“We do not sell inks,
we market them”
–says VK Seth, managing director – Sakata Inx (India) Pvt Ltd,
in a conversation with All About Newspap
VK Seth, managing director – Sakata Inx
(India) Pvt Ltd has recently been assigned
with an additional responsibility and be
on the International Advisory Board at
Sakata Inx Corporation, Japan. The
advisory board is a think tank for all
international operations to grow organically
or inorganically. There are five members on
the board, including one from America and
three being the senior most management
members at Sakata Japan. This is because
after Japan and America, Indian office is the
third largest contributor to the group.
Sakata Inx (India)
Limited currently
manufactures all
types of liquid printing
inks for gravure and
flexographic printing
process; offset inks for
sheet fed and web offset
printing and accessories;
and UV varnishes & UV
flexo inks & UV sheet
fed inks.
On Indian market…
Talking about the present
economic situation in
India, Seth opined that
the economy is still struggling and
consumption is still slow. There is a mere
2-3 percent growth in the FMCG segment
that too due to growth in the unorganised
sector. “Sakata enjoys 40-45 percent share
in the food grade parameters like Coke,
Pepsi, Nestle, P&G, ITC, Britannia, etc.
Sakata India has a 23-24 percent share in
the flexible packaging,” he added.
On newspapers…
“In India, the success of any product
depends upon placing it at the right price
point. For example, take the case of
newspapers, it is available at the lowest
price globally, targeted at the lower middle
class segment. This is why the newspaper
market is growing in India, while it is
declining elsewhere,” shared Seth.
Besides, the Indian model for newspapers
works on advertising model and not on
cover price. “Hence, production cost is
very subsidised and so they look for
cost-effective production solutions for the
same,” he added.
Seth also mentioned the ‘Luce’ ink for
newspapers, which is widely popular in
Japan. Even in India some of the companies
have started using similar products. Sakata
Inx was started as a newspaper ink
manufacturer way back in 1896.
Challenges…
|
India is a price-sensitive market and in
spite of inks being just 3-4 percent of
production cost, printers are not willing to
go for solutions, which are 5-10 percent
more expensive than cheaper versions. “The
concept of ‘acceptable quality’ prevails
in India. This is followed in pursuit of
grabbing maximum market share in the
growing economy of India,” shared Seth.
But it’s changing gradually. “We don’t
sell inks, but market it. We are closely
working with some companies in terms
of giving value to them. Earlier, people
worked on the 4P’s of marketing (product,
place, price, promotion) but now they
are talking about SAVE, which refers to
(solution, access, value and education).
Customers are no longer talking about basic
price. The standard format of costing is
changing, taking into account the concept
of productivity, mileage, bond strength,
graphics and value. Customers now demand
service, technical solutions and process
costs. They are realising that they can
save money in the long run,” he added.
On distribution…
Sakata Inx (India) has their regional
offices in Mumbai and Hyderabad and
resident engineers in cities like Kolkata,
Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, etc. “We
also have around 30-35 exclusive dealers
for gravure and 150 for offset inks. Of the
offset ink dealers, 30 percent are exclusive
dealers for Sakata,” told Seth.
On exports…
Sakata Inx (India) has the largest territory
for exports than any other Sakata Inx
company. “Almost 17-18 percent of our
revenue comes from exports and we are
targeting to increase it to 25 percent. We
not only export to neighbouring countries
like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh but also
cater to the Middle East, Dubai, Oman,
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Nigeria,
Kenya, Ethiopia, to name a few. We have
dealers/distributors for exports, besides a
few direct customers,” told Seth proudly.
So, what is the quality of these products?
“The quality remains as Sakata standard,
but products are produced as per the
particular market demands. We first map
the market and then place out products,”
answered Seth as a matter of fact.
Our USPs…
On asking about their mantra for success,
Seth replied that they continuously invest
in education for their staff, aimed at
technical training and enhancing their skills.
“We have a unique ‘Learning & Sharing’
programme, in which it is mandatory for
each employee to deliver three formal
lectures on their subject of expertise. This
way, they can share their knowledge and
expertise with others,” he said.
Expansion plans…
On asking about their expansion plans
in India, Seth replied that they would be
focusing on offset inks for the next 2-3
years. “Our ink plant in Panoli (Gujarat),
has a capacity to produce 7,000 tonnes of
coldest ink every year. We are planning
to double this capacity by next financial
year. Besides, we produce 3,000 tonnes
of Coldset ink per year in our Bhiwadi
(Rajasthan) unit. All products put together,
we produce 26,000 tonnes of ink per annum.
We also plan to expand the capacity to
produce sheet-fed inks in Panoli as well,”
told Seth.
“We have crossed Rs 500 crore mark in the
last financial year and are expecting a growth
of 17-18 percent this year,” concluded
Seth on a happy note.
