Success for CONTI-AIR® at the IfraExpo India 2007

The first ifraExpo outside Europe took place from September 4 to 6 in Chennai, India, where numerous newspaper industry suppliers presented their latest products and services. Our Indian representative Reprographic (headquartered in Chennai) displayed the CONTI-AIR® products at two different booths. “Both booths drew quite a crowd. The Indian newspaper publishers showed a great deal of interest in the CONTI-AIR® brand and were highly impressed with the quality. The CONTI-AIR® EVOLUTION-TR blanket caught the visitors’ special attention. India has really taken a liking for this newspaper printing blanket, and customers have all given best ratings for its performance”, explains Stephan Peters, manager for the Asia-Pacific region.

Metal-back printing blankets were another focus of attention, and local industry is expecting to benefit highly from that technology. The Indian publishers have meanwhile installed a total of six machines that run with the technology, and another three are due to come into operation soon.

With more than 2,000 newspaper printing machines throughout the country, there is enormous potential for newspaper printing blankets in India: 17 of the world’s top 100 newspapers are published in India. In addition, the past five years have seen a 33 percent increase in the distribution of Indian newspapers with a total circulation of almost 80 million copies a day. Advertising revenue for Indian newspaper publishers has likewise more than doubled during the same period.  ContiTech already has positioned itself very well in this significant booming market with the CONTI-AIR® brand. And what’s more, with Reprographic at its side, the company has a first-class partner with comprehensive ability to expand business in India.