"Komori has supplied complex presses to Manipal, York, Pragati, Parksons"

Ramu Ramanathan (RR): 25 brand new Komori presses in India in 2014. What is your target for 2015 (for India / the world)?

Yoshiharu Komori (YK): In terms of targets, Komori is clear that we want 100% happy customers. The main focus is customer satisfaction and I personally attend to the customer satisfaction reports. I have also instructed Sangam Khanna, president of Insight Communication to raise the standards of service levels higher.

RR: Market share or numbers: Your preference?

YK: I am always happy to have a higher market share. We expect more from Insight. At Komori,we will certainly support the Indian customers with zero-defect products and with more Komori engineers who shall visit India.

RR: Komori was the last of the major manufacturers to come to India. Today, we see Komori has more than 50% market share in India. Many of your key customers are in the audience today. What is your message for them?

YK: The dynamics of print are changing and Komori is the only offset print manufacturer which has invested in the R&D. For example, we use the HUV technology to spearhead the competition with over 500 machines installed in packaging and print-on-demand (POD). Komori has invested in presses for packaging like the RP 40, GL 40, GLX 40, and to be launched GL 44, apart from the HUV. More products will be rolled out in the sphere of packaging. Plus there is digital with Landa Komori project and the Komori Imperia 29.

RR: There are quite a few printers in India who do not prefer a Komori on their shopfloor. Why according to you should they purchase a Komori?

YK: In a nutshell it’s "the most profitable printing machine". This I must confess is what some of our common customers who possess a German-make press have said.
 

RR: So is it Komori versus the German manufacturers?

YK: German machines are not bad. Howsoever there are features in a Komori press, in particular dot sharpness in print quality, KHS/H-UV due to the on-demand technology, high productivity with better yield, ease of operation, and more than anything else, negligible failure, and low cost of maintenance (cost of ownership), which our customers vouch for. All this contributes to the bottomline and return-on-investment (ROI). This makes it a highly profitable machine.

RR: Packaging is a sunrise sector in India. How successful have Komori machines been in the packaging segment, globally. This is because we see very few installations in India as compared to Komori’s global presence.

YK: Yes, packaging is high growth segment in India. With our global experience, we have already made inroads the Indian market. This is in spite of the fact that we were the last to enter India. With just seven years of active history, we have already challenged the way of thinking of the packagers in India.

RR: Globally, what is your track record?

YK: Komori has supplied packaging solutions to Japan, Europe and the US, are now supplied to China. However, compared to the global market of Komori, the delivery record of Komori in the Indian packaging industry is small. Having said that, we have enough to prove that Komori is a better choice when it comes to quality, performance and ROI.
 

RR: And in India?

YK: Komori has supplied complex configuration presses like Komori LS-6/729+C, LS-632+C,  and GL-6/740+C to some of the best like Manipal, York, Pragati, Parkson Packaging and more to come.

RR: Tell us about the GLX-40 which you showcased at your Tsukuba plant?

YK: Last year, we released the GLX-40 that was developed as a dedicated packaging press. We hosted an open house at our Tsukuba plant. It was well received, with a large number of customers from all over the world coming to see it. We are planning one on 12 March, 2015, and I welcome all of you to Japan in large numbers. We also look forward to welcoming you to Print China to be held in April this year as well as IGAS, because we are planning to exhibit the best of our packaging solutions at these events.

RR: Komori San: please help our esteemed audience understand the print realignments in Japan? This is evident with the global partnerships and agreements between Mitsubishi and Ryobi; Canon and Oce; and Komori and Konica Minolta? There are others too. What is happening to the traditional print manufacturing sector in Japan?

YK: As everyone may be aware, Akiyama and Shinohara have been absorbed into the Chinese companies, Mitsubishi and printing machinery department of Ryobi is separated from the body respectively, and a joint venture was established.

RR: Is this due to finanical hedging?

YK: Komori has a strong financial position. The stock market capitalisation too has established it as a world class offset machine manufacturer. Komori has become one of the largest and the strongest print engineering service provider, and we will continue to maintain that. Komori’s core business will remain manufacturing and sale of offset printing machines.
 

RR: What about your alliances?

YK: Alliances with Konica Minolta and Landa are for entry into the digital space. Komori has promoted the acquisition of Tokai holding for the PE business expansion (Japanese silk screen printing machine manufacturer). I think that the conversion of such business structure in the future, the business alliances and M&A for the purpose of expansion of business areas will continue to accelerate our business across all our verticals.

RR: Has the Japanese industry saturated? Is it because of the Yen appreciation or global capital flows?

YK: Prosperity of manufacturing industry in Japan peaked in the late 1980s – "Japan as No 1". I was told, the bubble burst in 1990s, after the financial crisis of 1997. Secondly the economic scale was created by China, but as the technical capabilities of the world’s most advanced nation, Japan, there are many companies that have contributed to the development of the world. Komori, as a printing machine manufacturer is proud to be one of them, meeting the challenges of the printing industry by providing solutions that have been world’s firsts like the APC fully automatic plate changing, KHS colour matching control, H-UV fast drying printing, etc.

RR: Has Japan conceded the era of high-speed growth to China?

YK: Japan, has contributed to a number of innovations that have become the industry standard of today. These are all, as I would put it, listening to the Japanese user's voice. As Japan's Shinkansen (Bullet Train) technology is utilised in high-speed rail plan of India and other parts of the world, there still are many areas in which Japan can contribute to the world in technological capabilities.

RR: India is a market of old and new machines. To-date Komori has 3500 Komori machines in India. What's your commitment to service and after-sales support; especially for boom in the pre-owned segment?

YK: We do not know the exact numbers and their location but we do understand that we will like to contribute to each one of them. Komori and Insight are developing an App which should be up and running by end of February, 2015 and all the Komori machines users can place calls 24x7, pay and track their orders with delivery dates.

RR: Does Komori plan to set up a Japanese training and demo centre in India, one similar to what a German manufacturer had done in Chennai a few years ago?

YK: Komori has studied the possibility and also studied the failures of other similar models globally. I understand that this is an education and must be imparted. So I do feel that it must be supported by good number of sales to compensate the demo centre. We do have a world-class Komori Graphic Centre, and I will request you all to make use of this facility to lift up your staff skill levels. Many companies globally have benefited from this and we look forward that all of you may use this to your needs.

RR: Komori San: One final question, your favourite piece of Komori kit?

YK: There is nothing special as such, But I like to meet all the Komori customers irrespective of the machine they own, new or used. I feel that they are a part of my family.