After speaking to a close associate of the Gandhis, PrintWeek India has learnt that Arun Gandhi reached his office in Ranjit Nagar Commercial Complex in Patel Nagar in New Delhi on 12 May. As was his wont, he was sorting out “a technical issue about a corrugation box job after punching”.

All of a sudden, he lost his consciousness and collapsed. The office boy tried to revive him with water but his condition deteriorated. Then Arun’s partner, also Arun Gandhi, took him to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

The news has sent shock waves in the print industry, especially since he had no medical history of BP or blood sugar, nor any medical complaints. Arun Gandhi was 56.

Arun, along with his partner Arun Gandhi, spread the good word about CITO creasing systems to Indian converters. Today, the German-based firm is a die-cutting and creasing leader in India because of the time the team at Capital Graphic Supplies and AS Print Aids have invested in demystifying the process for the past 15 years.

Seniors in the industry recall how Gandhi travelled across the country and discussed creasing parameters. He would get into detailed discussions about what is preferable – cutting face up or face down. He would also discuss issues of cutting pressure and makeready technique (patch up). Plus, he would take great pains to explain the process of nicking and rubbering and its influence on cutting and trimming results.

Convincing customers, especially Indian converters, was an issue in the early days. Arun Gandhi said, “In the past 15 years, converters have started understanding the system, and are looking at it seriously.”

Apart from the world-famous creasing systems from CITO, the Gandhis have also championed the cause of Hunkeler, Buhrs, Tresu, etc.

Last week, when PrintWeek India received a query from a leading pharma company about the measurement of Braille on a product, I recalled Arun Gandhi because they have Cito Breye, a software which analyses the Braille dots and provides the height, the base diameter and the positioning of the dots. I was to contact him on 13 May in the morning, when I got the news.

The tributes have been pouring in. Mukul Luthra of Artize Die said, “Arun brought so many gifts to our packaging in the shape of material, machines and technology. He was a great mentor to me, and a gem to the Indian packaging industry.”

Whenever we met, we would say, “Mr Gandhi, time to host a workshop about creasing matrix and stripping systems for the team members of PrintWeek India in our Mumbai office.” And he would say, next time.

Speaking to PrintWeek India, a senior print CEO said, “His demise is a huge loss for the industry. He was a team player who was willing to impart technical knowledge about die-making and cutting process for folding boxes, packaging from corrugated board, and displays.”

RIP Arun Gandhi.