Xeikon’s commitment to provide critical services amid Corona crisis

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Xeikon
Benoit Chatelard, president and chief executive officer, Xeikon

Xeikon, a key provider of equipment, services and consumables for digitally printed labels and packaging, reconfirmed its dedication to continuing to make critical consumables available for its presses. This enables customers to produce the documentation, labels and packaging required to get food, health and pharmaceutical products to market during the Corona crisis. As widely covered by the media, the coronavirus has impacted the health and well-being of many people in various countries around the world. Many businesses worldwide are impacted by production disturbances, supply and delivery interruptions, and Xeikon is committed to minimizing these for its customers.

Many of our customers, particularly converters, are producing essential print such as documentation, labels and packaging for critical items like pharmaceutical products, food for supermarkets, labels for disinfectant bottles, to name but a few, and rely on our solutions to ensure that essential supplies are made available to sick, vulnerable and isolated people,” says Benoit Chatelard, president and chief executive officer, Xeikon. “In order for them to keep up with production demands during this crisis, they need reliable access to consumables, parts and services from Xeikon, and our entire team is committed to doing its best to ensure a consistent flow of these items. Xeikon has sufficient stock and a stable supply in consumables and spares to support our customers globally. However, as many flights worldwide have been cancelled and as countries enact more restrictions on traffic, we could expect some shipments to take longer than before to be delivered. That being said, we will keep our customers informed of the status of all shipments and requests for service so they know exactly what to expect.”

Chatelard notes that the company’s first priority is to safeguard the health of its employees as per World Health Organization and government guidelines, closely followed by implementation of measures to guarantee the continuity of its supply chain and safeguard business continuity for customers. “While some cases may require on-site visits from a technician,” he says, “there is a lot we can do with remote diagnostics and technical support. All our machines are connected and, to a large extent, self-diagnostic. For interactive discussions with customers and prospects, we are investing in tools that allow us to produce virtual demonstrations and testing for customers. We are also closely monitoring the economic impact of the Corona emergency, both to the overall printing industry and for Xeikon’s business.”

In addition, in light of the postponement of drupa 2020 to April 2021, Xeikon is revisiting its go-to-market strategy and preparing to be fully ready to deal with both the current crisis and drupa 2021 by continuing to bring to market the innovation that the industry has come to expect from the company. “We will be bringing some new products to market prior to drupa in order to make the latest technology available to our customers. And by drupa 2021, we expect to have even more innovation available to announce and exhibit so customers can be well-prepared for the recovery that is sure to come.”

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.

– Naresh Khanna

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