DIC extends support to packaging on the impending toluene ban
In a movement towards ensuring a safety packaging environment in the land, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) recently prohibited toluene-based inks for nutrient packaging applications under a revision of its IS15495 regulation ill-effects of toluene on human health and environment. Mandeep Kaur and Naresh Khanna discussed this topic and others in a chat with the DIC Bharat's managing director and CEO Manish Bhatia.
Noida-based DIC Bharat (a part of the DIC Corporation based in Nihon) is one of India's largest printing ink manufacturers, with R & D centers in Kolkata and Noida and manufacturing facilities in Noida, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. The company marks its presence in UV, UV flexo, conventional sheetfed, flexible gravure, and CI flexo inks. It is too present in the industrial adhesive segment. As one of the oldest global ink companies present in the land, DIC worked closely with the BIS standardization committee on the ban of toluene-based inks.
Speaking about the new regulations, Manish Bhatia, managing managing director and chief executive officer of DIC India, says, "We have developed platforms, price points, and solutions for non-toluene." The visitor had developed these solutions for flexible packaging in Indian conditions for more than 2 years, long before the standards committee came up with the impending toluene ink ban regulation. "Equally we speak, nosotros are prepare, and we are producing. It is not that the ban has come, and we demand to commencement something fresh. We were e'er in that location; it is only that at present the market has to take cognizance about what is going to happen."
"As a visitor, we welcome this step, as we see this augurs well for Indian consumers considering it makes the packaging solutions more than health-conscious." However, he thinks some challenges in compliance with the new regulations may widen the gap between the MSME converters and the larger companies because of the technology's nature, which he hopes will exist resolved over fourth dimension.
DIC Konnect – more than 50 webinars
DIC has taken a step further in raising customers' sensation of BIS'south contempo toluene ban. Bhatia explains, "During the lockdown, a lot of converters reached out to united states, stating that they encountered problems while restarting their machines. By leveraging our digital programme, DIC Konnect, apart from sorting out the immediate challenges of restarting their presses, we helped them adopt new printing methods, and educated them on the coming new standards and the police." The company conducted over l webinars to educate converters on restarting presses without any wastage of inks and has conducted shut to 200 connects over the last 45 days.
Not-toluene inks — the price point challenge
DIC has split up manufacturing plants for standard toluene and not-toluene-based inks. Speaking on the price constraints of non-toluene inks, he says, "We were actively looking at the price challenge when the converters brought information technology upwardly. We are working on information technology and so that the final price of the printed laminate can exist minimized." He believes that the ban'south impact would exist minimal since it is bound to be driven by legislation. "It may cause a small increase or a very minute increase in overall expenditure which is bound to happen, merely soon it volition put the whole packaging environment in sync with global platforms."
He also addressed the contamination challenges that converters confront when toluene and non-toluene inks run on the same press. He underlines, "BIS has to play a vital role in drafting the legislation's announcements where a caste of contamination may be allowed. However, when we take this kind of discussion with our customers, they start evaluating when they can go for non-toluene inks for both food and non-nutrient applications. I feel that in that location would be a minor segment who will use both kinds of ink in the intermediate catamenia, but ultimately the whole industry is likely to migrate or evolve to using just non-toluene inks."
Focus on sustainability and better laminates
According to Bhatia, in flexible packaging, the laminate focus is driven by sustainability, recyclability, and down-gauging so that the cost can be managed irrespective of the use of toluene and non-toluene inks. "The premium and mid-segment consumer brands understand the cost of not doing and then at the toll of sustainability from their value principles, and this is going to drive better laminate usage."
He as well highlights that the ban is geared towards food safety to brand food packaging safer, "The fundamental focus is on food rubber; if information technology were just the health of the workers in the food packaging plants, so the new regulation would not be restricted to food packaging. As social club and consumers welcome the move towards more than sustainable inks, we demand to focus more on those sustainable solutions."
On the overall economic recovery
DIC has seen a recovery in June and July, and it remains at the aforementioned marginal levels with upward and downward moments. Bhatia sees a good comeback on the packaging side, "Every calendar month has an comeback over the prior month. The increased focus on packaged foods has seen a strong shift from loose (unpacked) food due to the pandemic. In addition, the increment in unit consumption of the larger pack sizes has become more retail-oriented, which augurs well for ink consumption."
He adds that consumer sentiment will come into play during the festival season, and there could be a jump of 30 to 40% in consumption. "For full recovery, nosotros are projecting the next half-dozen or nine months. After the festival flavor, there may be a moderated recovery stride for vi months and a baseline correction later on March. Beyond that, there will be a definite spike."
Recovery of the Indian newspaper industry
Speaking of the newspaper industry, Bhatia said, during the Covid-19 pandemic, information technology went down by 75 to eighty%, although with 35 to 45% of readers yet putting their trust in printed newspapers as the almost reliable news source. He says, "According to our sources, newspaper circulation levels are hovering between 55 to 60% now. The industry faced challenges during the pandemic — lack of last-mile connectivity, lack of normal sales channels including newsstands and the lack of ad from public and authorities sectors."
Even so, he added that some brand owners are looking at coming back with advertising support. "It is because the Television receiver media is becoming highly fragmented and they even so see paper advice and impress every bit a adept medium. We take seen bigger traction in the vernacular language papers. I would requite 6 to 9 months for the recovery, and I experience the side by side ii to three months are very critical, but with the IPL cricket tournament and other festivities coming, it will look better. I think information technology volition have the longest recovery curve. Nonetheless, it should come back very close to where information technology was in the pre-Covid era," Bhatia believes.
Source: https://packagingsouthasia.com/application/dic/
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