Made in India: Inks from Kwality Chemical Industries

Kwality Chemical Industries was founded by MO Birla in 1981, and since then, the company has been engaged in the manufacturing of printing inks, coatings, pigments, resins and other products used in the printing ink industry. The company conducts its operations from its five manufacturing facilities located in Navi Mumbai.

Kwality Chemical manufactures offset printing inks, UV inks, water-based inks, UV coatings, water -based coatings, concentrates for ink kitchen, additives, fluorescent concentrates, security inks and metal decorating inks.

It also manufactures pigments, toners, flushed pigments, resins, alkyds and varnishes used to make flexo, gravure and oil-based printing inks.
SM Birla of Kwality Chemical says that the company sells its products through distributors spread across India and the world. “Our sales and technical service team ensures recommendation of the suitable product to suit the customer’s needs,” he adds.

The products are supplied from Mumbai. The company has a warehouse in Kolkata to help quick service due to the logistical distance from Mumbai.

Birla says the company has a strong focus on the printing industry. The products are used by printers from segments, such as commercial, publication, packaging, newspapers, as well as offset printers and corrugators. The pigments and resins are used by manufacturers of printing inks, paints and plastics.

The company has been gradually growing its product offerings since its inception. Kwality Chemical began its manufacturing of toners in 1981, and subsequently started producing Azo pigments in 1999. Buoyed by the acceptance of its products by the printing ink manufacturers, it started making flushed pigments to help aid the production process of its valued customers.

Kwality Chemical started manufacturing printing inks in 2009.

“Our focus has always been to offer products that add value to our customers, either in terms of quality, consistency, import substitutes, ease of production or plain simple cost effectiveness. We understand the pain points of our customers, and try and develop customised products to help customers as best as possible,” Birla says.

The company began by using its in-house pigments and flushed pigments to make Inks. However, in its effort to improve quality, consistency and to control cost, it began manufacturing resins and alkyds in 2012.

Subsequently, anticipating the growing demand for packaging, the company started producing UV and WB coatings. “The demand from our customers encouraged us to start producing UV and water-based inks as well,” Birla adds.

The market and customers' expectations are ever evolving. The company’s focus has always been on packaging. The demand for packaged goods has accelerated tremendously over the past couple of years. The sheer volume of production necessitates faster and higher output machines, with a myriad of subsequent post-printing operations, such as coating, punching, embossing, foiling, and lamination. Add to this, the customer’s requirements of innovation and creating something new and attractive. “These requirements keep us as ink and raw material formulators on our toes. We have to keep up with the ever-increasing demands and offer satisfactory and unique, cost-effective solutions,” he says.

Birla believes that the only way to be different is to have a unique creative offering. “This, coupled with the philosophy of a penny saved is a penny earned, helps us offer a suitable solution to our customers.  Our products are an optimum combination of quality and price,” he adds.

In its effort to offer value-for-money solutions, the company has invested heavily in its backward integrated manufacturing set-up to improve efficiency.“ Our technical service and sales team helps the customer choose the most suitable product, which can help achieve maximum mileage and thereby lowest cost of ink per page,” Birla says.

The company has distribution networks in the US, Europe, Africa, Middle East and South East Asia. The products are sold through its distributor network across India and are used by some of the largest publication houses and packaging printers.

Birla says the requirements of customers are generally the same. “Customers want a product that runs trouble-free on the press, and has good colour strength for more print copies per kg of ink. Also, drying and setting of ink on paper should be good to avoid delay in post-printing operations, and minimum dot gain to have better picture clarity,” he explains.

He adds, “We are proud to say that some of our products find applications in sensitive jobs, such as currency printing, cheque printing, and brand protection.”

The USP 
Birla says the company’s USP is simple — offer 5% more at 5% less.

The efficiency and productivity are the most important aspects for any printer. This Depends upon the downtime of the press. “We offer products that run well from the moment it is put in the duct. This helps avoid wastage and improves productivity.”

He adds that the company is able to offer customised products depending on the customer’s needs — from print speeds of 5,000 to 50,000-iph.

“In today’s competitive scenario, when there is tremendous resistance to price increases throughout the value chain, the only way to earn money is to look inward. We try to be the partner that shall help printers satisfy their requirements in the most cost-effective way,” he says.

The company believes product development is a continuous process. “Our R&D team continuously studies alternative raw materials to try and keep abreast of the latest technology developments. We also study the requirement of modern printing presses and keep updating our products for trouble-free performance,” he adds.

The company’s well-equipped quality control department maintains all the specifications of the products without batch-to-batch variation. The company also has an in-house training facility available to all its customers, which offers support from understanding of the printing process to setup of ink mixing kitchens.

“Our technical service department is a phone call away to help resolve challenges faced by our customers, not necessarily always related to ink. In addition to standard product ranges, not only just matching items, we offer quickest response to tailor-made requirements generated by the printers to facilitate them to print/coat special jobs in relatively smaller to large quantities.