Xeikon has appointed Klaus Nielsen as Director Xeikon Asia Pacific to continue to drive growth in the region and capitalize on expanding market opportunities. In his new role, Nielsen will oversee Xeikon’s ongoing growth in the APAC region (Greater China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand).
This appointment enables Xeikon to manage the fast moving growth and demand in this region for greater brand creativity and consistency with its broad portfolio of versatile and innovative print production capabilities. Nielsen will also build on existing successful partnerships and seek to establish additional collaborations.
Nielsen joins Xeikon from Heidelberg where, since 1996, he held various roles including business unit manager (India), project manager (Australia), national sales manager (New Zealand) and product and marketing director (Korea). He also held the role of managing director in India from 2007 to 2018.
“I am looking forward to sharing my years of experience from working in this very exciting region and promoting the benefits that Xeikon’s digital print portfolio can deliver. As brands embrace short-run, digital, fast turnaround print, they can enjoy greater product versioning and focused targeting to elevate visibility,” said Nielsen.
“We are delighted to welcome Klaus into his new role where he will continue to drive growth in this buoyant market. With his wealth of experience and years of knowledge, he is perfectly placed to support the regional demand for brand integrity and consistency. Xeikon’s portfolio enables enhanced packaging print production capabilities, greater versioning for languages, legislation and product options. It also helps deliver flexibility, quality and creativity while addressing developing trends,” said Benoit Chatelard, president and chief executive officer, Xeikon.
Packaging South Asia — resilient, growing and impactful — daily, monthly — always responsive
The multi-channel B2B in print and digital 17-year-old platform matches the industry’s growth trajectory. The Indian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Middle East packaging industries are looking beyond the resilience of the past three years. They are resuming capacity expansion and diversification, with high technology and automation in new plants and projects.
As we present our 2024 publishing plan, India’s real GDP growth for the financial year ending 31 March 2024 will exceed 6%. The packaging industry growth will match the GDP growth in volume terms and surpass it by at least 3% in terms of nominal growth allowing for price inflation in energy, raw materials, consumables, and capital equipment.
The capacity for flexible film manufacturing in India increased by 45% over the past four years. With orders in place, we expect another 20% capacity addition in 2024 and 2025. Capacities in monocartons, corrugation, aseptic liquid packaging, and labels are grown similarly. As the consumption story returns over the next six months, we expect demand to return and exceed the growth trajectory of previous years. The numbers are positive for most of the economies in the region – and as shown by our analytics, our platform increasingly reaches and influences these.
For responsible and sustainable packaging, with its attendant regulations and compliances, there is significant headroom to grow in India and the region. Our coverage includes the entire packaging supply chain – from concept to shelf and to waste collection, sorting, and recycling.
We target brand owners, product managers, raw material suppliers, packaging designers and converters, and recyclers. This is a large and complex canvas – the only thing that can work is your agile thinking and innovation together with our continuous learning and persistence.
The coming year looks to be an up year in this region, and this is the right time to plan your participation and marketing communication – in our rich and highly targeted business platform with human resources on the ground. Share your thoughts and plans and to inspire and mobilize our editorial and advertising teams!
