In 2006, I wrote the “History
of Indian Label Industry” I have now written the 2nd part. This a brief report,
I plan to write a book on the subject with a lot more expanded information in
the near future. In a large country with industry spread over such a vast area
and a huge population, it is difficult to chronicle all in few words. Being a
long article, the part 2 of History of the Indian Label Industry is being
posted on this blog in a series of four articles. The below is part 2B of the
series the earlier ones can be accessed in this blog by clicking the links
below;
“History of the Indian Label
Industry” part-1: lnkd.in/eDpGUPM
“History of the Indian Label
Industry part 2A: https://harveersahni.blogspot.com/2019/07/history-of-indian-label-industry-part-2a.html
While the printed decorated and converted product
label industry was evolving, in parallel, without making much noise another
segment of the self-adhesive labels was growing steadily. These were the
variable information labels, plain labels and intelligent labels. This segment
was initially the mainstay of smaller label printers with lower capital
investments in printing equipment. As demand grew, this segment started
galloping by leaps and bounds to eventually surpass the prime label or product
label segment in the number of square meters of labelstock used, though
turnover wise it remained much lower due to low value addition. In the
self-adhesive label industry, it became “the bigger segment”.
Initiation of variable information labels in India
happened in early 1980s due to indulgence by P C
Jain of Great Eastern Impex.
He brought to India price marking labellers and labels from Pitney Bowes USA
and later started producing labels himself. Gun labels, as they subsequently
came to be called because of the labellers which dispensed these labels look
somewhat like guns, started to grow at a rapid pace. They were primarily used
to dispense and affix price labels at point of purchase in retail stores and later
also used for markings in garment manufacturing. Employees, associates and
distributors of Great Eastern saw the market of these labels growing due to the
nascent stage, the higher margins provided them enough temptation to breakaway
and start their own label producing ventures. More so because the initial
investment in equipment was not too high. Vinayak Sud of Liddles had also
invested in this segment. With consumer protection laws becoming rigid, price
marking labels were banned because prices were required to be printed on the
packages or on the product labels affixed on them, this led to a slowdown in
demand in this segment. By the onset of new millennium barcode usage had firmly
commenced and in 2005 with establishment of GS1 standards, the market for plain
labels transformed yet again to grow with introduction of barcodes. When inkjet
and laser desktop printers started becoming affordable, important and necessary
part of every home, office and factory, demand arose for self-adhesive labels
in A4 format as well. These found usage in mailing, logistics and package
identification. The variable label and plain label segment became identifiable
and growing at a pace quicker than the overall industry rate. With
the advent of CDs becoming popular another segment of plain labels for CDs came
around. People could create their own CDs, print labels created on home
computers-printers and affix on the CDs. New Delhi based Rational Business
Corporation and Mumbai headquartered Technova became major players in this
segment. Without much change in their existing equipment their product
offerings increased, and they could offer a range that included gun labels,
barcode labels and plain labels. From just Great Eastern and Liddles at one
time, others who initially involved themselves into this segment were Better
labels in Chennai, Interlabels, Super Labels and Tayabi Tags in Mumbai. These
were followed by Prakash labels Noida, Shipra Ghaziabad, Rachna Overseas
Gurgaon, Dynamic Marking Delhi and a host of traders who not only setup label
converting machines but also started to produce labelstocks themselves. After
this the market grew phenomenally and hundreds of converters across the country
jumped into this industry. This growth brought with it end user demands for
innovative and technically advanced labels. Increased government regulations
also brought in demand for statutory information with track and trace
capabilities. The volumes these converters were converting became huge, with
the likes of Prakash Labels alone converting close to a million square meters
each month. Margins receded due to intense competition. To remain profitable
most of these label producers also traded in accessories like Barcode printers,
scanners, ribbons, ink rolls etc. needed for variable information label
printing and dispensing at point of purchase. With modern day retail growing,
demand for these labels escalated at close to 30% per annum.
Label industry segmentation changed, became more
defined and closer to international estimates of
market shares. The total
market of self-adhesive labels (printed and plain in roll and sheet) in India
between 2005 to 2019 seemed to reach close to or more than a billion square
meter mark. The share of different segments in the overall Indian Label
industry in the author’s opinion and estimation is as below:
Variable Information Labels
Inkjet/Laser
label 20%
Barcode TTR
labels
17%
Direct Thermal product
Labels 10%
Dot Matrix or contact printed
labels 5%
Prime
Labels 40%
Others 8%
Most of the plain labels were being converted on
Indian made narrow web label presses. Notable amongst these press manufacturers
are Multitec, Jandu, Webtech, RK, etc. The variable label segment undoubtedly
brought growth even to these press suppliers who improved their equipment to be
able to produce printed product labels of acceptable quality. This label
segment that at one time was the lower end became voluminous. In terms of
volume of labelstock usage, it became the “bigger segment”.
Around 2008 the
Annunciation family owned Janus International had made a pioneering move into
the world of digitally printed labels in India by investing in an HP Indigo label press. Though the initial days with
this technology were extremely challenging due to high costs of equipment and
consumables, yet it was agreed that the digital printing technology will
persist and grow. Europe and USA were already witnessing the move from
conventional to digital. Labelexpo 2009 was a perfect indicator towards a
digital future for labels.
Amar Chhajed of Webtech Labels set the example by
investing in a Xeikon digital label press even though it appeared to be an
investment made ahead of its time. By 2015 I had interviewed a lot of printers
and came to conclusion, that digital will still have to wait some more, yet
Amar Chhajed predicted that in another 2 or 3 years, digital printing in labels
will start growing. His prediction was correct as in 2018 I wrote “The journey
in digital has begun”. 22 high-end digital label presses had been installed in
India and number started growing. A year on, the interest in digital printing
of labels is gradually becoming an indulgence that is attracting increased
investment at all levels.
During this
period Indian label printers grew in size and numbers, they started spreading
into interiors of India. An industry that originated in Mumbai and spread in
the Metro cities in the 1990s and it was in the first decade of a new
millennium that a lot started happening and industry started growing with
installations of new presses in larger Tier 1 cities like Mumbai, New Delhi,
Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. Kolkata a slow entrant also
reported installations of Orthotecs. Later Debashish Sarkar of Classic Image
Offset Kolkata lead the growth of labels in the eastern sector by installing
Gallus label presses. Others who set up label manufacturing in the Eastern and
north Eastern sector include Huhtamaki, Sai Com Codes, Holoflex, NAP printers,
Insight Graphics, etc. Closer towards the second half of the 2000-2010 the label
printers surfaced in the Tier 2 cities and the smaller Tier 3 cities, the trend
carried on and labels were being produced in cities like Nagpur, Pune, Indore,
Bhopal, Nasik, Rajkot, Surat, Baroda, Tirupur, Sivakasi, Madurai, Salem,
Coimbatore, Manipal, Guwahati, Sikkim, Muzaffarnagar, Kanpur, Delhi NCR,
Chandigarh, Baddi, Nalagarh, Paonta Sahib, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Jammu,
Pathankot, etc. By end of the decade label printers were present across the
length and breadth of India. At this time international press installations
also started picking up in numbers. Indian agents of international press
manufacturers saw the opportunity and shifted gears to sell aggressively and
increase the international label press population. The most active seen were
Sameer Patkar of Gallus, Gourav Roy of FIG for Mark Andy, Amit Sheth of Label
Planet for Orthotec and Weigang, Pawandeep Sahni of Weldon for OMET, Manish
Mehta of Reifenhauser for Bobst, Amitabh Luthra for Edale, Ranesh Bajaj of
Vinsak for Lombardy, Vijay Pareek of Genius for MPS, Manish Kapoor led sales
team of Nilpeter India and many others.  |
| Leading Printers at Panel discussion in LMAI conference 2015 Hemanth-Pragati, Sanjeev-Zircon,Rajesh Chadha-Update, Harveer Sahni, Arvind-Sai Security, Manjunath-Global pkg, Denver-Janus, Chandan Khanna-Ajanta Pkg, and Amar Chhajed-Webtech |
Though it is
difficult to list all, yet some of the printers across the nation who invested
in multiple high-end European and American Label presses mentioned above
included Ajanta Packaging Baddi and Daman, J K Fine prints Mumbai, Zircon
Dehradun, Update Prints Delhi, Jain Transfer NOIDA, Holostik NOIDA, Pragati
Pack Hyderabad, Mudrika Mumbai, Total Print Mumbai, Uflex NOIDA, Webtech
Mumbai, Narain Offset Nagpur, Wintek Bangalore, Manipal Technologies Manipal,
Syndicate Labels Delhi, Printmann Mumbai, Interlabels Mumbai, SelJegat
Sivakasi, Sai Packaging Faridabad and Bangalore, Sai Comcodes Delhi, Renault
Paper Products Palghar, Letra Graphix Ahmedabad, Kumar Labels Noida, Any
Graphics Noida, Global Printing Packaging Bangalore, Uflex Noida, Barcom Mumbai
and a lot of more printers who are single press owners. This period also saw
established offset, package printing and flexible packaging printers also move
into labels and some like Pragati Pack acquired wider presses like Omet
Varyflex to also have capabilities for producing folding cartons on these flexo
combination web presses. Others from the Offset printing segment who invested
in narrow web label printing include Narain Offset in Nagpur, Printmann in
Mumbai, Manohar Packaging Goa, Rajhans Bangalore Global Printing Packaging
Bangalore, Arunodhaya in Hyderabad, Manipal Technologies Manipal, Noble
printing Mumbai, Unipack New Delhi, Printrays in Jalandhar, Packtime Pune, Sonic
Labels Mumbai and so many others.
 |
| 3 Genarations: Late Hanumantha Paruchuri, his wife with sons Narendra and Mahendra Paruchuri and Grandsons Harsha and Hemanth |
“There is a fountain of youth; it is your mind, the talents,
the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When
you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age” These words
came from the famous Italian actress Sophia Loren. So very true! As parents,
when people witness their offsprings unfold the talents and creativity they
have acquired as they grew up, there is a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction.
Every parent strives hard in the given means to provide the best education and
professional training to their children, so that they can stand up to the
challenges of modern-day competitive living. In our Indian business society,
the fathers or for that matter even mothers are natural mentors who guide the
youth to eventually grow up to inherit the businesses that they painstakingly
set up. It is a pleasure to see the children join you as trainees, gradually
transform into managers, become business owners and eventually business leaders.
Our label industry which originated in the seventies of the twentieth century,
was witnessing a handing over of the baton to the next generation during the
first two decades of new millennium. The way this generation moved out of the
shadows of their mentors to evolve into professional managers who modernize,
expand, systemize and lead the companies successfully to new arenas, is
commendable.
Leading the group of generation next and taking
over from his father Satish Pai was Gautham Pai, Managing Director of Manipal
Press Limited later renamed Manipal Technologies Limited. Manipal Press was
started with a single letterpress machine in 1941 and by 2010 had spread to
over 600000 square feet with over 2000 employees and state of art machines.
While Manipal Press was a predominantly a security and offset printing company
yet Gautham lead the company’s foray into self-adhesive labels. They took into
their fold Chennai based UPSL, set up label production also in Manipal and in
Nigeria. In Sivakasi, Raveendran and his brothers at Seljegat started handing
over the decision making to their sons Prashant, Mukundan and Sivanesh.
Gururaj Ballarwad of Wintek at Bangalore toiled hard to achieve a position of
leadership for his company. Before Wintek being acquired by ITW he had somewhat
handed over decision making to his sons Gopi and Girish both of whom later set
up their venture Itekpak also in Bangalore. Vijay Raghavan of Sai Security
Printers entrusted his business to elder son in law Arvind in the South and to
his younger daughter Priyata in the North. Pramodh at Global Printing and
Mahaveer at Mahaveer labels were other youthful leaders at Bangalore,
designated to lead the label businesses of their companies. At Hyderabad,
Pragati Offset has been a highly successful and celebrated offset printer who
has invested extensively into self-adhesive labels. The charismatic Narendra
Paruchuri has transformed the label business to levels comparable to the best
in the industry. The shots are now called by his sons Hemanth and Harsha.
 |
| Surendra Kapur and son Himanshu Kapur |
In Mumbai The Kapoors of Jaikaushal Industries and R K Papers fame Surendra Kapur and Jatinder Kapur had mentored their generation next comprising of Himanshu, Karan and Rahul to promote and take their new venture J K Fine prints to success. The Khannas of Ajanta Printarts had let their scion Chandan Khanna to lead their journey into labels as Ajanta Packaging. Jagdish Zaveri of Total Print left it all to his soft-spoken son Sandeep Zaveri.
 |
| Joe annunciation with sons Denver and Janus |
To be continued...
Previous parts of the article can be accessed at;
“History of the Indian Label Industry” part-1: https://harveersahni.blogspot.com/2010/08/history-of-indian-label-industry.html
“History of the Indian Label Industry part 2A:
Written by
Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi July 2019
Note: No one is authorised to reproduce, copy or reprint this article until permitted by the author in writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment