Heidelberg CEO arrives in India
First time visit signals growing importance of Indian market
Bernhard Schreier, CEO
Heidelberg Druckmaschinen AG, Germany, world leader in sheet-fed offset printing machinery, is accelerating its activities in India. The CEO of the company arrived in Mumbai on 25th October 2004 to kick start the process.
PrintSummit 2004 was held in Mumbai and Chennai to brief the media and to facilitate industry interaction during the 2-day visit of Bernard Schreier, CEO, Heidelberg Druckmaschinen AG, Germany. The 150 year old company stepped into India 50 years ago with its first installation. The CEO’s visit was to underscore the long standing relationship that the company has had with India. It is also meant to be a fact finding mission with Schreier attempting to understand the intricacies of this vast market that has the world drooling at its one million population. The visit also underlines the growing importance that the Asian Pacific (AP) market has for the company. The sales contribution from AP has increased from 16%, four years ago, to 25% today and it likely to touch 75% within the next five years.
Given this changing scenario the company is interested in making its presence felt more deeply in key AP markets which includes India and China. While the company has experienced only moderate success in India, China has been spearheading its growth in AP with more than a 1000 new machines being sold per year. Compare this to India where the company has 40 installations of new machines till date this year. So while India is definitely a market of interest its main focus is China that the CEO plans to tour after the India sortie. The CEO is aware that one of the main factors hindering the access of Indian printers to technology is the 40% import duty barrier. While this is putting the Indian industry on leash the Chinese are facing no such hurdles and are racing ahead in becoming a printing hub to the world.
The company is taking a long term view of its AP presence and is looking to consolidate its position in the market by not only providing more products and greater service but also in helping to develop the market. In line with this strategy the CEO announced that Heidelberg would be setting up a Print Media Academy in Chennai, similar to the company’s institution in Kuala Lumpur. While not on the same scale, the purpose will be to introduce printers here to its leading technologies and also teach potential printers how to manage a new venture. Another initiative that he announced was to invite one graduate each from 10 printing schools in India over to the Heidelberg factories in Germany to provide them with a first hand experience of its world class machinery and the kind of quality that one can expect from it.
The CEO’s meeting with the industry in both cities is likely to focus on the problems faced by it, possible solutions, future trends and the role Heidelberg can play in transforming the Indian industry into a printing juggernaut, one similar to China.
