We recently met with Bhuvnesh Seth, the chairman of Replika Press, at the company’s production facilities in the Kundli Export Promotion Industrial Park, just north of the Delhi NCR. The leading Indian book producer and exporter continues to grow and expand its capacity with the recent addition of three new 8-color B1 perfecting presses from Heidelberg and ManRoland Sheetfed. A new Muller Martini binding line has also been installed.
Photo- IPP
Spread over four purpose-built plants with a covered area of 846,000 square feet (including a carton packaging plant), the company is professionally managed, modern, and agile in its absorption of the latest technologies. As the leading book producer and exporter of the country, Replika is SAP ERP compliant and accredited with ISO 9001:2015 and 14001:2015, FSC C016779, SMETA/ Prelims, BSCI, and Sedex certifications.
As Seth says, “When you can afford it, you should buy new machines and automate processes. We have benefited from adding 8-color perfectors in recent years, and in the past year, we have replaced some of our earlier 8-color perfectors and installed three brand-new 8-color perfecting B1 presses – one from Heidelberg and two from Manroland Sheetfed. Together with our battery of Stahl folders, Aster book sewing machines, and Kolbus and Wohlenburg binding equipment, the recent addition of another new Muller Martini hard case line has strengthened the efficiency of our increasingly automated inline book binding processes as well. Apart from the peace of mind and the confidence that these instill in your customers, you benefit from the automation and the new equipment’s inherent quality and reliability. Also, there is a need to reduce the number of human resources.”
Photo- IPP
As a global supplier of printed books and exports mainly to Europe and North America, Replika attends the major book fairs and is also frequently visited by customers and prospects. Seth says there is overall growth in both book demand and some stability in the production runs of his customers, adding, “Competition from other Asian suppliers has increased, and there is a significant change in the expectations of global publishers. Fully compatible high-capacity infrastructure for high-quality book production and timely delivery is needed. While the highest quality must be maintained, we have to increase our efficiency and reduce our labor resources. If you look at the gates of the factories in this industrial area, you will see notices that indicate that there is a shortage of even helpers.”
On our visit, we were told the company currently produces 320 million books and 35,000 titles annually, averaging approximately 100,000 books and 100 book titles daily. While Replika’s current capacity is to produce 50,000 hardcover and 100,000 softcover books daily, my own estimate is that the ambition is to produce 200,000 books a day. This would double its current output to 600 to 700 million volumes annually.
This growth is reinforced by the induction of the three new B1 8-color perfectors from Manroland Sheetfed and Heidelberg, a refurbished Timson press, and several new Heidelberg 4-color presses. In addition, there is a complete digital printing operation with several color and monochrome engines, including the B3 CanonVarioPrint duplex full-color press.
Photo- IPP
Postpress finishing and binding capacities have been enhanced to align with the increased print capacity. The past couple of years have seen significant improvements in efficiencies with the addition of the fully connected Muller Martini hardcover binding line, integrating book block preparation, 3-knife trimming, ribbon inserting, the Diamant casing line, and the stacker, all in-line. Each operation is directly connected to produce entire hardcover books in a continuous operation without manual intervention. This integrated operation of the four inline machines is controlled by minimal human resources.
Increasing capacity and automation in every process seem to be integral to Replika’s continuous growth. Bhuvnesh Seth’s sons, Sanandan and Vikaran, have now been in the business for over twenty years and substantially manage the company’s day-to-day affairs, and frequently accompany the company’s marketing professionals to international book fairs. Apart from their role in the continuous investments in capacity building and technology, it is they who take forward the professionalism and experience of the company.
