German Printing Ink Firm, Siegwerk, Looks To Consolidate India Business

German printing ink supplier, Siegwerk, is upbeat on India and plans to further expand its facility to cater to the growing market, according to a report in the Hindu Business Line newspaper. In India, the company manufactures and supplies its products from its facility located at Bhiwadi on the Delhi-Jaipur highway.

The company, which provides inks for use on flexible packaging products, is pitching for toluene-free inks. Mr. Ashish Pradhan, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, said the voluntary India standards IS 15495:2004 relating to “Printing ink for food packaging – Code of Practice” prescribes guidelines for printing inks for use on food packages. “As a matter of policy, at Siegwerk, with revenues of over €1-bn, we decided to be away from toluene-based inks used in flexible packaging material. This meant, we have stayed away from nearly 85 per cent of the total addressable market in India,” he said.

Safety standards

From an industry perspective, in India, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety. The food regulator along with the Bureau of Indian Standards oversee the regulatory aspects of safety in the inks used.

“In recent times, we have taken up the issue with these bodies and hope that they consider doing away with inks which have toluene-based ingredients. This will be both good for the industry and also people who manufacture them,” said Mr. Pradhan.

As per the voluntary standards, printing inks on direct food packaging such as wrappings that are applied on the outside of the food wrapper, have to comply with the norms and conform to the exclusion list of toxic substances.