Labelexpo India roadshows a success

Held in Sivakasi, Vadodra, Ahmedabad and Ludhiana, the aim of these events was to invite offset printers keen to diversify into label printing to Labelexpo India 2016. All four events were sponsored by Avery Dennison and HP. The first three roadshows were also sponsored by Nilpeter while the Ludhiana leg was sponsored by Omet.

Each event started with Aakriti Agarwal, Label News India editor, giving an overview of the growing label industry in both the Indian and international markets. While the estimated per capita label consumption in developed markets such as Scandinavia and US is 17 to 18 sqm and 15 to 16 sqm respectively, India stands at approximately 0.9 sq. ‘Estimated growth in India and China is between six and 10 percent,’’ she said. ‘India’s growth figures along with China’s outstrip the world and with the population, the consumption is huge.’

Avery Dennison focused on increasing demand and growth prospects in the Indian industry. The company further informed the attendants about the Avery Dennison Knowledge Centre in Bengaluru where it runs various programs for knowledge transfer to flexo printers.

While G Sridhara, zonal manager in South and East India, presented Avery Dennison in Sivakasi, Sandeep Sharma, area sales manager, represented Avery Dennison in Vadodara and Gujarat, and Bhupinder Singh, zonal sales manager for West and North India, interacted with the audience in Ludhiana.

These speakers stated that pressure-sensitive label demand and growth in 2015 was the highest in the world. It is globally a 23.5 billion USD industry with the fastest growth rate of 4.5 percent. Asia Pacific grew the fastest at 5.2 percent in 2015-16, and India witnessed the fastest growth rate of 10 percent. Further the company said that the pressure-sensitive label growth is fastest in India at eight percent CAGR with strong growth across most FMCG segments. Many brands, the company claimed, are shifting from glue applied labels to improve shelf appeal and optimize application performance. ‘Low pressure-sensitive penetration and per capita consumption in India indicates a continued strong pressure-sensitive label growth forecast. In India more than 50 percent of pressure-sensitive label volume is used for primary label decoration applications with approximately 30 percent variable information printing (VIP) labeling applications. VIP, functional and security PSL demand is increasing strongly,’ said Sharma.

HP presented on the changing retail landscape and spoke on opportunities within digital printing, with Ashok Pahwa, regional sales manager for North and East at HP Indigo, and Gaurav Chadha, business development manager at HP Indigo, posing the following question to the audience. ‘People see and hear between 2,500 and 3,000 ad messages every day. But how many of them do they remember and why?’

Using international case studies on Coca Cola and Forza Supplements, they stressed how digital printing helps connect with consumers, reduce inventory, increase the speed to market, helps quick customization and results in improved quality of a brand’s image.

While they agreed that the unit print cost is high in digital printing, they said that inventory and handling waste cost is way less in digital printing when compared to conventional printing. ‘The digitally printed part of the product cost gives the added value to the consumer,’ they said.

Manish Kapoor, country manager for sales at Nilpeter, presented to the audiences in Sivakasi, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, cautioning offset printers that it’s not easy to shift to labels. ‘Think well before taking this step,’ he commented, before elaborating on the benefits of a flexo press, in being able to print on multiple substrates with many decoration techniques, and that printers using a narrow web label printing press can cater to many industries using multiple printing methods such as flexo, offset, gravure, screen, digital, cold and hot foil, variable data printing, all on one press.

He further explained how on one narrow web press, a wine label can be printed and with some additional features, a shrink sleeve can be printed too. ‘A narrow web press makes you feel like a magician but it’s in your hands to create the real magic by getting the right jobs and sustaining the business,’ he said.

Harveer Sahni, managing director of Weldon Celloplast, the exclusive agent of Omet label printing presses in India, spoke on opportunities within the label industry in Ludhiana. He spoke on the importance of labels, touched on the history of the segment and the current market size. Talking of innovative and interactive labels, he praised the efforts made by Coca-Cola, told the audience about the Heinz dip and squeeze functional label, innovations from Schreiner, and several other examples in the international market.

Towards the end of the session, Aakriti Agarwal presented a case study on Nitai Press, an offset printer based in Ahmedabad, who successfully transitioned to label printing. After talking to the directors of Nitai Press – Rajan Vyas and Nitai Vyas – 10 suggestions were made to offset printers so they step into the market with caution and industry knowledge. Rajan Vyas was present at the Vadodara and Ahmedabad roadshows to give the suggestions to the audience in person. Many offset printers looking at diversifying into label printing asked several questions to which Vyas promptly responded, thus making it an interactive and a knowledgeable session.

The Sivakasi show was attended by more than 100 offset printers, most of whom were evaluating the investment in flexographic technology. Despite the regional festivities and rain, it was a houseful in Vadodara and Ahmedabad with more than 70 printers at each roadshow and interactive sessions. The event in Ludhiana was also attended by some important printers in the region, some of them who travelled from nearby cities.

Offset printers attending this year’s show will be invited to a scheduled program that’s dedicated to them and have access to an exclusive VIP lounge.