The Printpack India exhibition opened on 1 February morning at the Greater Noida Expo with the usual fanfare and great expectations, both from the show and the union budget announced by the finance minister. Many of the more than 550 to 600 exhibitors have taken larger stands, which has meant a huge pressure on the site, necessitating temporary structures housing running machines among the 17 Halls at the show.
Nevertheless, to their credit, both Heidelberg and HP demonstrated running presses in Hall 17 right from the start of the show on the morning of the first day. Many other running machines were also at the show, including the new Monotech Knowzzlejet digital color press and several Indian-manufactured label presses that have taken the global market by storm in the past couple of years.
Judging from the senior printers and converters one encountered on the first day, it seems that the show will build up over the coming days into a highly successful event. While several packaging and label CEOs from the Delhi NCR were visible at familiar stands looking for particular technologies and machines to round out their workflows, contingents from cities such as Pune were in evidence. Exhibitors are expecting a strong showing of visitors especially from South and West India on Sunday, which is the second day of the show.
Katsura India joint-venture starts up for rubber rollers
Among the key developments at the show is the strong presence at the Provin stand in Hall 9 of Provin’s joint venture with Katsura Japan for the production of globally standardized rubber rollers in their new factory in Faridabad. The Katsura India joint venture plant will manufacture and re-manufacture rubber rollers for presses from all the major OEMs. Currently first batch of rubber rollers produced are undergoing testing and trials under the supervision of the Japanese team, with deliveries expected to start in the second half of February.
The optimism of the global offset press suppliers that we have spoken with over the past weeks, and those at the show including Heidelberg, Komori, Manroland Sheetfed, and RMGT who have brought many of their teams from various locations to the show, there is a keenness to take the conversations to the next level. This is a very competitive show and the global suppliers are especially sensitive to their customer’s needs for reliability and efficiency, with a considerable part of the demonstrations and discussions focusing on their servicing capabilities and the supply of spare parts at a ‘fair price.’
With the high prices of these machines, the suppliers are no longer merely implying that their machines are superior. For instance, they are aware of the stiff competition in the Indian packaging and book printing markets and are keen to explain how they can contribute to their customer’s success.
The wide aisles at the show have helped to make the show feel less crowded despite it being well-attended. This is welcome in maintaining the calm general tenor and tone of the event. It reflects a confident and growing industry that may be extremely diverse and fragmented and one that is still experiencing a recovery from the heady growth of the pre-pandemic years. At Printpack India, there is no doubt that the leading suppliers are counting on this market and are talking to experienced buyers who have a good understanding of modern technologies and are willing to invest to produce the highest quality with the greatest cost efficiencies.
