Partnering for success
As American and European companies venture into this new territory, many have found success by partnering with local companies, forging relationships that are mutually beneficial. Rotocontrol, a manufacturer of high-speed cutting, and rewinding machines based in Ahrensburg, Germany, expanded into India in 2010. According to Heather Roth, marketing communications manager, the decision to expand was an easy one. “We felt there was a market in India for premium, quality machines and that progressive converters there would see the benefits of our machines as they did in other markets. We entered into an agent agreement with Weldon Celloplast, which gave us the local support needed for such a remote market.”
The challenges of entering a new, foreign market are plenty, but Roth says that her company eases those challenges by reaching out to local experts. “At Rotocontrol, we only approach a new regional market when we have the support of a local agent who can help us bridge any cultural or commercial issues specific to the area. We can’t build specific products for each region, but we do try to be sensitive to specific needs. For our move into India, we have relied on Harveer and Pawandeep Sahni at Weldon Celloplast for their expertise and customer relationships.”
Flexo Image Graphics (FIG), headquartered in New Delhi, has represented Mark Andy in India for 12 years and recently expanded its operations to a larger facility. According to Mike Russell, director of international sales for Mark Andy, the move was necessary in order to accommodate the existing and expanding Mark Andy and Rotoflex install base in the region. Russell says that FIG also has branch offices in Chennai and Mumbai to support the growing install base throughout the country.
“The Mark Andy and Rotoflex product lines have been very successful in India with the support of FIG,” Russell says. “There is a large potential for growth in the Indian label market. The country continues to change and evolve as they become more commercialized and retail-oriented. We have noticed differences in this growing region based on experience and knowledge of processes and applications. As an example, the Chinese market has been slower to adopt flexo because of its stronger presence of letterpress applications. Because letterpress didn’t have as strong of a loyalty or presence in India as in China and the rest of Asia, the India region has adopted flexo more quickly and the infrastructure of the flexo supply chain was more easily established. This has helped Indian converters to accept flexo and find success in its implementation.”
Flint Group, headquartered in Luxembourg, has been present in India since 2001, though the company says its ties to the country go back much further than that. The company announced in December 2010 its plans to build a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing site for packaging and narrow web inks in Savil, India. At the time, Upal Roy, general manager of Flint Group India, said: “We already have an ISO 9001-2000 certified mother plant for packaging inks in Bangalore and blending units in Baroda, Noida and Savil, supported by depots at Pondicherry, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Navi Mumbai. We are proud to soon be in a position to support the market even further with our new plant.”George Lyle, vice president of packaging and narrow web Asia, added: “Thanks to strong and long-term partnerships with our customers, Flint Group can look back on decades of innovations and leading product developments. Investing into a new site in India was the next logical step to prepare the grounds for continuous growth over the next few years.”
Skanem Group, a European supplier of self-adhesive labels, announced in February of this year that they were partnering with Indian label company Interlabels in order to take part in the growing market. Skanem already has a presence in Asia – their Bangkok, Thailand location opened in 2007 – but this is the company’s first establishment in India. Skanem purchased 51 percent of Interlabel’s shares. Owner and CEO of Skanem, Ole Rugland, says, “India is a market with a great potential and rapid consumption growth. Through this partnership, we get access to this exciting market.” Rugland further explains that, during the process of finding a partner in India, the importance of the company culture was emphasized. “By partnering with a company that matches Skanem’s corporate culture, we will strengthen the Group’s overall vision and strategy.”
From Internet
21 April, 2012
