HEIDELBERG Doubles Down on Indian Growth Market

Booming packaging market offers great potential; HEIDELBERG reinforcing its leading position and investing in customer proximity by systematically expanding its sales and service organization, demonstration installations, and partner networks; portfolio reflects status as systems integrator with integrated end-to-end solutions that meet all packaging, label, and commercial printing requirements; further boost expected thanks to trade deal between India and EU

Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG), visited India – a key market – on a trip lasting several days. His meetings with numerous customers and partners during this visit provided impressive proof of India’s strategic importance for HEIDELBERG – especially in the areas of packaging and printing.

“India is one of the world’s most dynamic markets and is therefore of huge strategic relevance to HEIDELBERG,” emphasises Schmedding. “Our goal is clear. As a systems integrator, we want to offer our Indian customers holistic, end-to-end solutions from a single source and be the first port of call for all their printing and packaging requirements,” he adds.

Big Opportunities as Packaging Market Booms

India has one of the most rapidly expanding national economies in the world. The growing population, a predicted annual rise in GDP of around 6.5%, and increasing prosperity are continuously driving the demand for printed packaging. The market volume is set to climb from the current figure of around $12 billion to $20 billion by 2030. Growth rates are particularly high in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and e-commerce sectors. This dynamic development is being driven by urbanisation, a growing middle class, and rising demand for branded products. HEIDELBERG therefore sees significant potential in packaging and label printing and is keen to further develop its role as a systems integrator.

Expanding Presence with Focus on Sales, Service, Partner Networks

To share in this market growth, HEIDELBERG is systematically strengthening its presence in India. By expanding its sales and service capacities, investing in demonstration installations, and extending its partner network, the company is aiming to ensure solutions are tailored perfectly to the needs of Indian customers.

As a systems integrator, HEIDELBERG offers a comprehensive ecosystem – from offset, flexo, and digital printing to postpress, software, and consumables, and all the way through to service and training. “On this basis, we are creating quantifiable added value for our customers throughout the entire value chain,” explains Schmedding.

Indian Customers Opting for Industrial Solutions

The cutting-edge Speedmaster CX 104 printing press platform, a global bestseller, is in high demand at Indian print shops. Its attractive price-performance ratio and flexible configuration options are particularly popular with packaging and commercial printing customers. The recent investment by the fast-growing company Noble Printing Press in two Speedmaster CX 104 configurations provides impressive proof of this fact. The Boardmaster flexographic web printing system, which enables efficient and cost-effective production of high volumes, is also becoming more important in the food and beverage sector. HEIDELBERG sees significant market potential for the hybrid label printing systems of its Swiss subsidiary Gallus, too.

India a Key Pillar in Growth Strategy

“India plays a key role in our strategy for the Asia-Pacific region. We are expecting it to make a growing contribution to our sales and profitability. Furthermore, HEIDELBERG already has the world’s largest sales and service network in the industry – a vital competitive advantage that we are now building on further in India to strengthen our leading position on a long-term basis,” explains HEIDELBERG CEO Jürgen Otto. He adds that the new India-EU trade deal, which envisages lower long-term tariff barriers, is expected to give an additional boost to the company’s growth strategy.