogravure printing in their manufacturing programme. The rotogravure printing industry is also well established and growing in India. It is the preferred technology for converting on wide web presses, providing economies of scale with high production speeds. Of late due to the need for shorter runs, faster deliveries and multi-process converting, the narrow web press suppliers are going wider to mid web presses with advanced multi process capabilities and offering these equipments to printers. These are high end presses that empower the printer to print and convert labels, folding cartons, shrink sleeves and flexible packing inline on the same press. It is just a matter of time when we shall see a paradigm shift in this direction.
 
As for the materials, with growth in the food and beverage industry the demand for specialized films and film laminates has escalated. In recent times due to environmental concerns the Indian authorities have restricted the use of plastics in certain large volume food packaging. The directive to use bio-degradable substrates has initiated a need to develop paper based substrates that will fill the void that this restriction has created. While the market for special films will continue to grow, social responsibility commitment towards a safer environment will lead the packaging industry to look for new and safer arenas. Waste management and recycling are also issues that need the converters attention. Producing a great package may bring in a lot of success but the effort to reduce the impact of packaging waste on earth, will bring satisfaction.
 
Written for the innaugral issue of Package Print Worldwid (PPW) magazine launched by Tarsus group at Labelexpo-Euroe 2011, Brussels, Belgium. by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi India 19th June 2011

Winning awards for excellence in printing, a way of life!

Winning awards for excellence in printing, a way of life!
 
He has reached the pinnacle! Having lead his company Pragati Offset Hyderabad, to unprecedented success, he does not regret that a 12 hour work schedule from 8.30 am to 8.30 pm leaves him no time to socialize. That is the price that he paid for his indulgence in his business. He is happy that God has compensated this adequately by giving him the pleasure of coming back home each evening to a wonderful family where four generations from his father to his grandchildren, live together in perfect tradition of love, harmony and simplicity. Paruchuri Narendra is the driving force behind Pragati Offset, a company founded by his father Paruchuri Hanumantha Rao.
 
 
On the 1st of September 1962, Hanumanth Rao who after completing his BA Hons. (philosophy), a short stint as a journalist with Visala Andhra and five years as manager of Sarathi Cine Studios also doing small roles in films out of which some even with the late N T RamaRao, set up a small printing press with one treadle press and three workers. The three men that he employed were a binder, a composer and a machine man. Surprising as it may sound two of these men are still associated with is company even after almost 50 years, though only in advisory capacity.


Hanumantha Rao

Hanumantha Rao had some basic knowledge of printing from his time spent at printing detective novels written by his friend Narayana Rao in Chennai. Also he was a quick learner and does not shy from saying that he learnt and grasped well from his otherwise trained workers. He fondly remembers the first job he printed was a folder with Ganesha on it! The first big order that came his way was the 1973 voters list. Thereafter it was always the way ahead to be traversed and soon he bought his first offset press, a second hand single colour OM-4 Russian Offset Press. He vowed to be a quality producer and set standards that would be the way forward for his company. The foundation had been laid and the journey into excellence in printing had begun. It was time to induct more working hands in this business.
 
Narendra, Hanumanth Rao’s elder son had studied to be a chemical engineer from the University of Mysore specializing in precious metal plating for the watch and electronic industry. On completing education he took up a job in a metal finishing company in Bangalore to get work experience. He was not very happy in that job, he wanted to start a metal finishing unit on his own and moreover his wife Sasikala, a doctor was pursuing higher studies in Hyderabad. Having no money to start on his own, Narendra started to look around for other avenues. At that point of time he requested his father to show him some other successful printing press. Once he had evaluated the printing business, Narendra gave up his plans to pursue the plating business and finally joined his family business in 1978. There has been no looking back ever since. A turning point in the journey of this enterprise came when they bought a photocomposing machine, which was the first one that any company bought in south India besides the printers of the daily south Indian newspaper, “Hindu”. Composing, until that time used to be the biggest of bottle necks in their business, given the short runs that they were doing for customers. This installation brought all the advertising agencies in the city to their doorstep. With this came a windfall of orders and it was time to expand yet again. They decided to buy a new single colour Dominant press. Those days licenses were required to import and Narendra’s father fondly remembers that the day his grandson Harsh was born, they applied for the license. In 1985 Pragati acquired their first four colour offset press but they were formally considered big league when in 1991 they announced the installation of a Komori Lithrone 5 colour 40” press to be inaugurated by Mr. Kasturi, the owner of “Hindu”. Pragati was now into printing of posters, catalogues and other commercial printing jobs. They continued to expand and grow thereafter also making their foray into folding cartons. In 2006 Narendra and his team saw the potential and growth in labels. This made them to decide making investment in that area as well. As they had already ventured into producing cartons for some large customers this label business was in synergy with what they were doing and was witnessing a high rate of growth. The present level of operations at Pragati, have come a long way from the time that they installed their first treadle press with just three workers. They employ almost 700 people and operate out of 2,30,000 square feet of production area spread over at various premises in and around Hyderabad. Everything from pre-press to post-press is done in house. The infrastructure besides other equipment comprises of twelve offset presses, two MPS label presses, one Nilpeter Label press and the latest acquisition, Omet Varyflex the in line folding carton press. When asked about the new investment in Omet Varyflex, the first one of its kind in India, Narendra says, “It was a wish to do all operations in-line rather then moving jobs from one equipment to another, carton making involves too many offline operations”. Luckily they had gained experience in flexographic printing from their indulgence in labels, offset was already their forte and they were also producing cartons, so it was easy for them to integrate the technologies comfortably on the Varyflex.
 
The ethics, values, commitments and team spirit instilled in the entire Paruchuri family are amazing. Their involvement in their business is total. In his endeavour to sustain the high level of competence and growth, Narendra is supported by his brother Mahendra who apart from keeping the machine in ship shape, shares the management hat. Harsh his elder son who is a printing engineer and an alumni of the prestigious Rochester institute having specialized in printing technologies and Hemanth his younger son also a mechanical engineer from Purdue are heading the labels division. Of course the towering personality of P Hanumantha Rao is also there to support them, he still spends some time in the press before moving on with his involvement in social and charitable work. His social work has had the family actively contributing to the society by helping in constructing a community hall, an old age home and providing scholarships to needy students. Narendra’s wife Sasikala is a doctor specializing in laparoscopic surgery. She also does her bit to give back to the society. For the past 18 years she has been running a free clinic, Pragati Public Charitable Trust, every Thursday at village Mokila, some 30 km from Hyderabad. The clinic has almost 18,000 registered patients as of date. Her daughter in law, Shruti (Harsh’s wife), even though she has two school going children contributes her might. Besides being the perfect hostess at home to special guests she also helps out in the purchase department of Pragati. Truly a committed family with three generations actively involved in business and the fourth generation growing up to gather the reigns, eventually.
 

The Pragati team receiving the Sappi Elephant award
for excellence in printing.

Narendra is a tireless work-alcohalic. While he follows a 12 hours work regime from 8.30 to 8.30 yet he says that I am available for my team at least up to 10 pm. No wonder that the company reports 12%-15% annual growth in the offset segment and 25%-30% annual growth in the packaging segment that includes labels. He strongly feels that the MIS system implemented in 1992 helped fuel this growth. When asked about his plans and projections in the next five years. He is very clear in his thought, says that the company’s resolve to excel in print quality and deliver value to customers since inception has made it possible for it to become a zero debt company which continues to grow. The inertia of growth levels already achieved and the opportunities as and when they emanate, will automatically drive us into continuous expansion in the times to come. In his leadership, Pragati has been the recipient of many international awards for print excellence. Topping the long list of awards they won is the Sappi Elephant award for excellence in printing in 2006, 2008 and 2010. In 2010 Narendra wanted his father to receive the award personally. Since his father was not fit to travel, the organizers, as a befitting mark of respect to the founder of this press, P Hanumantha Rao came all the way to Hyderabad to honour him. The three generations of this family are not resting on their laurels, they strive hard to retain the saga at Pragati, “Winning awards for print excellence, is a way of life!”
 
Written by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi August 2011