Galaxy Offset was initially a well-known commercial printer in the Delhi-NCR. Subsequently, it became a leading carton packaging business and set up a new plant in Manesar, an hour south of Gurgaon on the road to Jaipur. As we reported first in the September issue of Packaging South Asia, and subsequently in the October issue of Indian Printer and Publisher, Galaxy Offset has purchased a new and highly automated Manroland Sheetfed Evolution 7-color plus coater UV press for its new purpose-built plant in Ghilot.
The under-construction 150,000-square-foot building and plant are located 70 kilometers south of Manesar. The new 7-color plus coater UV press and the new converting equipment, including a Bobst die cutter and folder gluer, are likely to be installed in late March or early April 2023. In addition, the extensive array of existing packaging presses and finishing and converting equipment will also be shifted and installed at the new Ghilot plant.
The plant in Manesar will then become Galaxy’s commercial printing location and will retain its array of multicolor presses and finishing, and book-binding equipment. These include a brand new Heidelberg SM-74 5-color coater purchased in 2006 followed by 4-color, and 5-color plus coater RMGT presses used in its commercial printing operations. Today, the firm has complete in-house solutions for postpress, including two flow line machines, three perfect binders, saddle stitchers, wiro-binding, and hard case binding.
In our recent meeting, Amit Gulati said, “After shifting our packaging operations to the Ghilot plant, we are planning to utilize the space that will get vacant in our Manesar premises to get into publishing for book exports. Mid-2023, we are planning for new equipment for book publishing and book printing exports, which includes bindery and an 8-color printing press, most probably from Heidelberg.”
In its commercial printing division, Galaxy Offset prints 20,000 catalogs and brochures per week for its substantial lineup of corporate clients, including Honda, Maruti, Tupperware, Panasonic, Whirlpool, and Samsung. Galaxy Offset uses both imported paper and domestically manufactured paper from BILT for its commercial print, which it supplies across India.
On the current high raw material prices, he says, “The customers have agreed because they don’t have any option but to buy the specified raw materials at the prevailing prices.”
Galaxy is run by the team of the three Gulati brothers—Aman, Amit, and Vikas. Amit Gulati is the leader of the sales and marketing force. Aman Gulati manages finances and purchasing, while Vikas Gulati, the youngest brother, takes care of day-to-day production.
Every customer teaches you something
The Gulati brothers are fervent advocates of innovation. As Amit Gulati said on our visit, “The only USP we have is innovation. There are many printers in the commercial printing segment – but anyone who has to survive in the market needs to innovate. First, you have to give consistent quality, and then you have to have your customer involved with your business. Until and unless you give them something new, they won’t get involved with you. Innovation is the only mantra to date that can get you business, and bring longevity to your business.”
He added, “The different stages of a business bring a variety of challenges. From time to time, it could be labor shortage, raw material prices, or other business-related problems – there is no challenge that we have not taken in our stride till now. Every day is a new learning. Every customer teaches you something, and you should never shy away from learning. You should always keep learning and keep growing.”
