The Covid year has been quite exceptional for Nilpeter India. “We have received a good number of orders from both overseas and India markets. Currently, we are completely sold out till July 2021. By the time we close our sales in March 2021, we expect to ship around 30 presses of which about a dozen presses will be shipped within India,” said Manish Kapoor of Nilpeter India.

Today, Nilpeter India is the global hub for the FB series which is manufactured only in India, as production in the US was discontinued in 2017. Earlier, the FB series was manufactured both in the US and India. After years of successful operation in India, the Danish printing press manufacturer opened a new manufacturing and development facility in Chennai, India. The 3,500 sqm modern building houses manufacturing and assembly lines, R&D environment, Customer Care Center, and a large Technology Center.

Already a saturated market

On being asked about the prospect of commercial printers diversifying to the label industry, Kapoor said, “There has been a lot of interest among commercial printers to move to the label segment because the commercial print market has become highly saturated. Besides, the pandemic has hit them the most since during the lockdown they were not allowed to operate their plants for not being covered under the essential services sector. Even after the lockdown, many commercial printers today are facing problems in meeting their operational expenses, thanks to the highly saturated market.”

Kapoor added, “In an ideal world, commercial printers should definitely look at diversifying to the labels segment, and likewise, existing labels players should look at further diversifying to other packaging segments like flexibles, etc. However, it is easier said than done because everything needs preparation, homework, and money. And on all these three counts, the pandemic has not helped at all. Although it has given time to people to reflect upon things and their future, it has also drained their resources in terms of money. So yes, it is a challenge for commercial printers to just get up one fine morning and start printing labels. It is not so simple because the label market, as everybody knows, is already saturated in India. But people have to make effort and develop new markets – that is the only way forward. There is no other way out.”

Take the plunge with eyes open

“A lot of commercial printers have been talking to us. We have even sold our presses to a couple of them. Of course, these commercial printers were not new to the label market. They were already printing labels on sheetfed presses and already had substantial clients to cater to. So, they had just shifted from sheetfed to flexo. As responsible salesman, we have to guide them correctly so that they can take the plunge with their eyes open. Nobody should assume that if they invest in a machine, they will have plenty of jobs from day one. I strongly recommend to my prospects and customers that until and unless you have a substantial amount of assured business in your hand, you should think, and think twice, before investing your hard-earned money in a new segment,” said Kapoor.

Indian label industry – streamlining long due

Kapoor feels that streamlining the Indian label industry is long due. He said, “Everyone needs to pull up their shocks as it is a very competitive market and is about the survival of the fittest. People have to find newer segments, niche markets, and develop new markets at the same time because if you continue to feed on the same pie, then at some point of the time somebody will have to go hungry.”