Komori India, a subsidiary of the Tokyo-headquartered Komori Corporation, announced Jun Sudo as its new president in April 2024. With a stint of more than 25 years at Komori, Sudo has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience while serving the company in different capacities in different geographies.
Indian Printer & Publisher correspondent Priyanka Tanwar interacted with Sudo during a recent visit to Komori India’s office in Faridabad last month, where he talked about his first three months in India and his plans for the company’s India operations.
According to Sudo, though Komori India had reported 35 orders at drupa24 (held from 28 May – 7 June in Dusseldorf, Germany), the company already had a dozen orders for installations in hand by the end of April 2024. The remaining 23 machines were actual deals finalized during the printing and packaging show. The Komori Group received orders for 150 machines during the show out of which one-fourth of the orders were from India, Sudo said.
The Komori Lithrone G-37 series is the star machine in the Komori stable receiving the maximum number of orders, which is around 50% of the total intake in India, he said. The Lithrone G-37 series is closely followed by the Komori Enthrone 29 series, which is the entry-level B2 size model by Komori. “Throughout our business in India in the last six years, these have remained our most popular models,” Sudo said.
Komori India has installed nearly 220 machines since the Komori India subsidiary came into place in 2018, Sudo said, adding by the end of FY 2024-25, the company hopes to reach 270-280 machines.
see also
Patparganj’s GM
Offset installs
a Komori
Lithrone LS-40
“The introduction of the Komori Enthrone 29 series in the formerly used press market is one of the key reasons we have rapidly increased our sales. Quite a few customers who came into the new press business from the used press business have either invested in the new Komori Enthrone 29 series or the larger machine, the Komori Lithrone G-37. This is the trend that we have observed for the past several years, which we believe is the reason behind our increase in sales,” Sudo said.
Also, we have introduced the 27-inch machine as a commercial printing machine, but it is also now being used for carton printing in packaging, he said, adding Komori India understands the high expectations of its customers and prospects about its service capabilities. “Quite a few customers have installed a second Komori machine based on the service that they have received on their first or second Komori machine(s). We would like to make sure we keep up and hopefully exceed customer expectations,” he added.
Komori Corporation celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. On this occasion, the company launched a new corporate philosophy, Sudo said, and the purpose was to contribute to society by delivering the true value of print technology and going beyond the expectations of society and stakeholders.
The company used the word ‘Kando’ to express its goal, which in Japanese means to cause somebody to have strong emotions, he explained, adding they are trying to go a step beyond people’s expectations because they feel that feeling nourishes our lives.
“I have been working in India for only three months now. If you are focused on what you are doing, there is not much difference in where you work, whether it’s in India or Japan. You use your day to do something better for your colleagues or your customers. What is good about working in India is that you are closer to your customers,” he said.
Komori India entered the Indian market with the strong belief to penetrate deep into it, he said, adding it will continue to work hard to obtain the trust of the customers. “We don’t think proving your products is good enough; we want to be a part of the growth of the Indian printing industry and society. We want to promote our values not only through our products and services but also via knowledge sharing with the younger generation in the industry. I think that is the way that we will hopefully be successful and continue to be successful in the industry, Sudo concluded.
