The Technova stand at the recently concluded Printpack 2019 was invariably overflowing with visitors on all the six days of the expo. The company showcased almost its entire range of solutions such as plates, adhesives, chemicals, platesetters, digital presses, digital finishing, print media and software, among others. In addition to offering its own solutions in some categories such as plates and chemicals, Technova also represents some of the leading global brands in other segments.
We visited the company stand during the event and met with two senior officials from the company – Deepak Chawla, general manager, marketing and corporate communications and Swarnangka Samaddar, chief marketing officer – to know how this fiscal year has been and what is in store for the company in the coming months till drupa 2020.
“The year began with both hope and anxiety and our focus was on sustainability, digital and packaging. Also, it has been a tough year to understand how our customer’s customer, which is the end customer, would behave,” says Samaddar.
Analyzing the industry, he says, there has been a very fragmented growth. The general commercial printing category has seen a degrowth while PSP segment has been stagnant. There has been growth in the digital label, primary packaging and flexible packaging segments, he says.
Commenting on the industry, Chawla says, “Printers who have not been able to differentiate and adapt to evolving technology, have been gradually forced out of the industry. On the other hand, those who have kept pace have consolidated and grown bigger. This is where Technova comes in; to facilitate our customers’ growth by helping them serve their customers better and efficiently.”
He argues that the Indian print industry will see the rate of consolidation quicken in the next fiscal than it has been previously. “The rate at which entities in the print industry will be forced out, forge partnership or buyout other companies, will increase. There is more consolidation coming,” Chawla says.
Power of choice
As is well known in the industry, Technova offers a variety of solutions from a variety of solutions providers. The philosophy behind this is to not restrict to one specific technology.
“We are a technology-neutral company and always have been. We believe in giving the power of choice to customers. A customer is free to choose the technology and technology provider that would serve the customer better,” argues Chawla.
Samaddar adds, “We firmly believe that power of choice will enable customers to participate in digitization and green future of print.”
New initiatives
As we begin the countdown to drupa 2020, Technova has chalked out plans that it will roll out in the months ahead. To begin with, it will be launching the Technova Imaging Ecosystem, which is an attempt to create a complete ecosystem whether it is prepress, press, postpress, enhancement commercial printing, book printing, newspaper printing and packaging.
“With this the customer can connect all the dots and does not have to go hunting for solutions anywhere else,” Chawla shares.
“The core theme of Technova is to believe in hyper hybridization of printing,” adds Samaddar.
In terms of specific solutions, the company will be focusing on software and workflow. Another area where it will sharpen focus is to help customers graduate from normal thermal plates to chem-free thermal plates to zero-process free plates. Adhesives and UV varnish will also be an area to focus on, says Samaddar, adding that on digital size some new exciting announcements have been planned that will complement the labels side of our offerings.
drupa 2020
Technova has always marked its presence at drupa and has been having its own stand as well. But this time the company has decided to not have its own stand but would still have a significant presence at its partners’ stands.
“Yes, we will have a very visible presence at drupa, maybe not with our own stand, but we will be there to help our customers take informed decision as we will be seen at our partners’ stands,” says Chawla.
