Monarch Graphics | 117organized manner. ‘We identifed group of responsible employees to work on the shop foor who were willing to work in an extremely secured environment which created confdence in the team and they could rely on each other in trying times. I made sure my presence was there to assure them we all shall sail through this. It made me realize the importance of leadership qualities,’ he adds.Jain says that the free hand to make decisions in the last decade and extensive global travel contributed to his learning experience, particularly in technical aspects of the business. His background in fnance helped him to take control of the reins during the Covid crisis. Sustainable production Jain believes that sustainability can be achieved through several means. ‘Sometimes sustainability is misunderstood. Switching Rhyguan slitter rewinder with Luster inspection systemcompletely to paper or eliminating foils is not the answer. You don’t need to use foil or varnish on the entire label and print it in eight “If you don’t have the right team, colors, especially in front and back labeling applications. Reduction in set-up costs, energy costs and optimal use of foiling areas adds you don’t have the confdence to to being sustainable through wastages reduction.’ Monarch tries to print its complex labels in CMYK and prints with expand further”lower ink gsm for sharp graphics, reduced ink and energy usage its products. With the addition of the Labelmaster 440, Jain has been able to ‘We are equally proud about our ethics and quality to go with print labels in four colors that he says his customers assume would 15+ years of being a part of this industry; we feel we have a great need six-to-eight. future ahead,’ says Jain. ‘We focus on lean practices that enhance Monarch prides itself in providing embellished labels without labels and cut down wastage. I frmly believe, after working with a a sharp rise in cost. ‘We believe that the labels should be aptly few Japanese customers and knowing Japanese label converters, we priced, so the materials chosen are not expensive and don’t hamper too can adopt a lean 6 Sigma approach and not compromise our customers from buying a new product.’ values of differentiation. Every company has a process that suits The industry is seeing the entry of new label converters which is its workers. I think we have been able to fnd it, but it is a work leading to increased competition, according to Jain. There is intense in progress.’ competition in the ‘easy-to-manufacture’ label segments such as Jain prides himself in assembling a young driven team. ‘If you pharma, liquor, barcode and e-commerce, backed by availability of don’t’ have the right team you don’t have the confdence to expand low-cost fexo machines and ancillaries.’further and take up new challenges.’ Jain explains that new entrants to the industry look to provide Monarch has rebranded its logo to symbolize the ever-evolving multiple printing applications using several technologies. However, nature of the company with a global footprint. ‘Our logo is inspired each print process requires pre-press expertise, standardization and by the ubiquitous and magnifcent winged beauty, the monarch trained manpower and the willingness of management to exploit it. species of butterfy. This results in redundancy in the market, underutilization of assets ‘The rebranding and our new website are all about how we are and standardization in print technology. The market has evolved doing our business in the next fve years and our decisions are in this way due to the small number of players ready to ‘exploit’ a line to achieve that vision. The Gallus Labelmaster marks the start print technology, he says.of Monarch 2.0, which is about being effcient, colorful, sustainable, This is often discouraged due to the unwillingness of customers lean, agile and fast.’ to pay more for value addition and high equipment costs. Jain highlights that Monarch has been known to create unique Another trend he highlights is the changing legislations for labels PS jobs, and that customers approach the company with special in India. ‘There are new legislations coming into the Indian market and challenging work. ‘We have been converting lots of non-PS jobs for example for tire, chemicals and food labeling.’ to PS jobs.’ Brands are now adopting variable data or authentication features The company services more than 20 verticals and uses directly printed on labels for anti-counterfeiting and customer some 25-30 different PS raw materials. It also provides a fexo loyalty programs. prototyping service for several customers and intends to add a Another upcoming tech is inkjet-printed labels, he says. New digital prototyping machine soon. brand owners are buying desktop digital label printers in roll form The company saw a temporary surge in sanitizer and pharma to print labels in-house on pre-cut blank labels. label jobs during the frst wave of Covid, and Jain says that demand Transparent labeling or full disclosure labels are picking up in the cannot be estimated in the current market circumstances. ‘We are American and European markets. ‘But once you do full disclosure part of a global supply chain and everything cannot be “Indianized”. labels there is too much information so this brings AR (augmented The global supply chain will impact everyone on micro levels. On reality) and intelligent labels into play along with multilayer and the label side, we shall continue to experience an uptick in raw booklet labels.’ material prices and availability challenge. There shall be continuous RFID enabled labels and printed electronics are the next supply shocks and uncertainty around covid variants that shall exist segments for labels which will require standardization of processes till 2024. Hence, we all would need to be positive and wait for the and dust-free environments, Jain explains.stable times again.’However, he is thankful for the fact that his team and their For more from Akanksha Meena on the India market, go to families were not impacted by Covid as the company operated www.labelsandlabeling.com/contributors/akanksha-meenaon almost every day during the multiple Covid waves in an Jan - Mar 2022