Suresh Kalra, new managing director of hubergroup and head of RBU Asia.
hubergroup today announced that Ashwani Bhardwaj has decided to retire from the company effective 30 January 2022. Bhardwaj had joined the company in 1995 as Regional Head of Sales and held various positions before becoming managing director in 2007. He was instrumental in the integration of the Indian company into hubergroup. Under his leadership, hubergroup India (erstwhile Hindustan Inks and Micro Inks) has developed to a key cornerstone of hubergroup.
hubergroup is delighted to appoint Suresh Kalra as managing director and head of RBU (Regional Business Unit) Asia effective 1 January 2022. Suresh Kalra joined the company as executive director in September 2021 after a rigorous selection process with a defined succession plan and has been inducted into the Board of Directors already.
Kalra has 23 years of expertise in chemicals and specialities, as well as an exceptional track record of driving business success in a variety of worldwide geographies. He has previously worked at Total, Chevron, Pidilite, Valvoline, and WR Grace. Prior to joining Hubergroup, he was managing director and vice president SI Group – India, where he also served on the Korea and Singapore boards.
hubergroup welcoming Suresh Kalra
Kalra is warmly welcomed to the job, and the management board looks forward to seeing hubergroup Asia thrive in this tough yet exciting time under his guidance.
Heiner Klokkers, chairman of the Management Board, said, “Suresh Kalra is an accomplished leader known for his strong personal leadership and track record of driving business growth and corporate transformation. His breadth of experience in leading businesses in diverse and dynamic markets is an ideal fit with hubergroup’s strategic priorities, and we look forward to him leading hubergroup Asia in its next phase of growth.”
“I am very excited to be a part of hubergroup and I am looking forward to accelerating the momentum in our chemicals business while continuing to strengthen our position in print solutions on the Asian markets,” Kalra said. “My focus in this new position will be to leverage the company’s unique product portfolio, the strong manufacturing base in India, and the exceptional talent in executing our growth strategy.”
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.
