Sagar Java: I expect the price level to be more or less same

Profitability in the past 12 months
I’d say, as paper merchants, we have not had a significant improvements in our profits.

Paper grades, weights, sizes 
We have noticed higher demand for virgin fibre boards and uncoated wood-free paper. Efficiency is always good for business. We have been offering customised sheet sizes for packaging board for the past many years now. With regards to packaging paperboard, lightweight (paperboard with a lower grammage without compromising on bulk and stiffness) seems to be a rising trend.

Chinese ban on imports 
It’s just a re-endorsement of conducting environmentally sustainable production activities. In my opinion, authorities and consumers (a majority of whom are millennials) demand sustainable products produced in an environmentally responsible way. 

DGAD’s anti-dumping duty 
In the short run, it will mean higher prices for printers in an already challenging environment. However, in my opinion, running businesses with unsustainable raw material prices is a bit myopic. At some point, ‘dumping’ of goods will stop and printers may be caught off guard.

Sustainable products 
Renewable materials from sustainable sources constitute the core of our business. Taking the ever-growing forest as our starting point, we are keen to see a sustainable and bio-based society by continuously offering replacements of petroleum-based products. We are FSC-certified and follow guidelines to ensure that no wood was purchased from illegal-felling operations for paper and board we sell. We ensure that our partners utilise forests responsibly and also take sufficient measures to ensure that the production process does not adversely impact the environment.

Paper recycling in India  
A significant portion of paper and board produced in India comes from recycled waste or agro residue. This percentage is much higher compared to many other countries. So we do have a system for recycling paper. However, there is a scope for improvement in waste collection, but this is not the sole responsibility of the India paper industry.

Paper Day plan for 2019
We will push the agenda through social media and emailers. We will have a celebration in our office where we shall spread the message to each and every Java employee.

Paper prices in 2019
In the first half of the year, there may be a slight downward trend, but I expect the price level to be more or less same during the course of the year.

Value addition in the face of price rise 
Our sales approach has always been solution-oriented. Most products that we offer add value through efficiency that go beyond just sheet size saving. For example, one of our customers has achieved double the packing speeds on his sophisticated packaging lines by using our board at a lower weight than what he was previously using. This has helped the customer save investments in additional machinery and manpower, thereby reducing the overall cost.

Automated warehouses
Our warehouse is not automated, but we do share dispatch details with our customers. Many of our logistics partners have been increasingly offering live tracking.

Technical team to share paper gyan  
Our entire team goes through training and knowledge sharing sessions every month. I’m proud to share that we may have one of the most knowledgeable teams in the market when it comes to paper and paperboard-based applications.