Toyo Inks India, a subsidiary of Toyo Ink Group, Japan celebrated its 10th anniversary on 25 October 2016 in Delhi. The celebrations brought in printers from all parts of India including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Sivakasi. Gracing the occasion were the president and Toyo Ink Group chief executive officer Katsumi Kitagawa, chairman and managing director of Toyo Ink India Kotaro Yoshida along with Kenkou Sone, the finance officer of the Japanese embassy in India.
Journey so far
Toyo Ink started its Indian journey in 2006, through a joint venture with Technova India. In 2010, Toyo Ink decided to separate and became a complete subsidiary of its parent group in Japan. By this time, Toyo Ink’s Greater Noida plant had already started production—its first manufacturing facility in the country. Although the plant initially started with offset ink production, the year 2011 saw the inception of inkjet inks while one year later gravure inks also started to be produced in this plant. In 2013, the foundation of its second manufacturing plant in Dahej, Gujarat was laid which started production one year later with a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes an annum. The polymer plant inside this facility which will produce various additives for its inks is scheduled to start production by the end of October 2016.
R&D centre by 2018
Among its Indian competitors, although Toyo Ink has been a late entrant, it has nevertheless made its mark in the industry in a limited period of time according to the company. Toyo Ink India has already reached a turnover of Rs. 300 crore. This year the company is aiming to grow by 50% compared to the last financial year. By 2018, the company plans to open a full-fledged R&D centre in India. By year 2020, the company’s target is to reach an overall figure of Rs. 750 crore.
On the occasion Kitagawa said that the Indian market is extremely important for the group and it is putting in all efforts to make a sustainable growth in India. He said, “The Indian printing and packaging market is showing good potential. We want to grow along with our customers. The company has committed substantial investment in the country so as to provide the right products to its customers with the right kind of services. I have been coming to the country at least twice a year and plan on continuing to do so. The Indian operations is doing well and this year it is expecting to supply 60 million barrels of ink to not only the domestic market but also to surrounding markets such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in addition to Europe and Middle East.”
Yoshida, on the other hand, spoke about the blossoming relationship between India and Japan which he hoped would take both the countries to new heights in the foreseeable future. He said, “We are very serious and focussed on the Indian market. When we started our journey in India, we wanted to understand the needs of our customers. What we have achieved so far is all because of the continuous support of our customers. Although we started with mostly sheetfed inks, we have now expanded to inkjet, gravure and UV inks. At the moment we are producing 12,000 tons of offset ink and 6,000 tons of liquid ink in the country. We are concentrating on environment-friendly products as well. We will continue to serve the Indian market to the best of our abilities.”
New mobile app
Several customers of Toyo Ink also spoke at the occasion highlighting the optimum quality and consistency of the products and the proper service that they have received from the company. The company also launched a mobile application on the occasion, which is intended to help the customers in better understanding and enquiring about its products and solutions, which Toyo claims is a first in the country.
