Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021
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DKSH Paves the Wa Sustainability in Asia With strong industry-leading partners, DKSH is set to be the integrated solutions provider in Asia for companies moving towards sustainable packaging. DKSH Group is a Swiss company with a global footprint focusing on market expansion services. The group has a wide ranging service portfolio across business units in healthcare, consumer goods, performance materials and technology. DKSH has deep roots in Asia Pacific, having been in the region for 150 years. In 2019, DKSH established the Business Line, Packaging, Printing and Converting (PPC). The branch now has presence in nine markets in Asia, with key focuses on food and beverage, health, beauty and personal care, and pharmaceutical industries. The company’s main applications are flexible packaging, flexography, rotogravure, laminates and coextruded film. The packaging market has matured over the years and the Asian packaging industry was projected to exceed USD 26 billion at the end of 2021.
Consumer preferences for sustainable packaging continue to grow globally, and this trend is even more prevalent in Asia Pacific. “The flexible packaging market in Asia has matured over the years and now needs sustainable solutions, given the fact that there is a high focus on banning single-use plastics. This is an area where DKSH Business Line Packaging, Printing and Converting will focus on and align the service and support around it,” said Suhas Kulkarni, General Manager, Business Developement, DKSH Asia Pacific. “With the increased focus on eliminating single-use plastic bags, there is also increasing demand for sustainable solutions from the industry,” said Kulkarni. “At DKSH, we want to become the sustainable solution provider that our customers can count on to receive the right support for their business success.”
In 2020, DKSH made sustainability one of its key values. In becoming a sustainable partner for its customers, DKSH PPC is focusing on three key areas: - Providing high quality products and innovative solutions from leading brands to customers in Asia Pacific. - Providing excellent after-sales service from its dedicated teams with deep technical expertise in the printing industry. - Being a reliable trustworthy partner through its 150 years of continuous presence in Asia and track record of financial stability. An increase in demand for sustainable solutions is not the only key growth factor for packaging in Asia. Other trends that will factor into the growth include increasing demand for food and pharma packaging, manufacturers switching from gravure to flexo technology, as well as a higher demand of print quality. “Asian customers do not want to sacrifice quality at all when looking for printing solutions. The leading flexo technology offers manufacturers print stability, excellent quality, and registered accuracy in small batches that are on par with the traditional gravure processing method for large columns of printing,” Kulkarni explained.
SOMA Optima 2 in operation
SOMA – the leader in sustainable flexo technologies To aid their customers towards sustainability, DKSH specifically partners with companies that aligns with its green values. One of its partners that aligns with its sustainability vision is SOMA, a producer of flexographic printing presses, slitter rewinders, laminators, plate mounters and diecutters. Doing especially well in Asia
