Regulars / Q&A | 47Labels & Labeling: Tell us about your career and how has “The R Stanton Avery Global Weldon Celloplast changed since its inception? Harveer Sahni: Weldon Sales as a parental company was started Achievement Award on the by my father in 1939 as a stationary company. Weldon Celloplast, promoted by me, was established in 1982 but we were siliconizing global level gives me immense since 1978. satisfaction and justifes my The journey of the company is very long. We started a family glue and writing ink business. Initially, we were outsourcing some adhesive endeavors in sharing my knowledge products from international companies. I joined the family business in the early 1970s. As a chemistry graduate, I started developing with the industry. It encourages me these outsourced products in our laboratory and produced the glues ourselves. We then migrated to industrial adhesives, especially to continue working”for labeling applications and later moved on to corrugated board applications. At that time, pasting glue for corrugation would last just for seven days before becoming unusable. I started producing and 51 years I spent in business, 46 were spent in labels alone. One of offering a glue formulation that is still prevalent in the industry and the major reasons is leading changes in the label industry in India. offers guaranteed shelf life of two years. When I started siliconizing, the silicone chemistries used in India These are the kind of changes I brought in Weldon. We developed were evolving and not consistent in quality in comparison to what different types of inks and offce glues to package them we needed we have today. containers. Initially, we were using glass containers but in the late We moved on to a solventless silicone chemistry that is still used 1960s, when polyethylene was introduced in India, we started buying in India. And we led that change. Another thing that I was recognized polyethylene and plastic containers to package our products. But for is innovating and adapting to change. Being a chemistry graduate, then eventually I started molding myself for captive consumption. I could do things differently – I could analyze what was needed and I set up automatic injection and blow molding machines to keep innovating accordingly. produce containers, caps and plastic scales and later we started Right from stationery days, we were developing new products supplying these outside as well. At one time, we were the largest and things to do. Usually, release paper is used as a liner in a supplier of ketchup bottle caps to large multinational manufacturers. sticker. And liner initially was just glassine. We improvised and did However, gradually we moved away from it because our interest was poly-coated papers and then replaced poly with sustainable solutions. more focused toward stationary. Sustainability was not an issue at that time, but we addressed it Panning further in stationery, we set up a coater to manufacture nonetheless. I developed barrier coatings and coatings that could self-adhesive tapes. But immediately at that time, I saw there was a accept siliconizing. These are a few examples of my innovations and big demand for release paper and a supply shortage. Because of that, adapting to the changing times. The biggest thing for me was staying we started making release liners. That became a big success for us connected with the global label industry. There was no internet back and the start of our journey in labels. then. I used postal mail and letters to stay connected with industry I started siliconizing and produced several kinds of silicone release peers. Learning was through reading. The biggest thing that helped papers. And that time, I noticed a substantial shift from wet glue me in my career was networking. In my family, we are six brothers, to self-adhesive labels which caught my interest. I did some label and all of us are very well connected in our industries. Friendships are manufacturing as well using manual screen printing in-house. And it very wide and that helps. was a very primitive screen-printing system, not at all how it is today. We made labels and did it well. But we found it too cumbersome L&L: What does this award mean to you personally? and were losing focus on manufacturing other products that we were HS: In 2017, I received a similar award for lifetime support to Indian doing on the side. label industry from Label Manufacturers Association of India (LMAI). Since some of our customers started producing release papers It was very good and 700 people gave me a standing ovation. The R on their own, we started making labelstocks. Once multinational Stanton Avery Global Achievement Award on the global level gives manufacturers started coming to India and taking away our market me immense satisfaction and justifes my endeavors in sharing my share, we had to rethink and change course again. We started knowledge with the industry. It encourages me to continue working. exporting but when recession hit globally, we started moving out When they give you an award such as this, it seems like an end of a of producing labelstock. However, since we were able to retain our journey but for me, it is not an end. It is an inspiration for generations customer base of label printers. Finally, we started getting agencies that follow. They will fnd inspiration from this to network with of global machine suppliers so that we would retain our customers, industry friends and share their knowledge. When new technologies we started getting agencies of global equipment and tooling emerge in the market, the newcomers need to learn and sources such manufacturers. That is the way the present structure of Weldon exists. as my blog and L&L help them or else they learn when they network Now we supply total label machinery from label presses, inspection together. This award will provide them the inspiration to go out there systems, and tooling to corona treaters and more. and share their knowledge as well. It defnitely means a lot to me. I don’t look after day-to-day business now because my sons do that. My elder son is now the MD of Italian press manufacturer L&L: What are some of the major highlights from your career? Omet’s subsidiary in India, while my younger son looks after HS: The biggest highlight of my career was accepting the changes Weldon’s business. I like to spend my time writing for the industry that came along. If you are unable to accept changes, you will not be and networking. In this journey, I have seen the label industry’s able to move on as stagnation is not good. evolution in India. As I was growing, networking has always been my A very important highlight was being awarded the lifetime passion. I have been successful in striking relations not just in India achievement award from LMAI and later the global achievement but globally. award. Another highlight was the string of incidents that led me to my connections worldwide like meeting Mike Fairley and Andy L&L: Why do you think you won the R Stanton Avery Global Thomas-Emans. I wrote an article for L&L at the beginning of the Achievement Award? millennium. I felt encouraged to write further because of that. And HS: The reasons for winning this award are many. Out of the bringing Andy to the frst India label show which became Labelexpo Oct - Dec 2022