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Hindalco’s Novelis acquires Aleris Corporation

WhatPackaging? Team — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 16:04:00

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman Aditya Birla Group and Novelis, said, "The Aleris deal marks a major milestone for Novelis, on its path to global leadership. The closure of this deal amidst challenging market conditions, reflects our conviction in the Aleris business and its value to our metals portfolio. Periods of turmoil have historically seen the emergence of champions, powered by quality leadership and sound business fundamentals. This is a long- term strategic bet, much like Novelis was in 2007."

Novelis is a global producer of flat-rolled aluminum products and one of the largest recyclers of aluminum. It specialises in segments such as packaging, beverage cans, automotive and aerospace among others.

With the addition of Aleris' operational assets and workforce, Novelis is poised to more efficiently serve the growing Asia market by integrating complementary assets in the region including recycling, casting, rolling and finishing capabilities. The company will also add aerospace to its portfolio and enhance its ability to continue to bring innovative products to market.

"The Aleris deal crucially enables the further diversification of our metals portfolio into other premium market segments, most notably aerospace. Through the creation of an industry champion, we are reinforcing our commitment to our customers, employees and shareholders. At the same time, with this further expansion in our aluminum portfolio, we have taken a decisive step towards a more sustainable future," added Birla.

Beyond its strategic benefits, the acquisition will generate approximately USD 150 million in synergies and creates a strong financial profile for the company.

"Today is a transformational moment in our company's history, and I've never been more confident in our ability to deliver even more value to our customers, colleagues and the communities where we live and work," said Steve Fisher, president and CEO, Novelis. "With a world-class workforce, a presence in the most competitive and technically demanding end-markets, and the ability to deliver rapid, adaptive and sustainable solutions, Novelis will be able to even better serve our customers."

The closing purchase price of USD 2.8 billion consists of USD 775 million for the equity value, as well as approximately USD 2 billion for the assumption or extinguishment of Aleris' current outstanding debt and a USD 50 million earn-out payment.

"This acquisition strengthens Novelis' leadership position in the aluminum industry and clearly defines Hindalco Industries as the preeminent company in the global metals sector," said Satish Pai, managing director of Hindalco Industries and director, Novelis. "I am proud of the work the Novelis and Aleris teams have done to close this transaction and thereby position Novelis for future growth and success."

Novelis will acquire Aleris' 13 plants across North America, Europe and Asia; however, to satisfy regulatory conditions, the company is required to divest Aleris' plants in Lewisport, Kentucky, USA, and Duffel, Belgium, as per an earlier announcement.

How digital print is moving beyond CMYK with brilliant new colours

PrintWeek India — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 11:49:00

In a challenging economic climate where many industries are struggling with digital transformation, the print industry has an ace up its sleeve. It comes in the form of digital printing, helping print companies to reinvigorate themselves by offering their customers more features, better quality, and greater flexibility at lower costs. Automation and streamlined workflows are also driving cost and process efficiencies in the creation, campaign management and manufacturing process. In this article, we take a look at three ways that the printing industry is moving beyond CMYK.

Printing may have a history rooted in CMYK, but the move to digital print and digital enhancements has ushered in the ability to print a new range of colours, specifically metallics and whites, while also increasing quality, flexibility and speed. It’s a technology that customers have been crying out for, and an USD 813 million market that’s predicted to grow at an impressive 27% through 2020.

The digital market is born out of a demand to make money, for print companies to command premium prices and offer better value for their clients by providing digital printing enhancements. It’s a market where specialty dry ink technology is leading the way.

Printers are currently using specialty dry inks to innovate, and a range of new colours aren’t the only advantages. The latest specialty dry ink stations are opening up new opportunities for rich layering and eye-catching embellishment, with unparalleled vibrancy and a smoother finish that boasts a more even sheen, adding extra depth and a more consistent look.

Introducing specialty dry inks

Specialty dry inks offer an increased colour gamut, and efficiency is set to improve, with printers capable of printing up to 120 pages a minute. Printing resolutions of 2400dpi also means companies won’t have to sacrifice quality in the quest for speed.

This can help print companies to provide short runs, quick turnaround and greater personalisation; printing on demand is a possibility, and printers can act as a virtual document repository while also offering improved options for just-in-time manufacturing. When combined with advanced automation and streamlined workflows that cut the number of human touches required to receive, plan, execute and deliver print jobs, all this makes a massive difference to running costs, productivity and business supply chains.

White is the new black

Market research by Keypoint Intelligence has indicated that over 80% of European respondents see white as the specialty colour they need most and India is not too far off. It’s a colour that Xerox has already introduced, with the company’s latest White Dry Ink for the Xerox iGen 5 Press print station making it possible to print incredibly bright whites on coloured substrates and packaging.

The White Dry Ink provides a unique solution, more than doubling the brightness and opacity of competitive inks for digital presses and setting a new industry benchmark. Better yet, that benchmark is delivered after only one or two passes, surpassing the four or more passes traditionally required by competitive digital presses, saving on time, resources and money. Developing such inks presents a particularly tough challenge, requiring a number of hardware and software changes.

Creating excitement with silver and gold

Lessons learned when creating White Dry Ink have also been put to good use when it comes to other colours beyond CMYK, with smaller EA Toners making it possible to deliver metallic silver and gold – two of the other most in-demand colours – using specialty dry inks as well.

Digital foil stamping has previously provided an alternative for print companies wanting metallic colours and high quality, but metallic specialty dry inks provide a better blend of quality and affordability, incorporating flecks of metal to deliver outstanding image quality with a true metallic appearance. As with White Dry Ink, Xerox’s metallic specialty dry inks are capable of delivering stunning results in a single pass, saving money and resources and helping print companies to take on more short run, short turn digital jobs without compromising on quality.

It’s time to move beyond CMYK

With benefits like these, the case for moving beyond CMYK is clear. These are features that buyers are more than willing to pay for, with printing companies indicating a willingness to pay a premium of between 24 and 89 per cent over CMYK. With a 2016 InfoTrends study indicating potential profit margins on digital print enhancements as high as 400%, it’s an investment well worth making, and as a result the same InfoTrends report predicts the digital print market growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27% through to 2020.

If the switch to digital print is accompanied by greater automation, we could also see advances in creativity, with craft and automation proving complimentary forces. User-friendly technology has sparked a process of democratization, and creative automation is becoming more accessible to print professionals every day.

Only a small fraction of the market has already converted to digital methods, with just one half of one per cent of today’s colour pages produced on a digital press or using a digital process. It’s already a thriving industry, however, and predicted growth and the potential for printing companies result in an opportunity that’s simply too good to miss.

A publisher's needs in today's marketplace - The Noel D'Cunha Sunday Column

Noel D'Cunha — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 21:58:00

Publishers and printers from across India came together to brainstorm on the course ahead during a closed-door roundtable discussion titled "Anatomy of Bookmaking in India". Organised by Henkel Adhesives Technologies India, Impel (Welbound), and PrintWeek India, the event took place at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, on 8 June. The event was coordinated by Subhasis Ganguly, an independent publishing consultant.

S Sunil Kumar of Henkel, Sanjiv Gupta of Penguin Random House India, Ananth Padmanabhan of HarperCollins India

The takeaway from the discussions, which revolved around the challenges of book printing in India, was that of a positive outlook. As Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO, HarperCollins India explained, books are agnostic to economic and cultural changes. He gave the example of Raghuram Rajan’s book which went on to become a bestseller. Again, contrary to the popular belief, he asserted that reading habit is not on the decline. Publishers are doing well, he insisted, adding that there are opportunities to do better.

Padmanabhan said the country now has the infrastructure and the wherewithal to print good looking quality books. At the same time, he argued that the stakeholders should not get complacent about what they have achieved and should work towards building a foolproof system, which is future-ready.

He said the industry is yet to tap the advantages of technology in their supply chain to make the entire process smoother and faster. He also expressed concerns about turnaround time, especially during reprints, the unchecked piracy and the publishers’ inability to increase the cover price of books.

Sanjiv Gupta, COO, Penguin Random House India, echoed that since books are considered non-essential items, the market is highly cost-sensitive. This is one of the reasons for the proliferation of piracy. He also argued that reading habits, which were taken over by the electronic media, is set to return as there has been an increased focus on inculcating reading habit among schoolchildren. This will increase the readership for books.

Both Padmanabhan and Gupta spoke during the second half of the event, where they answered questions related to the business outlook of the industry.

The event started with S Sunil Kumar, business director – industrial adhesives, Henkel Adhesives Technologies India sharing the story about Henkel and Henkel's industry initiatives globally. This was followed by a presentation, where Munish Agarwal, MD, Edelman Group India, spoke about the processes he has implemented in the company, primarily, CAPA (corrective actions preventive actions methodology).

The roundtable then invited attendant printers and publishers to share their experience on a host of issues, including recyclability and how to leverage paper; safety at the workplace; saying no to the use of single-use plastic; minimising waste during production and quality standards, among others.

Ajay Joshi (holding the mic in the pic above) of Penguin Random House said the company had become the first trade publisher in India to move to FSC paper entirely. He also added that the company has now taken the initiative to recycle the excess unsold inventory to make stationery products for internal use.

On the issue of avoiding single-use plastic, the publishers were of different opinion. Some agreed that it’s possible to forego lamination and opt for UV instead. They also urged printers to suggest a suitable paper for cover where lamination is not necessary. On the other hand, publishers of education books argued that lamination on a cover is important for their books as they are thicker.

On the usage of shrink film for the pack, Hachette does not deploy individual shrink wrap whereas Penguin does. And both publishing majors get their books multiple copy shrink-wrapped. All the members at the roundtable agreed that it is required to have a re-look at the packing specifications, especially monsoon-packaging.

On the publisher-printer partnership, Chander Shekhar of XSEED, an education publisher, explained how the company chose print partners across different geographies, closer to the company warehouse, to avoid logistics delays. He added that the ideal situation would be the one where the printers directly supply the books to the schools.

On wastage of paper, two important points came to the fore. One, as mills supply paper in roll form, the paper stock in the core is often wasted. Again, the system of paper handling remains primitive where hooks are used to unload the rolls. This adds to the waste.

Two, both the printers and the publishers agreed that often there is no consistency in the same category of paper supplied by the same mill. This invariably affects quality.

On ensuring quality, MN Pandey of Avantika highlighted the use of software and production maintenance. He also urged the stakeholders not to worry about cost control and instead focus on wastage control.

During the event, Ramu Ramanathan made a presentation on some leading book printers, including Lovely, Inndus, Kadam Digital, Pragati and Repro, to illustrate their endeavour towards saving cost and resources.

The full-day roundtable conversation concluded with a commitment by printers-publishers to help control, monetise, and secure their content while boosting revenues. Almost everyone agreed that "Publishing is going through a big change. A couple of years ago it was - print is dying or not relevant anymore, and we need to move everything to an eBook or online course material. However, that’s not what the market wants, especially in India."

Book print is growing again, and publishers who were present sought a seamless system to keep print relevant but help them change how they print, what they print and where they print. Some things like best practices on sustainability, safety, and standardisation, the 3S, plus IPR can be easily implemented through mutual discussion.

Subhasis Ganguly said: "Publishers want tools to help them better monetise their content, which is technically their product. They want to be able to get more value out of that content and secure the content, and then they want to find ways to innovate that content, bridging between both print and digital."

Padmanabhan of HarperCollins India said it would be a boon to standardise the creation of a book. "One of the biggest hurdles is the creation of every single book that looks similar - from paper to format to grain direction. We need a system to make the process repeatable and easier."

Everyone agreed that the forum should be re-convened, soon, since this is the best way to offer solutions which can have a direct impact on the bottom line, improve profitability and efficiency.

What we need is a concerted effort to maintain the momentum so that in time we can arrive upon a set of best practices guidelines which are acceptable to all stakeholders, from publishers to paper manufacturers to printers. In time, the scope can be widened to include others, such as distributors and sellers, both physical and online, and even the literature festivals, big and small.

Perhaps the book print and publishing industry can borrow a leaf from other segments and lobby aggressively for its collective welfare.

Print talk: How print can grow its brand – I

Ramu Ramanathan — Fri, 04 May 2018 11:38:00

Packaging services firm
Money need not be spent only on hardware and factories.

Providing artwork and outsourcing colour management services to brands and pharmaceutical companies globally is one way to go.

Indian printers have a solid command on RBG and CMYK.

For example, Label and Artwork Management (LAM) is an extremely complex business operation that involves several stakeholders working together to deliver compliant artwork.

The challenges are: Pharma companies annually deliver a few hundred to several thousand artworks based on their product portfolios. While the timely delivery of packaging artwork is crucial to business, its quality is paramount to a successful program. The implications of a low-quality product can be catastrophic. A single mistake in labeling can cause recalls, lawsuits and millions of dollars in compensation and regulatory fines.

What a pre-media firm needs to look at is, the importance of meeting parameters such as: Quality; Productivity; Turn-around-time (TAT); Compliance; Traceability; Transparency ... continues to be an ongoing challenge.

The Artwork Management System eliminates errors. These errors can be: technical errors like incorrect barcode and Braille, incorrect logos and colours, design and strength errors. It can also be content errors like an ambiguous presentation of information, omission of data and incorrect symbols.

The benefits of the system are: cost reduction through improved efficiencies; reduced asset misuse (wrong versions, errors, reprints and recalls); increased speed to market and timely product launches ensured; and better asset reusability - common database.

A company like Gartner seeks prominent labeling and artwork software providers across its clientele. According to Gartner, end-to-end solution that serves the entire packaging supply chain, emphasis on the ability to design and review labelling and artwork in 3D, strong functionality and ease of use are key strengths.

This means artworks for more than 300 brands. The solutions could for life science, cosmetics and personal care and food and beverage industries. From offices in New Jersey to Copenhagen.

Pre-media firms
Printing and creating innovative design has always been outsourced at a global level in the recent years.

Today, India is the first choice when it comes to designing and pre-media outsourcing. 66% of major publishers voted that they will seek outsourcing services from India.

Pre-media have achieved a growth rate of 5.8% in India in the year 2014-15. It has led to the registration of 1,05,443 new publications.

The report also showed that India is ahead of the US, UK, China, Philippines and Australia. 30% of firms from the USA seek pre-media outsourcing services from India. Similarly, Philippines (18%), UK and China (16%), Vietnam (8%), and Australia (5%), remaining 18% followed other locations. The survey also indicated major growth in outsourcing firms of about 30% to 40% solely in India.

Survey also indicated that 42% of the companies are planning to increase outsourcing by 25% to India, while 33% will outsource at the present destinations.

(This is the part-I of Ramu Ramanathan’s talk on a houseboat in Kochi at the session hosted by All India Federation of Master Printers and the GC members on 4 February 2018)

US court puts Fujifilm, Xerox merger on hold

Noel D'Cunha — Wed, 02 May 2018 11:00:08

The court ruling will temporarily affect the proposed USD 6.1bn (approximately Rs 40,751-cr) takeover deal of Xerox by Fujifilm, which has been opposed by Deason and Carl Icahn, two of Xerox’s top shareholders who own a combined 15% of the US printer and copier maker, had called the deal structure “tortured” and “convoluted”.

According to court’s decision reported by Reuters, “The facts abduced at the evidentiary hearing clearly show that Jacobson, having been told on November 10 that the Board was actively seeking a new CEO to replace him, was hopelessly conflicted during his negotiation of a strategic acquisition transaction that would result in a combined entity of which he would be CEO.”

Fujifilm in a statement said it would consider all options, including whether to appeal against the decision. “We disagree with and are disappointed by the judge’s ruling.” The Japanese firm in its statement added, “We strongly believe that all Xerox shareholders should be able to decide for themselves the operational, financial, and strategic merits of the transaction.”

As expected, Xerox too disagreed with the ruling and said it will immediately appeal the court’s decision. “The company strongly believes that its shareholders should be allowed to exercise their right to vote on the transaction and decide for themselves,” the company said.

It added that it believes a combination with Fuji Xerox is the best path forward to create value for shareholders. “The Xerox board undertook a rigorous process to reach its decision to approve the proposed transaction, including a comprehensive review of the company’s strategic and financial alternatives, as well as potential transaction structures in its negotiations with Fujifilm over a 10-month period.”

Deason, who in February 2018 had asked the court to block the merger saying the agreement dramatically undervalues Xerox, said that he is “grateful the court acted to protect the shareholders of Xerox”.

EFI reports record Q1 revenue

PrintWeek India — Wed, 02 May 2018 09:50:30

The company reported record first quarter revenue of USD 239.9 million, up 5% compared to first quarter 2017 revenue of USD 228.7 million. It reported gross profit of USD 119.1 million down by 3.4% as compared to USD 123.5 million in first quarter 2017.

Guy Gecht, CEO of EFI, said, “We began 2018 with a very strong Q1, as our direct business (Industrial Inkjet and Productivity Software segments), which grew 17% and now comprises 77% of our sales, drove revenues above expectations. We also met our goals for Nozomi in Q1, and with increasing traction in the packaging market, look for sequential growth in unit shipments through the year.”

The company reported Q1 Industrial Inkjet revenue of USD 142.2m, up 15.4% compared with Q1 2017, Productivity Software revenue of USD 43.8m, up 24.9% year-on-year, and Fiery revenue of USD 53.9m, down 23.4% year-on-year.

“With Nozomi and the solid lineup of new products planned for the second half of the year, the entire EFI team is excited and energized about the significant opportunities in 2018 and beyond,” said Gecht.

Geographically, EFI recorded full-year sales of USD 117.4m in the Americas – down by 6.4% on Q1 2017, USD 88.2m in EMEA countries – up 0.2% year-on-year, and USD 34.3m in the APAC region – up 11.5% year-on-year.

Essel Propack’s fourth quarter result sees net income increase by 2.6%

Sriraam Selvam — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 12:25:16

The company’s income from operations stood at Rs. 628.4-crore which grew by 2.6% on a comparable basis excluding excise duty on sales.

Speaking about the results, Ashok Goel, vice chairman and managing director of Essel Propack said,“ The quarter has shown promise in terms of growth recovering across regions with a strong performance in Americas and AMESA. The turnaround in Germany and margin expansion across all regions, including Europe is assuring. All the regions continue to see an opportunity to grow and have developed robust new business pipelines which are monitored and progressed proactively. While acknowledging that the year’s growth in sales and profits has fallen short of Mission 20:20:20 targets, it gives us confidence that the business will return to a growth trajectory in the coming quarters.”

Essel Propack is part of the USD 4.2 billion Essel Group, with an FY17 turnover of over USD 368 million, is the largest speciality packaging global company, manufacturing laminated plastic tubes catering to the FMCG and pharma space- holding the oral care market share of 36% in volume terms globally.

In its press release, the company states that the quarter growth has been muted due to sluggish offtake in India at the start of the quarter in beauty and cosmetics and pharma categories linked to GST rate change during Q3. Other regions grew sequentially by 7.2% during the quarter.

A few commandments in the defence of paper

Ramu Ramanathan — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 14:08:00

Paper mills CEOs may not be superstars. But unlike Mark Zuckerberg, paper mills don't need to roll out safety standards for us to locate, control, download, and delete our personal data.

Which reminds me, Cambridge Analytica’s data theft and hacking would not work with paper.

By the way, we don't hear of creamwove and maplitho being phased out.

Also, we don't hear of copier paper and specialty paper running out of battery juice.

We don't hear of parents having to encrypt their children's textbooks.

We don't hear about a reader having to re-boot his daily newspaper.

We don't hear of devotees reading their Bible on an iPad in church or reading Tulsidas or Surdas on their androids.

Even in Digital India, when the Bollywood superstar enters Jodhpur jail, the first question he is asked: Show us your papers!

Even in Digital India, when the Bollywood superstar applies for bail, the first order in court: Have you filed your papers?

Even in Digital India, when the Bollywood superstar will be granted bail (this is India, after all), the verdict by the court will be: Your papers are in order!

Speaking of paper, we know about Nirav Modi, because of the paper trail.

Agreed, smart algorithms have taken Google a long way. My question is, how come smart algorithms have never nabbed a criminal?

Instagram's new feature will stop the app from refreshing automatically and promises feeds will feel "more fresh". In the good old days, we called it ... P.T.O.!

Speaking of apps, just four apps are required to download paper. They are called: Whiteness. Brightness. Smoothness. GSM. It is just that our friendly neighbourhood Marwari or Kutchi trader never branded it as an app.

Have you wondered why there is only one Steve Jobs? Is it because there is no other tech leader to fit the bill? Think again!

So they say 5G is coming. As it works, we’ll get speeds of 1 TBPS (Terabyte Per Second). We’ll have 500 billion connected devices.

Over connection leads to over-saturation. Having so many choices doesn’t really help as everything has become a blur.

They say, the next generation won’t know how to use cash currency. Already a two-year-old child can use a touch-a-screen, but can’t hold a crayon.

So what, many would say.

Already, I suspect two of the maladies on our planet will be: 1) smartphone blindness. 2) computer vision syndrome. Already, something is happening to our eyes. If you are reading this, and your eyes are not complaining, then your eyes are sending you a message.

People are talking about a decentralised internet as a kind of digital Garden of Eden that can restore the freedom and goodwill of the internet's early days. I call it walking into a bookstore and buying a book!

What is the success mantra for implementing Food Packaging Safety in India? The right type of paper or paperboard!

Other than a transport system, what ensures your packaging supply chain is full-proof? The humble carton box.

I don't smoke. But friends who do, tell me, to roll a cigarette, you need paper.

Today's Van Goghs and Salvodar Dalis need paper to bare their soul. Sans paper there is no soul to bare. So said ace photographer Tacita Dean when she was in Mumbai.

So, you don't stand in front of the Himalayas with a millennial only to be told, if we Photoshop or digitally manipulate these mountains, the results will look even more stunning on FB!

Researchers are integrating a simplified QR code on the backs of bumblebees, in order to track them. Are we the human race (also known as unorganised data by our governments and big corporates ), next?

Given the volume of transactions pharma firms do on a daily basis, they should be able to tell you, objectively, which drug is better for you. With billion active users ordering drugs, pharma firms can segment, quantify, and compare who is ordering what across neighbourhoods and cities. The pharma firm can algorithmically recommend prescriptions, help patients optimise their antibiotic choices, attract new customers with slick service, and ensure customers are addicted to their drugs. What does this mean? A world sans doctors, in which popular becomes better ...

Please remember. Life is not YouTube and AI. Our planet is analog. Humans are analog. It is time for paper to re-win our hearts and minds.

Screen printed art on paper

JK Papers may take over Sirpur Paper Mills at Rs 628-crore

Sriraam Selvam — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 11:20:00

Started by the Nizam rulers of Hyderabad, SPM located at Kaghaznagar, is one of the oldest paper mills in India and was considered to be the country’s largest manufacturers of pulp, paperboard and a variety of other papers. It shut down operations in October 2014 due to rising input costs, mainly raw materials.

A few weeks earlier, the state government issued a Government Order (GO) with a slew of tailor-made concessions which usually applies to mega projects.

According to a leading daily, this includes 100 per cent gross State GST reimbursement for 10 years and 100 per cent exemption on stamp duty. The government is also said to have offered the exemption of electricity duty for 10 years in addition to reimbursement of power cost at Rs three per unit for three years.

The concessions continue with capital subsidy at 20 per cent of investment subject to a maximum of Rs 50-crore, the supply of coal at a concession of Rs 1,000 for 10 years, interest subvention of two per cent per annum on the amount of new investments for five years.

Importantly, the company will be a preferred supplier of copier/maplitho to Telangana government at market rates.

While speaking to the media, Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary and commissioner for industrial promotion, Telangana said, “The takeover of the plant is at the advanced stage. The lenders headed by IDBI are in the process of finalising their approvals. We expect the takeover by the month-end.”

The news has been reportedly welcomed by the locals in Sirpur especially more than 3,000 workers of the sick company.

The GO is also said to mention that JK Paper has assured of protecting direct jobs of 1,200 staff and workers plus contract workers who are numerically equal. The industry has also promised in its proposal to provide livelihoods to about 10,000 families by use of its expertise in the plantation of trees.

Earlier in January, the company which is under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, received ‘expression of interest’ from ITC Group, JK Paper, West Coast Paper Mills and Kolkata-based Kohinoor Group.

Edelmann inks JV with MK Printpack

Priya Raju — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 12:01:00

The globally operating Edelmann Group employs more than 2,800 people in its 19 plants worldwide, including four in India.

Anil Kumar, the managing director of MK Printpack said, "MK Printpack has been committed to excellence in the production of paperboard packaging. We saw synergy with Edelmann who constantly strive to set standards in quality management, efficiency, delivery, reliability and sustainability."

Anil Kumar added, "We’re very excited. Learning industry best practices and participating in the industry benchmarking program is at the top of our list."

Edelmann has a significant presence in the health and beauty markets, with a focus on folding cartons and leaflets. It has worldwide sales of Euros 300m and has operations in Europe, China, North and South America, over and above India.

In October 2013, Edelmann picked up 65% share in Janus Packaging, to mark its foray in India. Janus started its operations in 1999 and went on to become India’s first print firm to obtain standard ISO-12647-2 Ugra Certificate Process Standard Offset (PSO) in January 2012. Edelmann’s Baddi plant in Himachal Pradesh has become the first in India to install a 12-unit Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 102 press.

The Edelmann Group designs and manufactures folding cartons and rigid boxes for: the healthcare sector, including prescription medications, over-the-counter medications and diagnostic tools; the beauty care sector—including perfume, skincare cosmetics, makeup and hair color—and consumer brands that sell home electronics and multimedia, wine and spirits, food and confectionary, and tobacco and other nonfood products.

Fujifilm and Xerox - Match made in heaven?

Sriraam Selvam — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 15:16:00

As the noise and dust of the landmark deal settle, the business world looks to make sense of the new force that is Fuji Xerox and the effect it can have on the print industry at large and the future of the company in particular.

The 1962-established joint venture, Fuji Xerox primarily served the Asia-Pacific region, with Fujifilm owning a majority 75% stake. According to a report, with the USD 6.1-bn bank fund, Fuji Xerox will first buy the 75% stake in the joint venture to become a 100% subsidiary of Xerox, and Xerox will change its name to Fuji Xerox. Fujifilm will acquire 50.1% of the new Fuji Xerox. The new company will maintain dual headquarters in US and Japan and will operate as “Fuji Xerox” and “Xerox” brands within its respective operating regions.

The now USD 18-bn enterprise as its first milestone is expected to leapfrog its nearest competition (Canon and Ricoh in terms of printing revenues) and will be a close second to HP in terms of scale.

The market and public investors in the US were positive about the development especially about the USD 2.5-bn extra dividend handed over to them, and Xerox shares saw an uptick of 4%.

Fujifilm also announced that it would be working to achieve USD 1.7-bn additional revenue through several measures by 2022.

According to reports, Fuji Xerox is expected to implement a wide range of restructuring including job cuts, changes in production locations and also enhance development processes with an aim to integrate with the US Xerox entity and increase efficiency across the globe.

The job cuts especially have caught the attention of the media with Fujifilm saying that it will cut 10,000 jobs at existing Fuji Xerox entity, mainly in Asia Pacific region where the company plans to shut down several factories.

The existing joint venture employs about 47,000 people globally, and Xerox employs about 36,000.

Shigetaka Komori, chairman and chief operating officer of Fujifilm and chairman of the existing Fuji Xerox, will serve as chairman of the new board who is said to have spoken about this takeover 10 years ago to the Japanese media and ironically claimed that he would have ‘considered buying Xerox if he was ten years younger’.

Many industry insiders welcomed the deal with veteran journalist Simon Eccles and print industry expert Andrew Tribute talking at length about the good in the deal.

Talking about Xerox and its many historical achievements Eccles, says, “The story of Xerox is a long and fascinating one, with a lot of significant innovations along the way. Xerographic copiers are only the first one, but it also made the first commercially viable laser printer (Xerox 9700) in the 1970s. Its mono DocuPrint of 1990 laid the groundwork for today’s digital production presses, the DocuColor 2000 series (introduced in 2000) had outsold every other digital colour production press in the world by Ipex 2002. The iGen established the idea of a high volume digital press (alongside the concurrent Kodak-Heidelberg NexPress). Since iGen most of the new print technologies seem to have come out of acquisitions: Tektronix (for phase-change printing) and Impika (fast inkjets).”

“Fuji-Xerox did its own thing, often very well, and a lot of the lower priced copiers and low-to-mid capacity digital presses came out of Japan. Outside Asia, the Xerox badge went on everything, with no attempt to identify which came from where,” Eccles adds.

Though many business experts call Xerox’s situation as a classic case of ‘competency trap’ wherein an organisation fails to look beyond the product or capability, it has mastered.

Xerox though has been trying to reinvent itself as a services company in the recent years and aggressively positioning itself as a managed print service company amidst serious competition.

There have been words of caution too. In his analysis to a Japanese business daily Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist of Rakuten Securities Economic Research Institute says, “This acquisition can be seen as Fujifilm being talked into buying [Xerox] by Carl Icahn, the activist investor who holds the largest stake in Xerox. For now, it can be viewed as negative or positive.”

“It is also unclear if Fujifilm can integrate a giant like Xerox smoothly,” he adds.

Jeff Jacobson, current chief executive of Xerox, who has had a run-in with activist investor Carl Icahn, who has pushed Xerox to explore the option including a shake-up in its joint venture with Fujifilm, and even called for Jacobson’s replacement as chief executive officer of Xerox, will serve as chief executive officer of the new Fuji Xerox.

Icahn who along with American billionaire Darwin Deason (the third-largest shareholder in Xerox) have been pushing for reforms in the company for several years now and have had serious concerns about Fuji Xerox relationship. Deason, in fact, has taken the matter to court, asking the merger deal to be blocked on the basis that the transaction ‘dramatically’ undervalued Xerox and ‘disproportionately’ favoured Fuji.

The duo of Icahn and Deason, which owns a combined 15.2% in Xerox, in a letter to shareholders, has appealed to them to free ‘the company from the shackles of the Fuji Xerox joint venture.’

It is to be noted that the duo has continuously opposed any potential expansion of the Fuji Xerox joint venture and questioned the non-transparent working on the arrangement.

Icahn had earlier said in December that ‘he believes Xerox still has potential, but it will go the way of Kodak if there aren’t major changes.’

He had also cast serious doubts about the position and capability of Jacobson and had said he is ‘incapable of creating long-term value’ for shareholders.

Tribute though gave Jacobson his vote of confidence. He says, “I see executive understanding in Jacobson taking on the role of CEO of the new company. Unlike many of his forerunners at Xerox Jacobson has both the understanding and vision of the industry. I have known and worked with Jacobson for many years from his time at Kodak Polychrome Graphics. I was surprised when he was overlooked many years ago to take on the role of running the print related businesses of Kodak. No doubt today as he takes control of this new operation he will thank those who did not give him the poisoned chalice of running Kodak. I wish him well for the future.”

Xerox from its part has called this campaign by Deason-Icahn as ‘misinformed’ and have said that the merger was in the best interest of both the companies and was taken forward after exhausting all other possibilities.

It has in its part started a new PR campaign ‘Better Together’ with a special team which will ‘help to dissolve its partner barriers, inspiring and enabling the brainpower and passion of more than 6,000 researchers and engineers to create a unified team.’

Meanwhile, in India, the reaction to the deal has been mixed with a majority being cautiously optimistic.

An industry insider, echoed the sentiments of the task at hand to integrate wholly different cultures. He says, “It’s a hell of a job to integrate cultures. I feel the first phase will see a major drop in value. As the new entity paces up, all rattling parts will go. There will be job loss, product streamlining. I guess what we will see is a very focused imaging technology company which will have a workflow at its heart and all formats and all technology – offset, flexo, laser, inkjet, continuous inkjet, and UV – working to put together the final products.”

In spite of doubts and resistance from some quarters, the general consensus on the deal has been positive and only time will tell if this is a new dawn for the company.

Expert Talk: Andrew Tribute

This is a very logical move and one that I have expected for some time. In recent years Xerox has been split into the production printing and document company, and the business process outsourcing company. Before this happened, I had commented that I felt Xerox was losing interest in the traditional Xerox business and was concentrating too much on the services area. For years Fujifilm through its majority ownership of Fuji Xerox and Xerox had worked well together. Fuji Xerox providing the mass market products and Xerox the higher end production printing products. For years Xerox largely dismissed liquid inkjet as the technology for high-speed printing and pushed its solid ink technology which was unable to provide the quality and speed of drop-on-demand liquid inkjet. It was only since the acquisition of the French company Impika that one saw a change in impact. Fujifilm, however, had been significantly more progressive in this area becoming a major player in large-format inkjet printing. It made major acquisitions in its own rights in this area with printhead manufacturer Dimatix and ink companies Avicia and Sericol. It also expanded inkjet press manufacturing with its Jet Press 720. It has developed the Dimatix printhead range and in particular, the Samba that has become the printhead of choice for the leading presses from companies such as Heidelberg and Landa pushing highest quality inkjet printing. I see real potential for the future with the new FujiXerox incorporating the Fujifilm printhead and other Fujifilm technologies into core technology structures for the future.

Kejriwal of Parksons Graphics: "The textbook and trade book market to grow at 20% and 4% respectively"

Priya Raju — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 12:08:16

At the event, Abhishek Kejriwal, director of Parksons Graphics presented on the current scenario of the book printing in India. Talking about the India growth story, he explained how its demographics and the favourable economy would play a key role in spearheading its growth,

Talking about book publishing in India, he said, "The current market size of the textbook market alone is USD 4.6-bn whereas trade books are USD 0.3-bn and it is growing at the rate of 20% and 4% respectively. This shows the potential of book publishing in India."

Kejriwal said, "The paper consumption is expected to reach about 20 million tonnes by 2020. Also, the per capita paper consumption in India is 13 kg, when compared to the global average of 57kg. This coupled with the young population in India promise long-term growth."

Sharing his experiences and expectations about the participation at the Frankfurt Book Fair, he said, "Participation at exhibitions helps a firm to enhance its global presence and helps one understand the market presence. However, there is a need to project India as a print destination and ensure better visibility and printer-publisher engagement."

"Also, the visit will be fruitful when a higher percentage of production teams of publishers will visit the show instead of only the top management attending the show. It would be of great help for Indian print firms exhibiting if a database to identify the target audience can be shared."

IPMA: “Paper suffers from negative publicity; ills of e-waste undermined”

Sriraam Selvam — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 09:32:25

The campaign is an initiative by Government of India to sensitise people, especially students about climate change and global warming and the need to protect our environment for our future generations by performing at least one Green Good Deed every day.

In a detailed response to Dr Harsh Vardhan, minister of environment, forest and climate change, Government of India, IPMA through its secretary general Rohit Pandit has highlighted the positive role of the Indian paper industry to the environment’s cause.

Putting forward the efforts of the paper industry and detailing its working vis-a-vis the environment, Pandit in his 13-point response carefully breaks down several myths about the paper industry destroying the environment.

On top of his list, Pandit explained how 70% of the paper produced in India is from waste/recycled paper or agricultural residue and the remaining 30% is from pulpwood which is from agro/farm forestry which is unlike the rest of the world which is dependent on natural forest for raw material.

He added that 900 hectares have been brought under plantation cumulatively in the recent years and 125,000 hectares are covered under agro/farm forestry annually.

He has also highlighted the paper industry’s long pending plea to the various departments of the Indian government to permit plantation on the degraded forest which can increase green cover by 1%, apart from providing employment to approximately 10-lakh rural and tribal people and Rs 1-lakh crores of economic development in 20 years.

Pandit has also stressed on the major issue of damage to the environment by e-waste and the other effects of digitalisation are undermined and the paper industry, which is greening the country is suffering due to negative publicity.

New pre-media house Vismaya opens in Andhra Pradesh

Priya Raju — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 10:59:00

A brainchild of T Chinna Babu and Daggubati Pavan Kumar, Vismaya was established in 2016. Babu, managing director of Vismaya Premedia Services, said, “Globally, pre-media firms are experiencing huge pressure on their margins due to high labour costs. The companies across the world are looking towards India for outsourcing their requirements. In the recent past, India has been able to establish its brand in the international market. We believe the quality of human resource and domain knowledge will enable us to be in an advantageous position in catering to all the pre-media requirements locally.”

He added, “Time to market is a critical KPI (key performance indicator) for the brand owners and as pre-media firms we will play a significant role in building brands.”

The Vishakhapatnam facility of Vismaya is a 30-seater plug and play facility at the Tech Mahindra campus. Its team comprises of 18 employees with a combined expertise of more than 120 years in pre-media and pre-press.

Babu said, “At Vismaya we aim to be a reliable partner for pre-media solutions for our global clients. Our objective is to enable delivery of the highest quality, market-ready artworks while reducing production costs.”

Five-minute survey: Sheetfed Offset Outlook in India

PrintWeek India — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 12:51:00

Noel D’Cunha, managing editor, PrintWeek India, said, “The idea of the survey is to examine the trends that are influencing the sheetfed offset operations in India. Managing these operations and keeping the profits high are at the top of most print companies’ agenda. This calls for investment in both machine and manpower. Participate in this five-minute survey and help shape the future and learn how your industry peers are preparing themselves for the future.”

The survey results will be published in the ensuing issue of PrintWeek India.

PS: No company details will be revealed.

To begin the survey, please click here.

Three big deals in the first months on 2018

Ramu Ramanathan — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 10:31:00

Many people have asked me, what should they know about this deal? One thing to do is, keep an eye on Fujifilm chairman and chief executive Shigetaka Komori. Yes, Xerox chief executive Jeff Jacobson will be CEO of the new Fuji Xerox organisation but Komori is the gent who has worked on how to combine and "unleash" the best technologies and R&D know-how. He is the gent who famously said the plans would "remain confidential during the integration phase".

Komori transformed Fujifilm in the face of huge decline in what had been its core photographic business, and wrote a book Innovating Out of Crisis: How Fujifilm Survived (and Thrived) As Its Core Business Was Vanishing, detailing his experiences. Please do read the book, if you want an insight into one of the biggest deals of 2018.

The other big deal in January was Kolbus selling its perfect binding business to Muller Martini. In real terms, this means, the Kolbus perfect binding and book line business, based at Rahden in Germany, and intellectual property will be transferred to Muller Martini Buchbinde-Systeme, a new business unit formed at the site that will be integrated into the Muller Martini group.

An ex-employer I met, told me this was bound to happen when "a company starts to sacrifice the long-term profits from after-sales in the pursuit of short-term machine sales."

And in a way, this dovetails into the question that was asked to Khushru Patel (in the pic) of Jak Printers at KMPA's Print and Beyond seminar in Kochi on 3 February. How does a company CEO pass on the baton in a family-run business? Patel's reply was, "One should train the children (the gen-next) in the family to focus on the business aspect and not merely the print products."

Now, only time will tell if Khusru Patel's method works or no. But there is an alarming bit of stats from a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Family Business Annual Survey. This survey suggests that 30% of family businesses make it to the second generation, 12% to the third, and a mere 3% to a further generation.

And this brings me to the breaking news of February.

International Finance Corporation (IFC) is planning to invest around USD 5-million in Smartpaddle Technology (Bizongo) which as PrintWeek India and WhatPackaging? readers will recall was founded by three IITians: Aniket Deb, Sachin Agrawal and Ankit Tomar.

The Mumbai-based company operates as a B2B technology platform providing one-stop-shop packaging solutions to medium and large companies. And they are certainly on the march even as budget allocations for print and packaging were squeezed to a piecemeal size in 2017.

So what will happen next? Please find out, after the break.

Indian paper makers to benefit as China bans waste paper import

Sriraam Selvam — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 12:36:00

According to insiders in China, capacities close to three-lakh tonnes per annum are shut down due to lack of environmental compliance.

As a result, the price of recycled packaging board in China has increased. Indian manufacturers using waste paper stand to benefit on account of lower global waste paper prices (on excess supply) and higher realisation for recycled paper.

The Indian paper manufacturers like West Coast Paper, TNPL and NR Agarwal Industries which majorly import waste paper for manufacturing processed recycled paper are expected to improve margins on account of falling waste paper prices.

[[Read: Share prices of paper companies have surged to a new high last month]]

Indian market potential

Today, the per capita paper consumption in India is just about 13 kg, less than one-fourth of the global average of 57 kg.

AS Mehta, president, JK Paper stated, “As far as the paper industry and the growth outlook is concerned India is going to be the fastest growing paper market so the Indian paper industry will see a growth of something around 6% to 7%." He added, "As far as the operations are concerned India is one of the lowest cost producers today and our effort will remain on the better-operating efficiencies and parameters will improve upon the operations and improve upon the operating margin further."

Have spare cash? Invest in paper

Sriraam Selvam — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 12:34:00

If you study the numbers of the past six months, Indian paper companies have reported double-digit earnings growth over the past two years; and their stocks have been bullish. Profits at these paper manufacturers had surpassed the 2016-17 numbers in the first nine months of 2017-18, with improved efficiency, a favourable pricing environment and reduction in interest expense.

However, it is only in the past few months that the stock valuations, which was in single digits have been boosted. One reason is, is the sustained bull run in the market, the others insiders says is in the wake of rising paper prices due to shutdown of capacities in China.

The PrintWeek India and WhatPackaging? team scoured the market and understood there are three reasons which analysts cite. These are: The ban on low-grade mixed waste paper in China, the use of waste paper by Indian manufacturers who stand to benefit on account of lower global prices on excess supply and higher realisation for recycled paper, and finally, companies like West Coast, TNPL and NR Agarwal who are benefitting due to the significant board production in their factories.

JK Paper is planning a Rs 650-crore investment. This shall entail modernisation and the balancing of the plant as well as shifting of the old pulp mill at JK PM plant Odisha Plant to Gujarat plant

In spite of an expanding digital economy, JK Paper, West Coast Paper and International Paper are set to script their most profitable performance in this financial year.

Profits at these paper manufacturers had surpassed the 2016-17 numbers in the first nine months of 2017-18, with improved efficiency, a favourable pricing environment and reduction in interest expense.

JK Paper has reported a net profit of Rs 1.9 billion during the April-December period of FY18, growing 75 per cent over a year before. The FY17 net profit was Rs 1.6 bn. West Coast Paper earned Rs 1.4 bn in the first nine months of this financial year, growing 85 per cent over a year before; the profit was nearly Rs 1.3 bn in FY17.

This is reflected in the scrips of others in the paper sector. Share prices of these companies surged to a new high last month.

Curiously enough, revenue growth has been flat for top paper makers. One reason is, most plants are operating at full capacity for over a year.

The vice-chairman at West Coast Paper, Saurabh Bangur said in an interview to a business daily that market sentiment has improved. He pointed out that "Prices of wood, 40-45 per cent of raw material cost, have been at a comfortable level in the past few quarters. We have been able to increase prices of paper by 2-2.5 per cent since December, following an increase in costs of crude oil and chemicals. Since no new capacities are coming into the market, there will be some shortage on the supply side and the market is expected to remain strong".

West Coast Paper has reduced long-term debt by Rs 1 bn in the past year. Furthermore, it has renegotiated interest rates on high cost loans. Current long-term debt is about Rs 2.75 billion.

A look at the West Coast balance sheet indicates that the finance cost was Rs 245 million in April-December of FY18 vis-a-vis Rs 434 mn in FY17 during the same period.

With the big numbers on the ascendancy, paper stocks look to go up and up. Industry reports from the USD 17bn eCommerce sector suggest Amazon and Flipkart consume 1,200-1,400 tonnes of paper that goes into making boxes and printing bills. In addition, there are the Paytm, Myntra, Jabong, FreshMenu, BigBasket, Grofers and the innumerable other such firms who require brown bags, boxes, paper.

According to research by IIFL, the Indian paper market is on the verge of outpacing the global industry. In the period FY 2018-21, industrial paper, recycled fibre-based packaging boards and copier paper segments are expected to witness healthy performance. The IIFL reports states, "The packaging boards segment, especially, is expected to post robust volumes on account of increasing demand from ecommerce and FMCG. Kraft paper or cardboard volumes are expected to increase from 4.8 million tonnes in FY17 to 6.7 million tonnes by FY21".

Have spare cash? Invest in paper.

Media Expo to open its door tomorrow in Mumbai

Sujith Ail — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 12:29:00

Some of the companies exhibiting at the show are Canon, Hewlett Packard (HP), Fujifilm, Colorjet, Apsom Infotex, Mimaki, Negi, Wonder Signs, TimexBond, TechNova Imaging, Apsom Technologies, and Aestrik Techno.

Brands like Nilkamal, Arvind, Alstrong Enterprises, Aludecor Lamination, EverGlow, Wonder Signs, RM Graphics and LIPI Marketing will be exhibiting for the first time at the Media Expo.

Commenting on the previous experience at Media Expo, Anil Brahmbhatt, managing director of SkyScreen said, “We participated in Media Expo last year and the response we received for our products on display was very positive. We expect a greater response to our participation this year as we will conduct live demos of our new products.”

Some of the technologies to watch out for at the show:

Benson Polymers launches Polyfix, super strong adhesive for plastics, metals, and ceramics.

Hitech Systems will display print machines from Azon which is capable of printing on diverse substrates such as cotton, nylon, lycra, denim, jute, paper, leather, metal, glass, vinyl, acrylic, wood with advanced digital die-cutter, auto-feeder.

Macart Equipment to launch Uvision flatbed machine comprising of six picolitre print-heads.

Arrow Digital will represent EFI, Massivit 3D, and Oki at Media Expo. Arrow will display EFI H1625 LED hybrid UV inkjet printer, Oki M64 LCIS (Large Capacity Ink System) model and many others.

Can Image Media Tech to highlight 4W Image - digital wall painting, a new concept to print on any uneven surface for indoor or outdoor advertising.

Skyscreen India will exhibit Stahls’ range of its machinery like CAD-Cut, CAD-Color heat transfer films, Hotronix heat presses and GCC expert professional cutting plotter and fusing machines.

Also read: Expo space sold out at Media Expo’s Mumbai show

GroupM report: India’s print ad spends to grow by 4% in 2018

Priya Raju — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 18:01:21

The report also estimated ad spending in 2017 as Rs 61,263 crores, growing at 10%, as predicted by GroupM in February of last year.

Speaking on the report, CVL Srinivas, country manager, WPP India and CEO, GroupM South Asia said, “As consumer sentiment stabilises and spending increases, we estimate 2018 to be a relatively better year from an ad spend perspective. Growth in digital media will continue to outstrip other media but unlike most markets, India continues to see traditional media formats grow. After a couple of sluggish years, rural volumes are expected to pick up this year leading to increased marketing budgets.”

The report stated that continuing urbanisation and rising wages are supporting consumer growth in finance, durables, services and retail. India is witnessing an increase in spending from rural markets, as sales growth at 1.5-2.5x of urban sales growth for major FMCG and consumer durable companies.

Lakshmi Narasimhan, chief growth officer, GroupM South Asia said, “India remains one of the fastest growing ad markets globally, and is among the top five countries that are expected to drive incremental investment in 2018. Our growth percentage is three times that of the global adex and more than double of the APAC growth percentage.”

According to the report, the Digital adex will continue to grow by 30% in 2018. Video advertising will be a key component in the expenditure on digital and is estimated to grow at 54%, as bandwidth improves and data and mobility device become more economical for the consumer. He said, “The next phase of internet growth will come from video, voice and vernacular.”

On the traditional media front, print ad spends will see a marginal growth of 4%, taking a total share of 29% in total ad spends. The parliamentary elections in 2019 will stimulate advertising from the back half of 2018. Print will see a slight uptick in 2018 from the elections, with key markets in demand. The growth rate for newspapers is estimated at 4.2% with English papers growing slightly slower than Hindi and regional languages.

Television continues to be the largest medium, with its contribution remaining at close to 45% share. Whereas radio is expected to grow at 15% which is higher than the last couple of years, this is due to the launch of new radio stations across the country. The report states that other media such as OOH will witness good traction of 15% growth from premium transit sites.

In addition to this, at the press conference, GroupM also presented some of the media trends that will emerge in India in 2018. The common thread across the 2018 media trends is the digital platform, which is core to the growth of media in India.