Morgana and Malhotra aim to take digital finishing kit to pan India

Morgana, the UK-based digital finishing equipment has announced that Mumbai-based Malhotra Graphics will be the Indian representative. The announcement was made before Print Pack India 2013.

Plockmatic International, the Swedish developers and manufacturers of document finishing technology, has acquired Morgana Systems, the manufacturer of digital finishing systems, UK.

The agreement was signed on 31 January 2013 and will be in effect immediately. Morgana will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Plockmatic.

According to the Swedish manufacturer, the acquisition will dramatically expand the two companies’ distribution capacity and product line, positioning the new group at the forefront of the industry.

Plockmatic is the leading supplier of inline and offline booklet making systems custom designed for the mid-range digital print segment.

According to the top official at Plockmatic, the acquisition of Morgana will enable access to the product development, technology and distribution capabilities.

Morgana Systems is a leader in the development and sales of off-line document finishing technology. Their products are sold through a direct sales force in the UK and a network of distributors around the world.

In India, the distributor for Morgana Systems is Malhotra Graphics, who is confident that the acquisition will only add to their advantage in Indian market.

Sanjay Malhotra, chief executive officer at Malhotra Graphics said, “We can expand our product offerings. We’ll be able to serve more customers with a rich combined portfolio designed to meet the widest range of finishing requirements.  Ultimately, it’s about growing the business.”

When asked, what happens to Morgana,  Malhotra said, “The Morgana and Plockmatic names are both strong in different as well as overlapping market segments. We will continue to leverage these two great brand names.”      

“The excellent Morgana distribution network is one of the reasons Plockmatic chose to acquire Morgana. We will look for opportunities to combine our product portfolios in different ways to meet customer requirements all over India,” says Malhotra.

At the show, Malhotra Graphics displayed the range of finishing equipment also announced that most of the machines have been sold.

Quen Baum, managing director of Morgana says, “We wanted a partner who has the capacity and the reach in the market. Malhotra Graphics has been in the industry for long time and the customers are familiar with them. They have wide dealer network and a big team to cater to the print industry.”

Baum adds, “Morgana machines have been in action since early 90’s and we have been providing the robust technology which will produce the quality products in the long run. Today, we see digital print firms investing in the high-end presses from companies like Xerox, HP and Kodak. These firms don’t compromise on the finishing equipment for their production.”

As compared to the European or Western market, India has and is witnessing growth in the digital printing business.

Baum says, “Today the print runs have gone down. The print buyer is conscious about the quantity and quality. The digital finishing segment is now the priority and the print firms are concentrating on the same. Keeping this in mind Morgana has designed the products for the Indian market.

Speaking about the competition from the Chinese machines, Baum concludes, “We don’t see any threat from the Chinese manufacturers as they are not reliable and the spare parts are also not available. If the Chinese machine breaks down, there is no service support available. Ultimately, digital print finisher ends up investing in an another equipment. Which according to us, is an expensive affair."

Morgana has sold more than 250 machines in India