Noida-based Creative Graphics, a provider of flexographic printing plates in India for over two decades, has expanded to an international facility in Oman, its first foreign outing after a slew of nine domestic facilities in Noida, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Baddi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Pune. The new facility serves the entire MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, including UAE, Jordan, and North African countries.
Going by the Arabic name of Alrasm, which means Creative Graphics in English, the new facility in Muscat is a 100% subsidiary. Right now, the company has tied up with companies such as Dupont, Miraclon, and XSYS and buys the material directly from there. “So, there is no need to import anything,” managing director Deepanshu Goel said.
Alrasm is equipped with an Esko CDI Spark, a Glunz & Jensen 5080, a Miraclon Flexcel NX wide 4260 system, along with a plate cutting table from Kongsberg and equipment from Kodak. Goel said the best flexo plate designing software will be used at the facility.
A team from India, headed by Shrey Gupta, will take care of the Oman operations. Everything manufactured in Creative Graphics in India will be manufactured in Oman, including digital flexo plates for corrugated boxes, labels, flexibles, paperbags, to every kind of flexo plates.
Goel said they noticed a growing demand for quality flexo plates in Oman and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries. “There is definitely a gap in demand and supply, and we will capitalize on it. “We can export to African, GCC and MENA countries,” he said, adding, “We will take advantage of the proximity to those countries now.”
The idea is to provide customers a qualitative change in printing, and a differentiation in the service, which would definitely add value to our business, he said.
“We have been exporting plates to different areas. So a facility there enables us to lower the gestation period for delivery, and gives the printer confidence that the plate will be delivered in time,” he said. “In our business, service and quality are non-negotiable.”
On choosing Oman, Goel said, “As an entrepreneur, I look for a headstart, and a place where there is demand. A few customers invited us there, and we found an opportunity. Going to a new place and trying to find a customer is a difficult process. But in our case, we had customers inviting us, which gave us a clear advantage.”
“The idea is not to show on paper that we are going global. The idea is to generate business, capitalize on the latent demand, and understand the demand-supply gap. We look at it as a strategic investment in Oman, where there is not a single quality processor of these kinds of flexographic plates,” he said.
Talking about the financial benefits for international customers from the facility, Goel said they will save on transportation costs and import duties. “The transportation cost is huge. So is the import cost when we send it from India, as they have to pay duty on the whole consignment. But now, the duty is only on the raw material. Conversion cost is not being charged. So, there is definitely some cost reduction. Let’s see how we proceed and if we can transfer that cost to the customers.”
The third benefit is loss of time as it takes 10 to 15 days for an item to reach different regions, which translates into revenue loss, Goel said.
The Oman facility will begin with 20-30% capacity utilization. “We will try to grow, but slowly. Once fully equipped, confident and happy with our quality and service, we will go ahead slowly and steadily,” Goel said.
A lot of packaging exhibitions take place in the MENA region, such as Saudi Print & Pack, Pacprocess MEA, Oman Plast, OMEX (Oman Processing, Packaging and Material Handling), JOPEX (Jordan Packaging Exhibition), Jordan Print & Pack Expo, ProPak MENA, Print2Pack Egypt, Gulf Print & Pack, and ProPak Africa. “My team is trying to find out the best exhibition and do a cost analysis, and make an announcement soon,” Goel said.
On the role of exhibitions in making a dent in a new region, Goel said, “We are a new player and don’t know many people. When you go to these kinds of exhibitions and seminars, you meet new clients. You also see known faces. So, there is always an advantage of meeting new people, trying to grab new thought processes, and knowing what is new. There is always a take-home value, whether it’s direct or indirect.”
“The people of Oman are really nice. They want their country to grow and have foreign investment. So they helped us out. Even the government officers have been welcoming. The process has been very smooth,” Goel said. There were some operational challenges, which are present in any country.
Creative Graphics is trying to take on new endeavors, Goel said, adding, “We just try to stretch ourselves, going over the comfort zone, trying to test different waters.”
New generation in business
Goel’s son Tanul Goel recently joined the family business. “The new generation has more aspirations and innovative ideas. We hope they will bring more value, innovation, and energy to the company. These are welcome as we try to climb into the next orbit with the new generation and energy,” he said. “Tanul is in the learning phase, trying to study the market and understand the business before making any move,” Goel concluded.
