Over 3,700 units of presses have been imported in India of which 350 are new ones. What’s your outlook?
India has a special significance in Manroland’s business strategy. With a buoyant economy and strong impetus in the industrial sector, it has emerged as one of the most alluring markets for investment in the printing sector.
 
Manroland press’ sales frequency has narrowed down in spite of printers in India increasing their investment during the last 12 months. Why?
Manroland has been the market leader in web offset sector in India with a client base that boasts of the three biggest media houses in the country. In current times, it is imperative for printers to create a differentiation value. Having said that, Manroland has established itself as a strong contender in the Indian print market. Ever since the company’s direct presence in India from 2007, we have trebled our footprint and have added new clients across both commercial and packaging segments. The latest additions being sheetfed presses at Parksons Packaging and Mass Packsols.
 
Do you expect the rising industry growth and the strengthened Indian rupee to ignite interest in Indian print industry to improve its press facilities?
We anticipate a growing demand for printed products in the country, owing to a soaring consumption curve in the FMCG and pharma sectors.
 
At Ipex 2010 in Birmingham, you reportedly sold almost 250 sheetfed printing units to customers all over the world. With cuts in your workforce, do you have the infrastructure to meet that level of production and servicing?
In light of the changing market scenario, Manroland has undertaken a strategic realignment of structures and processes to charter a strong course for growing stand-alone. As a result, our three German production sites will be assigned core competencies. In addition, the focus is firmly on growth markets and the services sector. The implemented measures allow us to actively respond to changing conditions and position ourselves for future growth.
 
Which has been Manroland’s most successful market outside of Germany? Do you have any leadership position in any Asia PAC of LATAM countries?
China has been one of our biggest success stories in the world. Manroland China has established itself as a strong player in the printing market, in a very short span of time. We wish to replicate a similar success story in India.
 
Printing supplies (consumables like plate chemicals and blankets) seem to be a key focus for Manroland in China. Why not in India?
We have plans to offer printing supplies in India as well, our portfolio is called printcom. With printcom we ensure constants. The products are tested and certified in our laboratories, and ensure consistent printing processes at the highest possible quality. We work closely with select suppliers and are able to give our customers objective recommendations. This distinguishes us from dealers who simply sell, then resell products.
 
Why do you continue to do most of your production in Germany? It’s unusual these days, isn’t it?
By producing components in Germany, we ensure that all products that reach our customers meet our stringent quality benchmarks to ensure optimum production capacity. Allianz Capital Partners, the private equity arm of the German insurer, bought a 65% stake in the printing press maker from the owner MAN in July 2006 in a deal that saddled the target with 380 million euros of debt. Did that fix the debt issue? Is Manroland out of the woods?
In November 2009, the majority shareholders of Manroland completely repaid the company’s outstanding debt by contributing new equity capital. This step marked a significant strengthening of Manroland’s equity capital base.
 
In what way is Manroland making profits, considering the diving sales and rising operational costs?
The global market for printing systems has changed over the past few years. In the established industrial countries, the market is characterised by drop in volumes and consolidation. However, emerging markets continue to play a major role in producing sales volumes for Manroland. To consolidate our infrastructure and synergise our expertise in both web and sheetfed sectors, we have undertaken a realignment of our processes to optimise profitability.
 
It is reported that the cost of global production of printing presses is too high. Earlier there were talks about Heidelberg-Manroland merger. And now there’s a report stating KBA was in favour of merger with Manroland rather than Heidelberg. Your comment.
Manroland is confident that it will be able to meet market challenges best as an independent company that has worldwide market coverage. The executive board and shareholders at Manroland have decided and agreed to pursue a stand-alone approach as a corporate growth strategy to ensure lasting independence. As a long-term oriented investor, Allianz Capital Partners welcomes this clear decision for a stand-alone solution and supports the necessary restructuring.
 
Press manufacturers are rolling out stripped down presses for the emerging markets. Does Manroland sell stripped down presses?
Manroland offers two products offering varying degrees of automation. Case in point – in the small format segment in sheetfed printing – Roland 200 and Roland 500. The Roland 200 is a very basic and compact press, with an integrated delivery, optional automated plate loading – EPL (ergonomic plate loading), whereas the Roland 500 provides the highest degree of automation in this format with the added flexibility to add inline coating and foiling options to the press to suit multi-print requirements.
 
Analysts say digital print technology is beginning to catch up with lithography in terms of speed and quality ...
Sheetfed offset printing has witnessed quantum leaps in technological innovations over the last decade both in terms of enhanced quality standards and higher productivity levels. While the digital industry has grown considerably over the past few years, we believe that digital printing will supplement the industrial printing in the future. At the same time we also maintain that the highly automated sheetfed offset is able to print ultra short runs, short runs and long runs efficiently. In the past, only the digital printing machines were able to produce these runs economically. Now this is also possible in sheetfed printing. At Manroland we continue to evaluate possibilities to combine digital and offset printing. At Drupa 2008 we presented a solution, which integrates inkjet technology in newspaper printing systems, thus synergising the two print domains.

Heidelberg is unveiling its digital strategy partner next month and Manroland has said it wants to partner with a digital firm too (presumably so that it can sell digital presses via an OEM deal). Is this just a case of ‘me too’ or does it have more substance? If so what is the timescale (when will Manroland start selling digital presses) and who are the possible partners?
We recognise that digital technology is an important business sector with a growing popularity for its fast production processes. We’ve said that we’re following the subject closely. In the digital printing sector, Manroland is still looking for suitable collaboration with an established digital provider.
 
What are the biggest challenges for Manroland now?
To pursue an aggressive growth chapter in the Indian market, keeping in mind the price expectations and special needs of the Indian customers. Additionally, we need to invest in our set-up according to growth in new press models.
 
Can you identify possibilities where India can do better than it is doing and take part in acceleration of the same?
Be it packaging or commercial print sector, producing brilliant value added effects such as gloss and matt finishing, UV coatings, inline coating will help printers achieve more revenue for their products. The Roland 700 HiPrint has been a highly successful product in the commercial sector and can be used to produce a multitude of print applications. Manroland’s revolutionary technology in the commercial domain is the Roland InlineFoiler Prindor, which produces effects in gold, silver metallic foiling. We feel, book printing is another sector with a growth potential in the coming years.
 
You’ve been involved in sales management for about 10 years now. What part of the job do you enjoy most?
As a dyed-in-the-wool sales guy I certainly enjoy most of all happy and profitable customers who love to buy Manroland presses and Manroland services again and again. That’s the best feeling ever.
 
What is next on the cards for Manroland?
Sales generators such as emerging markets are of special importance for Manroland’s business, which is why the company took over control of the sales and service networks in India, Latin America, southern Africa, Australia/Pacific and Southeast Asia. The market organisation that was developed in-house has proven itself in growth markets. Over the past few years, the share of the service business has constantly increased and is now at 30%. Manroland expects an increase in sales in the print services sector (maintenance and service, as well as spare and wear parts). Furthermore, the business for consumables (printcom) and consultation (printadvice) is expected to continue at a similar growth rate.

This Feature appeared in the 31 December 2010 issue of PrintWeek India magazine