COLORJET is India’s largest manufacturer of Digital Inkjet Printers who had participated in the SITEX Exhibition with full enthusiasm which was held in Surat recently. Mr. Jitender Pal Singh, Business Head, Textiles, COLORJET replied extensively to the Textile Value Chain.
Excerpts:
How was the SITEX Exhibition for your company?
Overall, the exhibition was a very good experience but the footfall for our machines was less than expected due to the Pandemic. However, the response was very heartening from our local customer base at Surat.
How was your business in these 2 years of Pandemic i.e., 2020-2021?
Every business was impacted due to the Pandemic and COLORJET was no exception. However, the magnitude at which different industries have been impacted varies a lot and thankfully textile industry was impacted quite less as compared to other industries. Not only that, Textile Industry was also one of the first industries to rebound. India happens to be one of the biggest Textile Markets in the World. Indian Textile Market recovered very fast, buyers are back , production has already hit the peak and the demand for digital printing has increased and a lot of our machines have been sold in Surat this year. We had a fantastic business in Surat this year, and the slow-down which we experienced during the pandemic has been recovered this year.
Is Surat your Main Market?
Surat is definitely one of the largest Markets for digital printing, conventional printing or for any other textile machinery. And hence, Surat is one of the largest Markets for us also because here more than sixty of our machines are currently running. After Surat, Punjab Market is the most promising market for us particularly Ludhiana and Amritsar followed by Delhi NCR and now markets in South and East India are giving us a great response. COLORJET has more than 55% market share in the country in digital printing space in the new machine category. COLORJET is known all over the world, we make best machines in India with exceptional quality and supply all over the world, including Bangladesh, Pakistan , South East Asian Countries , Europe, Africa, Brazil, Turkey and all major countries now have COLORJET machines installed and we have our sales and distribution setup.
Do you have your Franchisee Model?
Yes, in a few countries we have a Franchise Model whereas we also have a Direct Sales Model in some countries. We have our own sales and setup in Pakistan and Bangladesh and also a dedicated sales and service in South East Asia. Almost in all countries we have dealers now, including Thailand and Indonesia. Apart from this we have a Master Distributor in Germany who covers the entire European Market. We also have dealers or direct service centres in Zimbabwe, Argentina and in all major countries.
How do you see the market ahead in the coming year 2022?
Digital printing as a market is bound to grow and we see the overall growth in the whole world of textile printing. The volume of digital printing is just 7% and even if it grows by 1% that means thousands of machines will be required in the world. Digital printing world is a fast growing industry. Digital printing consumes 1/10 of the water consumed by the conventional printing and hence, it is a more environment friendly and sustainable solution to printing requirements.
Is there a separate machine for sampling?
The machine is same. Our Vastrajet Machine can be used for sampling as well as commercial production. As we all know, doing sampling in conventional printing is a huge cost and our digital printers can help in reducing the sampling cost.
What is the cost of the digital printing machines?
The price range of our direct to fabric digital printers starts from Rs 35 lacs and can go upto Rs 200 lacs depending upon the configuration which customer is looking at.
You can also develop a different machine which can be used for sampling?
COLORJET has an in-house Research and Development team which is very competitive and believes in innovation and is ever ready to provide as many customisable solutions to our customers as possible.
Do you have your own Research and Development Centre?
Yes, we have our in-house Research and Development Centre at Noida which is recognised by the Government of India.
How many people work in Research and Development?
About 30 to 40 people work in Research and Development Department, which comprises of sub-departments like product development, market research.
Out of overall turnover, how much percentage do you invest in Research and Development?
Out of all the departments, our Research and Development Department is the one where we invest the most amount resources.
As per the Government norm, zero discharge liquid plant is necessary for any manufacturing unit, and as digital printing has a lot of chemicals and dyes used in it so how will you cope up with it?
COLORJET uses water based inks which are not hazardous. In digital printing COLORJET machines have been proven and tested that they consume the least amount of water for the same quantity of fabric that is printed. We consume the least amount of water because we have an effective water recirculation system that reduces the water from the machines by almost 75%.
What is your advice for the upcoming new startups in this industry?
My advice to the young entrepreneurs or any startup is to invest in both products and technologies which are sustainable, environment friendly and which do not depend on the conventional way of working because the market is changing day by day. COLORJET’s philosophy of making a machine is based on 3 Es which is called “Efficient, Environment Friendly and Economical.” Every entrepreneur should invest in Efficiency, Environment Friendly and Economical systems. Digital printing is a huge industry for the young entrepreneurs but they should not forgot that sustaining this business can be quite challenging and hence they should focus on the markets where they can sell their product with a convincing business strategy by doing all the background research before getting into this industry.
