BUSINESS

According to Market Intelo, the corrugated packaging market is set to reach USD 482.7-billion by 2033, driven by eCommerce growth and sustainability trends

The Indian paper and packaging sector finds itself at a critical juncture, defined by a stark divergence between long-term opportunity and immediate operational peril. On one hand, global sustainability mandates, including the imperative to replace plastic, are fuelling a structural boom, positioning India as a natural manufacturing beneficiary in the emerging circular economy. On the other hand, the industry is grappling with acute geopolitical volatility and a profound debate over the role of human skill in an increasingly digitised era.

Penguin Random House India (PRHI) has announced a strategic partnership with Simon & Schuster India to provide end-to-end warehousing and logistics services. As part of the agreement, PRHI will manage the warehousing and logistics for Simon & Schuster India, including warehousing, inwarding, order processing, packaging, returns processing, and delivery of goods.

French company DCM ATN is a leading global manufacturer of printing and converting machines for flexible packaging for more than 70 years, and shrink sleeve machines for over 40 years. The company has partnered with Delhi-based Flexo Image Graphics (FIG) as an authorised distributor of its machines in India and has recently installed five new DCM machines at Dehradun-based Zircon Technologies.

The fragile global supply chain has buckled again, this time at the hands of rising conflict in the Middle East, forcing a swift and immediate price increase across all packaging ink and coating products from industry giant Flint Group. The company, a critical supplier to the global Flexible Packaging, Paper & Board, and Narrow Web industries, announced the hike today, citing a cascade of supply and cost pressures that show no sign of easing.

Interacting with PrintWeek at the Corru Pack Print India exhibition in Mumbai, Sangeet Kumar Gupta, co-founder of Finsys, shared a visionary outlook for the packaging industry in 2026. Gupta articulated a philosophy where perceived industry speed breakers are reframed as launching pads for innovation.

Award-winning workflow software provider marks milestone with thousands of global customers and a solid commitment to customer success

An indie publishing house in Kalyan is reviving the tactile pleasure of the Marathi book, one meticulously crafted spine at a time

Khetan Corru Case has won a bronze award in the Best Sustainability Practices category at the fourth edition of 'Telangana State Industry Awards 2021'.

This Friendship Day (celebrated on the first Sunday of August), Kerala’s formidable media conglomerate Mathrubhumi wishes Malayala Manorama a very happy friendship day on its front page. The creative of the daily read: “It’s time we set new benchmark to our friendship goals, for we work towards the same goal, Happy friendship Day”. This first of its kind initiative, an unusual bonhomie by Mathrubhumi celebrates a healthy competition which both Kerala’s largest media conglomerate compete for.

While the industry continues to look towards emerging technologies, Komori India seems to have found a new opportunity in the pre-owned equipment. In a new initiative, the company will help customers source pre-owned Komori machines and will also help with required services and maintenance.

Ahmedadbad-based S Kumar has announced the installation of three Zonten label presses in India. These were installed in the last quarter. The company has booked a fourth intermittent offset label Press, however, it did not disclose the location and name of the company. It is expected to be installed in the month of July 2020.

JK Paper plans to up the capacity ante from 4.55 lakh tonnes to 6 lakh tonnes by next financial year.

Packaging majors Huhtamaki PPL and TCPL have announced their financial results for the quarter that ended 30 June 2018.

German engineering group Bosch has decided to divest its packaging machinery business, especially the pharmaceuticals and food units.

Mark Andy has announced the acquisition of Brandtjen & Kluge, a US manufacturer of print finishing equipment for foil stamping, die-cutting, folding and glueing, and UV coating applications.

The Poona Press Owners Associations (PPOA) and Toyo Ink India have inked an extended supply agreement, by which Toyo will continue to supply its offset products to the PPOA member printers as per the terms and conditions which have been mutually agreed upon between PPOA and Toyo Ink.

Caps and closures are plastic packaging on top of bottles, jars, tubes, cans, and so on. Caps and closures are of different types such as screw top, crown cap, snap on, friction fit, tamper evident, and dispersing. Caps and closures find a broad range of application in numerous industries such as beverages, cosmetics, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. The material used to manufacture caps and closures must possess excellent balance of stiffness and toughness along with good chemical resistance. Ge

Some years back, PrintWeek India carried a feature titled, ‘Ahmedabad has never had it so good’, where we posited that thanks to the development in Ahmedabad, medium and small companies are launching campaigns in print and outdoor. In addition, there has been an organic growth with new advertisers coming into the folds. This has added to the growth of the print market in the city.

New Delhi-based Unidos Insta Print has invested in a Zund G3 3XL 1600 digital cutting table for its corrugated displays, POS applications and show window projects.

Baddi-based Marks Emballage has become the first Indian packaging company to order two Gallus Labelmaster flexo presses at a time, rounding off the investment with a Pantec Rhino II and Prati Kit. The new investment shall make them stand out in both capabilities and capacities in the label industry.

Recently, business journals carried stories how surge in aluminium prices may result in vehicle price hike. However, for the printing industry, the concern is more immediate. As aluminium is the main raw material for manufacturing printing plates, the price hike may directly impact the existing cost of printing plates.

Fujifilm’s merger with Xerox which was finalised a few months ago hit a US court roadblock when Judge Barry Ostrager of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York hearing activist investors lawsuit filed by Darwin Deason, granted injunctions in the matter, saying Xerox chief executive officer Jeff Jacobson sought to conclude the deal even though he was advised to end negotiations.

EFI has announced its results for the first quarter that ended March 31, 2018.

Mumbai-based Essel Propack has reported a slender rise in net Profit for the quarter at Rs 44.8-crore as against Rs 43.9-crore in the previous year.

Telangana-based Sirpur Paper Mills’s (SPM) revival might be around the corner. According to media reports, the Government of Telangana "may" accept JK Paper’s Rs 628-crore offer.

Indian adhesive major, Pidilite Industries plans to develop high-growth, specialised category of adhesive after forming a collaborative partnership with Jowat SE, a German family-owned enterprise and a leading supplier of industrial adhesives worldwide.

Mumbai-headquartered MK Printpack, with three locations in India in Nani Daman, Mota Ponda and Haridwar has joined Edelmann India. The JV was announced in December 2017.

Constantia Flexibles Group has announced that it will acquire a majority shareholding in Kolkata-based Creative Polypack.

Digital print enterprise Dina Color Labs inaugurated their Cuddalore branch taking another step towards their targeted 20 commercial print shops across Tamil Nadu.

In the run-up to the Frankfurt Book Fair 2018, the German Book Office (GBO) with support from PrintWeek India conducted a roundtable with print CEOs in Mumbai. The idea was to brainstorm the possibilities of representing the Indian print community effectively at the show.

Komori’s India representative Insight has confirmed the installation of three Komori presses, one each at Codialbail Press in Mangalore, Bengaluru-based Usha Prints and Government of Karnataka’s department of printing, stationery and publishing.

Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) has taken exception to ‘reduce paper usage’ being an objective of the Green Good Deeds campaign.

Specialising in artwork management, colour management, reprographics, and digital imaging services, a new start-up Vismaya Premedia Services has opened shop in Vishakhapatnam.

The Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) has shared an interesting bit of information. The state of Gujarat which contributes to 33 per cent of India’s pharmaceutical production, is expected to be boosted by 40 per cent by 2020.

The two major manufacturers of web offset printing machines, Goss International (printing press business) and Manroland Web Systems announced that they are planning to combine the two businesses while Contiweb business of Goss International will not be part of this transaction.

PrintWeek India is surveying printing companies to understand their usage pattern and requirements for offset printing equipment.

HP has launched Indigo 6900 digital label press, which it believes will offer higher revenue per metre.

Fujifilm acquires Xerox for USD 6.1-bn and combined it with Fuji Xerox to create a new USD 18-bn turnover giant. What does this entail? For one, the combined Fuji Xerox would leapfrog rivals Canon and Ricoh in terms of printing revenues, and will be a close second to HP in terms of scale. Two, the potential addressable market is approaching USD 120-bn. So lads and ladies, the game is afoot!

If you have been tracking the stock movement of JK Paper, Tamil Nadu Newsprint, West Coast Paper Mills and NR Agarwal, you are in the right business. The big tip for the Indian print CEO with monies is, invest in paper stock.

China has stopped imports of several grades of waste paper. This is due to a sustained campaign against foreign garbage, which has created shortage of raw material and impacted the production of paper.

GroupM, the media investment group of WPP, in its annual forecast, announced its advertising expenditure (adex) to grow by 13% for 2018. As per the GroupM futures report ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY) 2018 is forecasting India’s advertising investment to reach an estimated Rs 69,346 crores this year.

Faridabad-based NBG Printographic Machinery, the manufacturer of web offset printing presses, has launched a new range of narrow-web flexo presses with the brand name Starflex.

After solidifying its position in the Indian market via its representative, Insight Communication & Print Solution, the Japanese giant Komori Corporation is all set to set up a subsidiary in India. Recently, the company announced that it has purchased the majority stakes in the Komori division of Insight.

Xeikon has inked a partnership deal with EFI wherein Xeikon will service the EFI Jetrion customer base and directly sell Jetrion products.

EFI has extended its offerings for the corrugated packaging market by acquiring corrugated packaging software developer Escada Systems.

The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping & Allied Duties (DGAD), under the ministry of commerce and industry has opened at least two anti-dumping investigations concerning import of paper originating in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, China, European Union and the US.

Coinciding with the installation of a Komori kit at Foil Printers, Komori organised an open house in Ludhiana on 1 February 2018. Around 150 printers from the city attended the event.

Mumbai-based Essel Propack has reported consolidated revenues of Rs 595-crore in the third quarter of FY18, rising by 1.8% year-on-year.

Fujifilm and Xerox have announced a blockbuster merger deal where Xerox will become a part of the bigger Fuji Xerox entity.