USP Packaging Solutions Private Limited, headquartered in Chennai, was incepted in the year 2001 as a consultancy firm with the objective of providing effective solutions to the Indian packaging industry in the field of product coding and marking. The company's President and CEO, Joseph R. Kishore, is well experienced in the area of packaging and product coding and marking, having served the industry for over 20 years prior to establishing the company.

Modest beginnings saw USP tide over the initial 4 years of its operations in the industry, until, in the year 2005, Simaco GmbH of Germany - a world leader in industrial marking fluids - appointed the company as a distributor (and, eventually, the sole distributor for the SAARC region) for its world-class Simacolor range of products. Right from 2005 - the year when USP pioneered the concept of the Simacolor range as second source of fluids for industrial inkjet printers - the industry has moved ahead, slow and steady, in approving the concept, with more and more of inkjet users opting for Simaco fluids even while the printers are under warranty. The company today boasts over 2200 installations that feature printers like Domino, Imaje and Willett which smoothly run on Simacolor fluids.

USP today stands tall in the coding/marking arena with its co-branded USP-EC300/400 series inkjet printers from EC-JET of China. This apart, USP provides complete solutions, technical support, post-sales service and spares to the industry through supply/servicing of printers and accessories. In his responses to a questionnaire, Mr Joseph R. Kishore, elaborates about the products and their applications. Excerpts:

What are the products that you offer? Could you elaborate about some?

We offer co-branded industrial continuous inkjet printers from EC-JET of China and second-source fluids to all reputed brands of industrial inkjet printers from Simaco of Germany. Further, we offer service and spares support to all such brands of Industrial inkjet printers and professional consultancy in flexi-pack and marking and coding applications

What are the applications?

Our products are extensively used in statutory marking and coding of primary consumer packaging, traceability, readable 1D and 2D barcode printing, and marking of length for easy dispensing/sale

Why should the customer opt for these?

Marking and coding in packaging are compulsory and are mandated by Government norms. Further, these help in internal traceability

How strong /effective is the after-sales service?

USP Packaging is a small yet professionally managed company. We have grown over a period of close to a decade by virtue of core founding experience and resultant technical expertise, complemented by committed service and support. Our operations cover all regions of India.

How does the cost of ownership over the life cycle compare with competition?

Our equipment is the most profitable one with minimum time for ownership. This has been the derivative that defines our entrepreneurial success in attaining a commanding market presence today.

What are the company's achievements?

• Creating generic industry awareness
• Enabling smooth transition of many conventional slow coding process users to Inkjet coding
• Pioneering the concept and implementation of a viable second-source for direct-compatible fluids for all brands of industrial inkjet printers, and
• Achieved a clientele of over 2500 + customers who continue to enjoy the recurring benefits.

How is the present business environment?

In a nutshell: nothing to complain. Yet, the efforts required to bring in productive results ought to be much more than what it otherwise should be on account of the plight of our economy.

Is opening up of the retail sector to FDI an opportunity to the packaging sector?

In our opinion, yes. Sale of packaging machines will go up and, as a result, the demand for coding and marking equipment will proportionally increase; more of new units will be started while existing units will see an increased work output. Products sold by traders with speculation will be channelled through globally-branded supermarket and hypermarket chains. The benefits - a consumer-driven market scenario where quality and safety will rule the deliverables.

What are the sectors that you think would drive your company's growth in future?

Consumer durables, pharmaceuticals, and food packaging are the sectors that would drive our business in future.

(Contact: Joseph R Kishore, President & CEO, USP Packaging Solutions Private Limited, Chennai, Mobile: 098400 94905, Tel: 044-65619304/ 05, Email:jrk@usppkg.com)