L-R: Bent Serritslev (Xeikon’s
managing director Asia Pacific),
Rajeev Chhatwal (partner Kwality
Offset Printers India), Krish Chhatwal
(partner Kwality Offset Printers
India) & Neeraj Jagga (Xeikon’s sales
channel manager Asia Pacific)
In January of this year, leading Indian label manufacturer Kwality Offset Printers installed the Xeikon 3030 Plus digital label press shown at Labelexpo India 2016 a couple of months earlier. The New Delhi offset and flexo printer supplies labels to FMCG companies, including liquor, food and healthcare. Among its clients are brands such as Pernod Ricard, Nestle, Radico Khaitan, GlaxoSmithKline, Dabur, Heinz, Wrigleys, Perfetti, Cargill and the DS Group. Run lengths for these customers are beginning to vary greatly which is what prompted the investment, explains owner Rajeev Chhatwal: “We are seeing a number of flexo jobs that are 1,000 meters, 2,000 meters and even as low as 500 meters in length. These take up a significant amount of time with conventional production technologies. By moving these jobs to digital production, we are able to free up production on our flexo and litho presses for the longer runs for which they are better suited.” Chhatwal appreciates there will be a learning curve for the company as it enters the digital production realm but is confident that the Xeikon label press will lead to the significant addition of high value customers. The Xeikon 3030 Plus Label Press has a variable web width of 200 mm up to 330 mm. It runs at a resolution of1200 dpi at a top speed of 15 meters a minute and handles substrates without specific pre-treatment. It emits no VOCs and has high light-fastness. The new press will be installed by Kwality Offset Printers at the end of the year.
Kwality Offset installs India’s first AB Graphic Digicon 3 for label finishing
Digicon series 3 digital printing machine
Kwality Offset Printers recently added India’s first AB Graphic Digicon 3 finishing machine to complement the Xeikon 3030 plus digital label press. Sold by Vinsak, the Digicon 3 has maximum web width of 330 mm and minimum web width of 200 mm and runs at a speed of 150 meters per minute. The unit is made up of two flexo units, one die-cutting station, hot foiling, cold foiling, embossing, varnish, lamination, waste rewinder, unwinder and three UV systems.
“We want to explore the label market for luxury products such as wine or cosmetic labeling. To pursue that we had explored many options but we stuck to Digicon 3 due to its advanced finishing capabilities,” says Rajeev Chatwal, director at Kwality Offset Printers.
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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!
