The PAMEX roadshows carried the theme of Convergence to SIX flourishing cities across the country over last five months, with the final destination being Haridwar, the industrial hub that is served by several printing and packaging companies. The promotional road show, held on 3March 2023 at Yashail Hotel, saw attendance of more than 125 delegates.
Precursor to the main event, which is scheduled from 27-30 March at BEC, Mumbai, the event at Haridwar gave a final push to the efforts PAMEX has been putting in gathering local printers and educating them about the pros and cons of adopting Convergence as a strategy in their businesses.
The event was enlivened by the presence of the very enthusiastic personality from the printing industry- Prof. Kamal Chopra who is the Past President of All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP) and also the General Secretary of Offset Printers Association (OPA). “For a printer or an association, visiting trade expo is very important. It is the best source of information on what is trending, what will the future be and where we are heading. Every printer faces a different challenge, it is not the same game for everyone. So, we all need to understand where we are lacking and work on those areas,” he said addressing the audience.
Kamal Chopra was joined by Nitin Narula, Vice President North, AIFMP; Tushar Dhote, Co-Charmain, Pamex, AIFMP; Raanu Bisht Oberoi, President, Devbhoomi Printers & Publishers Association; Rakesh Shethi, President, Saharanpur Offset Printers Association; Rajesh Rawat, Chairman, Bhagwanpur Industries Association; Ketan Bhardwaj, Chairman, Roorkee Small Scale Industrial Association and Anil Arora, President, Print-Packaging.Com (P) Ltd., for the inaugural ceremony at Haridwar.
Ashutosh Tripathi, National Centre for Flexible Electronics, IIT Kanpur who had shared a technology presentation at Bangalore event, moderated the panel discussion at Haridwar. Themed around “Convergence in Print- The Way Forward!”, the discussion was joined by expert panellists including Sanjeev Sondhi, Zircon Technologies (India) Limited; Arvind Singhal, Square Vision India Private Limited; Nitin Sharma, Ekta Graphics & Printing Solutions; Amitabh Luthra, Printers Supply Co Private Limited and Ashutosh Tripathi, National Centre for Flexible Electronics, IIT Kanpur. The discussion started with a relative gist of Convergence given by Ashutosh, “Haridwar lies along the Ganga- which is formed with the Convergence of two rivers- Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi.” He further added, “In terms of technology, convergence is the merger of two or more stand-alone technologies resulting in new values, new features and even new business.”
During pandemic, many companies explored other verticals of business and that brought an upsurge in Convergence. Sharing his experience, Sanjeev Sondhi said, “I feel that keeping the trunk of the tree safe, means keeping your base business same, you can still apply convergence by adding more elements of technology to your current business. For example, keeping our basic printing business intact, we looked at multifaced converting options during pandemic. We moved from labels to metallised printing for enhancement and also explored high secured printing to avoid counterfeiting. The vision of the future is important. Today our new products are doing much better than the old ones.”
The technology presentation by Pawandeep Sahni from OMET India has been one of the highlights of all the road shows held by PAMEX. “If the convergence is applied in the process that you are already well versed with, it is easy to adopt and analyse results. However, if there is a shift of form, material or solution- the learning and understanding of new process is important before the convergence is applied,” he said.
Ashutosh Tripathi, National Centre for Flexible Electronics, IIT Kanpur then took over the dais to talk about the importance of Printed Electronics in these times. “Though the concept of printed electronics is not new, there is a lot of potential in the Indian market. They add value to your product and process with automation, enhance displays, produce decorative and smart packaging,” he stated.
Surya Lamba, FUJIFILM, shared his presentation on ‘Process Optimisation’, where he spoke about the role and expectation from plates in printing and packaging. “Consistency, accuracy, quality & quick output, less chemical wastage, higher productivity and better for environment are some of the requirements from the industry, which need to be met when it comes to the technology we adapt for plates,” he said.
The vote of thanks was given by Nitin Narula, VP- North, AIFMP who thanked all the attendees for joining the event.
The companies participating in table-top exhibition, held concurrently, were And Systems, Boxtech, Electromec Machinery Manufacturers Private Limited, Fujifilm India Private Limited, Hariram Engineering, Global Graphics Machineries Private Limited, Impel Services Private Limited, Indus Analytics, National Centre For Flexible Electronics- IIT Kanpur, OMET India, Print & Publishing, Simplify Inc., Suba Solutions Private Limited, Bhagwanpur Industries Association, and Zhongke India.
PAMEX 2023 is only a few days from now and with the buzz created by these road shows held in Guwahati, Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bangalore and Haridwar, the participation from visitors from all corners of the country is ensured.
The event, featuring more than 400 exhibitors, is scheduled to be held from 27-30 March 2023 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.
For any further information, visit www.PAMEX.in or send mail to info@print-packaging.com
