“Labelexpo-India 2012, was an amazing and
vibrant show. One stroll around, left visitors in awe! The quality of the
spread, ambience, and the diverse offerings from a global list of renowned
suppliers of materials, toolings, equipments and printing presses made it a
wholesome treat for the label printing fraternity. Truly a show, that was the
best Labelexpo in India so far”
In these few words I summed up my
comments on the recently concluded Labelexpo India. It is a show that has
gradually grown to a standard that was missing in the previous editions. One
could hear the visitors expressing satisfaction at the quality of the exhibits.
As many as 20 label presses were working at the show and were catering to the
needs of a multitude of printers from various segments. There were those who
looked for the state of art high-end expensive equipment and there were also those
whose who had smaller budgets and wished to buy value in what they could
afford. The show offered options to all. I would like to commend the organisers
for the diverse mix of focused exhibitors at the show, such that it did
certainly contribute to the vow factor. The layout was well spread and the
warmth of the label industry's fellowship emanated a great feeling of
comradeship. Even the founder of this show Anil Arora commented, "It is a
very good show" Anil and his wife Neetu founded this show as India Label Show
and later, UK based Tarsus acquired it in 2007. While the 2008 show in the
aftermath of Mumbai terror attack was held as India Label Show, in 2010 edition
they renamed the show as Labelexpo-India. The 2008 show was held at the onset
of the economic slowdown yet it did pull through well. In the 2010 show, the
euphoria did buildup well as the slowdown was tapering off and now in 2012 it
has reached a pinnacle with the markets expanding and consumerism on the rise.
The Labelexpo-India has become an important marketplace for the label industry
in India and South East Asia where printers converge to witness and check on
their imperative needs to aid their expansion plans at one place. The quality
of exhibits was excellent and we can expect the show to be bigger and better in
times to come. The Tarsus team was well synchronized and did their work in an
efficient manner without any serious snarls which are normal at busy shows. The
weather was also conducive with temperature a little lower than what it is at
this time of the year, making it very comfortable for visitors at the show.
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| Inaugurationof Labelexpo-India 2012 |
The labelexpo-India 2012 was
inaugurated by on the morning of 29th October 2012 by Mike Fairley, The LMAI
team, Tarsus officials and members of Delhi Printers Association. The final
numbers from the organisers state that 8,037 visitors came to visit the show
which is 33% up from the previous Labelexpo. 53% of the exhibitors have
confirmed participation in the next edition with a commitment for bigger
stalls.
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| Mike Fairley Inaugurating Weldon's Stand "Technology Bar" |
After the inauguration of the show Mike Fairley inaugurated the
“Technology Bar”. Weldon Celloplast had put up a unique stand labeled
“Technology Bar”. All their principals were serving technology from bar counters
allotted to them. At this time Mike also released Weldon’s 120 page hard-bound Technology
Brochure.
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| Ferdinand Ruesch with RVS and Gururaj of ITW |
With India’s growing literate population expected to drive in high
demands, the international suppliers of materials, consumables and equipments are
very focused in their attempts to get a bigger slice of this market. The
importance given by these leading suppliers was evident by the fact the senior
level managers and owners of many companies were personally present to meet the
Indian label printers. From amongst the leading European label press
manufacturers, Ferdinand Ruesch owner of Gallus was seen not only interacting
with visitors at his stand where Gallus ECS340(sold to Wintek, Division of ITW)
was displayed but also visiting other competitors stands observing different
technologies being offered. In words of Sudhir Sawant at Gidue, “None other
than Ferdinand, Ruesch owner of market leader company like Gallus visited Gidue
stall multiple times to see live demos of Gidue Combat I” Federico Annunzio and
Cristina Tofollo the owners were present at Gidue stand.
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| Mike Fairley and Roger Pellow in discussion with Omet President Antonio Bartesaghi |
Antonio Batesaghi,
President Omet and Marco Calcagni Sales Director, despite preoccupation made
sure to be at the “Technology Bar” the branded Weldon/Omet Stand where their
Omet X4 label press was on display. Peter Erickson COO Nilpeter and Jakob
Landsberg Marketing Director Nilpeter were conspicuous by their presence to
promote their Nilpeter FB3300 assembled in their Chennai facility and sold to
Ajanta Packaging. Even though they did not bring a press this time, Bibiana and
her mother owners of the Spanish press manufacturer Rotatek were at the Creed
stand. Mike Russel and Mary Sullivan, senior managers of Mark Andy lead the
team at their stand showcasing MA-P5 sold to Wonderpac, Delhi. Canada based ETI,
UK based Edale and MPS though present at the exhibition, did not display any press.
There was a host of Taiwanese and Chinese equipment suppliers.
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| Multitec Stand |
Indian press
suppliers put up an impressive show! Multitec showcased two presses, one the regular
entry level flexo press with hot air and the second a new launch VSI which is
all UV with chill drums and a short web path of 1.10 meters between two print
stations. This company is progressing very impressively and I see them growing
technically each year. Other machine builders who showcased presses were
Faridabad based Webtech and Alliance Printech. Ahmedabad based R K Machines
displayed their flexo press and other equipment. Other Indian press
manufacturers Jandu and Apex Rotatech did not have working presses in their
stands. Other important exhibitors at the show include Xeikon, EFI, Epson,
Martin Automatic, Dupont, Esko, Matho, Rotometrics, Lartec, Electro Optics, Nikka, Berhalter,
Vetaphone, Ace, etc.
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| Jussi Vanhanen President UPM Raflatac |
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| Anil Sharma MD Avery Dennison |
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| Gautam Kothari (Interlabels), Gururaj Wintek, Karl (Reynders) |
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| Sanjeev Sondhi (Zircon) & Harveer Sahni (Weldon) |
Indian label printers came from
all corners of India. With market being in a growth curve suppliers were seen
wooing the industry’s leading printers. I was able to identify many of them.
From North Sanjeev Sondhi of Zircon, Ajay Agarwal from Syndicate labels, Prem
Khanna from ROPL, Karl from Reynders, Priyata Raghavan from Sai Packaging, Kusum
Dunglay from Reydun, Sudhir Jain from Jain Transfer, Pavail Jain from Monarch, Kulbhushan
Gossain of Unipack, the Holostik team, Rajesh Chadha Update Prints, Kuldip Goel
from Anygraphics, K K Bajaj of Regal, Mahajans from Prakash Labels and Gaurav
Goel of Gopsons are some of the printers who I met personally.
As from East
India I could only spot only Rajneesh Jain from Secure Print Kolkata. West
India probably had the biggest contingent with representatives from
Interlabels, Webtech, Ajanta, Creative Labels, Sicon Packs, Superlabels,
Mudrika, Total Print, Printmann, Synpack, Tayabi, PPL-Huhtamaki, Precise
Labels, Janus, Renault, Mahrishi, Astron, Letragraphix, and a more. The
contingent from South had representatives from Seljegat, Wintek (ITW), Pragati,
Arunodaya, Team Labels, SGRE (Positive Packaging), SPP, Better labels and Sai
Security, etc
At the end of second day of the
show leading suppliers threw parties at various venues in the city for their
customers.
The third evening was another fun part of the show. The entire label
fraternity converged to Hotel Le’Meridian for the LMAI awards night.
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| LMAI Executive committee on the stage |
The
organizers emphatically state that they gave only 500 passes for the event
which was by invitation only but they had over 700 guests! Obviously no one
wished to be left out and miss the fun. The evening was compeered by actress
Pooja Bedi and there were lively performances by Punjabi folk dancers. The
awards were given to printers in some 27 categories. Roger Pellow in his speech
declared that this was the last official visit of the Label Guru, Mike Fairley
due to his progressing age. I personally was overwhelmed when Mike in a
nostalgic speech that evening, reminiscing old times he said, “My relationship
with the Indian label industry started some thirty years ago when one afternoon
the doorbell of my home in London rang. I opened the door; there was this
gentleman from India standing in front of me. His name was Harveer Sahni, he
wanted to subscribe to my magazine Labels and Labeling and also share with
friends in India….” I was so stunned by Mike’s sharing the memories of my first
meeting with him that I was speechless for a while. Douglas Emslie the Group Managing
Director of Tarsus who was sitting next to me, had a smile on his face and
asked, “Did you know Mike would say this?” I just shook my head, I had no
words.
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| Funtime! |
As the evening progressed while the last of the awards were being given
to the executive committee of LMAI, the music came on and while still on stage
the LMAI team broke into a dance. Thereafter there was no stopping. One by one,
people were heading to the stage and the party was in full swing. It also
happened to be the birthday of Gallus owner Ferdinand, I had the pleasure to
shake a leg or two with him.
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| Roger Pellow adding fun to the evening! |
Roger Pellow is always a hard working professional
but when he parties, it is fun all the way! He was dancing his heart out and
pulling all to the floor. All young and old were having a fun time, forgetting
the competition they were all comrades enjoying the fruits of companionship!
Written and reported by Harveer Sahni, Managing Director, Weldon Celloplast Limited
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