CEOs unravel the mystery of volatile times in PrintWeek February issue

Jean-Pascal Bobst said the eCommerce market in India is expected to reach USD 350-billion by 2030, and this is where corrugated board, in particular, will play a key role as primary packaging for a wide range of goods, from fruits and vegetables to toys, food and FMCGs.

Lin Zhirong said when a country grows towards being developed, packaging demands grow, and the solution for the same is local manufacturing.

In 2022, Miraclon added a spot colour support to PureFlexo printing, and launched Kodak Flexcel NX Central software as it moved to advanced technology in flexo plate arena. “We launched new technology that makes our customers more efficient and improves their bottom lines,” Chris Payne said.

Stephane Daveau said he is excited about the group’s direct presence in India, the new IML demo centre and the partnership with Edgyn, its European partner for security solutions. “India is developing very fast, especially in packaging, so multiplied by population, the potential and opportunities are enormous,” he added.

Dr Nicolas Wiedmann said with 12 facilities in India, Siegwerk is well positioned to best serve its customers across the country and remain able to expand capacities as business demands.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Valloy, the digital finishing solutions specialist, has performed well. Juan Kim said he plans a new era of growth for his brand with smart, smaller and flexible equipment.

In the Leadership section, D Nagarjuna tells the notable story of Srinivasa Reddy, who set on his print yatra as a student in India to sail overseas and employ 350 people at his three firms in Uganda.

In the photo books section, Vimal Parmar recounts his experience of attending the CEIF show. “Every booth that offered any printing device, be it the digital production presses or the small dye-sublimation (D2T2) card printers or those that offered substrates for printing and post-print devices, were teeming with visitors. And the discussions plus order bookings were quite good,” he said.

In the profile section, PR Ray writes about Sree Saraswati Press — the forgotten history of how a printing press impacted the independence struggle, spread the good word plus published academic works, and led to the foundation of the first printing education school of India.

The Books for all section highlights Oruma, the Thrissur-based firm that offers web offset printing, multicolour offset printing, digital printing and graphic designing, which with prudent investment in post-press backed by a support team, have created a new category in bookbinding.  

The Obituary section pays tribute to Viswanathan Ramani, who passed away on 22 January 2023, and who helped HP Indigo grow its installation base in the initial years, and established Kodak NexPress as an all-India brand in less than three months after it was introduced in India.