Two new members have joined the Huber Group team since June 2012, taking both Huber Inks (Thailand) Ltd and Manila-based Micro Inks Limited to new heights. Christel Lee from Print World Asia reports.
This addition came after the founding of Huber Inks Indonesia in late 2010 – with Sandor Janos Meszaros as Director, and Sambasiva Pasumarthy as President Director. Meszaros' knowledge of Asia dates back to 1997 where he was responsible for the Asian market – both in offset and packaging sectors.
"Demand for Huber Group products have risen steadily and customers expressed requirements for both support and service over the years; mandating the knowledge of Asian markets," Meszaros explains.
The two companies supersede the activities of the Hostmann-Steinberg GmbH in Thailand. It was then developing the direct business of hubergroup Europe since 1999 and for Micro Inks Limited (MIL.
Hubergroup is one of the market leaders for UV offset special inks in packaging in Thailand. The country has one of the biggest packaging markets in Southeast Asia. Apart from Indonesia, Thailand exports a lot of consumer goods in the food area. It is also one of the largest beer and liquor producers in Asia. The lifestyle of Thais has increased substantially, resulting in stronger domestic demand for consumer goods and packaging.
In the Philippines, Hubergroup is the market leader via supplying mainly to the biggest printers in the main business district in the country. With establishment of the branch office, the company is able to extend reach now in the north and the south of the country as well by appointing respective dealers and partners and also establish further product groups in offset.
Meszaros adds, "In the Philippines, the packaging market is strong as there is a well-established and expanding export market, based on the vast variety of agricultural and seafood products. With the recently-declared extension plans for the infrastructure within the the country, we are ready to reach the neighboring Southeast Asian countries in GDP ratio and middle class development in short.
"That fuels also the local market for packaging products, as the lifestyle in the Philippines has improved tremendously over the last five years."
Hubergroup's target and strategy for these two new companies will be supporting the existing and established business of partners and customers in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. It will also additionally build up and enlarge the sales of Hubergroup products with focus on commercial and packaging, offset color matching, HS, CS, UV offset, and adhesive business plus oil/aqueous/UV varnishes as well. Hubergroup is well geared up for the move with its reputed consistency rate.
"That helps us to reduce our local operating costs tremendously, as the need to establish own manufacturing facility is elminated. We can work in teams of up to max 40 - which are based on experts in printing application, colour matching, sales and marketing and back office support.
"Logistics also have improved in costing and timing worldwide, we can ship shortly any product from our manufacturing facilities in Asia. Additionally, from our larger entity in Indonesia we are able to source respective products within short for the region. Currently Indonesia also caters to Malaysia and Singapore," he shared.
Another major edge Hubergroup has is the strategic geographical location of Thailand – allowing the ink player optimum network coverage within the country. Hubergroup also has several warehouses in industrial zones, and an active relationship with dealers. The company also hosts regular seminars and consultation sessions to educate customers on products and technologies.