Interprint's decor printing facility in Pittsfield.
Toppan Printing, a provider of integrated solutions for printing, communications, security, packaging, décor and electronics, has acquired the international décor printer, Interprint. The agreement between Toppan Printing (Toppan) and Wrede Industrieholding GmbH & Co. KG (WREDE) to acquire Interprint GmbH has been approved by the relevant antitrust authorities without conditions.
After receiving approval from antitrust authorities, the acquisition of the Germany-based Interprint group has been consummated. ‘Interprint – a Toppan company’ will be the new brand for combined global décor printing activities.
Interprint will join Toppan’s existing décor printing activities to form a new platform with global reach offering surfacing solutions. Establishing this platform is an important step towards Toppan’s commitment to expanding its global activities.
“Combining our forces, we will be able to expand our product portfolio, which will be delivered globally to our customers through our new platform. With our joint development capabilities, we will strive to provide even better surfacing solutions to our industry and beyond,” said Hideo Yoshikawa, who has been appointed as Interprint’s chief executive officer and member of the Management Board, effective 1 November 2019.
“We are convinced of the striking business logic of this transaction. The combination of two industry players will create a new, innovation-driven industry giant that will add value to customers worldwide,” said Michael Sindram, managing director of Wrede Industrieholding.
“We are pleased to hand over Interprint to a strong and reliable partner. Together with Toppan, Interprint is in an excellent position to reach the next level and continue the success story of the past fifty years,” said Thomas Wrede, chairman of the Advisory Board.
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
