Claus from Food Infotech had an exclusive chat with Abid Ahmed, Director of Cerium Technologies Pvt. Ltd., who spoke about their recently introduced product offering for the F&B Industry, apart from sharing some details about the uniqueness of their solutions as well as their future plans.
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Edited Excerpts Below:
Can you begin by telling us a little about your company and its business? Further, please tell us about the solutions that you’ve been offering for the F&B Industry along with their benefits.
We started Cerium Technologies in the year 2019. Our company is based out of Okhla in New Delhi. We offer a wide range of coding solutions for the F&B Industry. Some of the solutions that we offer are Batch Coding Machine, coding conveyor, electric stacker, etc.
Currently, we are offering coding machines using three technologies – Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) Printers, Continuous Inkjet Printers and Laser Printers. Laser technology is the latest technology adopted in coding industry, which comes with a lower total cost of ownership. Owing to lower maintenance and elimination of expensive consumables, we feel that this technology is ideally suited for the overall operations of the customers. Laser solutions involve only one time capital expenditure for businesses, who would be able to obtain their return on investment within a period of 1 or 2 years, particularly in the case of companies who deal with high production volumes. After that, the customer can expect to earn profits. Most technology machines come with a lifespan of 3-10 years depending on type of source. Owing to these benefits, a huge demand for these marking equipment have been generated in the market, particularly in high-volume production lines, owing to their ability to quickly meet the requirements of the customer.
In India, as per the existing laws for the F&B Industry, the directors can face criminal prosecution in case of absence of marking on packaged products. Earlier, customers had faced problems with the marking, since the products that are being moved for sale in the market had faced the problem of the marking getting easily erased due to frequent rubbing, which has attracted a criminal offence. However, this solution that comes with laser technology has a permanent marking, thereby eliminating such problems for businesses.
Please share with us some details about some of the features/benefits offered by your recently introduced solutions in the market.
We have been launching multiple products for the F&B Industry. The coding and marking solutions offered by Cerium Technologies are finding more use in the food industry today, owing to the necessity to fulfill the traceability requirements to protect the safety of the consumers. 2D and 1D barcodes are being used by businesses for identification purposes, including for the purposes of checking counterfeit products.
The use of QR and Bar code has been growing rapidly, as companies have been trying to integrate the supply chain starting right from production until it reaches the consumer with proper traceability. Our machines are able to provide the right solution at optimal cost for such applications. We also offer specific barcodes that are used in the case of business promotions, wherein, customers would be able to scan the products.
How would you differentiate your business from that of your competitors?
From a value perspective, ours may be a small product, but if the printer doesn’t work, the whole line would have to come to a halt, as production is not possible without applying coding to the food products. Our product is stable and we are very much focused on the customer and taking sufficient steps to ensure that the production line does not come to a halt. Customers prefer us as we are able to understand and provide the right solution to their needs. We have all the technologies in laser today and we are making every effort possible to provide the exact solution that the customer demands after properly evaluating its application in their facility.
Last year, Cerium Technologies had generated a turnover of INR 5 crores. We are seeing a huge growth potential in the domestic market and hope to generate a turnover of INR 10 crores this year. We have a strong presence in North India. The revenues from F&B segment currently constitute 50-60% of our overall turnover. This growth has been possible because we have been able to provide an optimal solution after proper understanding of application, followed by exceptional services to our customers. We feel that this is what has differentiated us from that of our competitors. We are a customer-centric company and for us it is important that we offer a positive experience for our customers. In the recent past, we have felt that customer needs have not been seriously taken care of by most players in the market. Hence, we have made it our motto to ensure that the customer is our partner.
Please tell us about the uniqueness of any of your solutions.
Our UV laser marking machine offers many benefits for the customers specifically with thin packaging material. Once the information is engraved on the package, the marking is permanent and visible and is abrasion-resistant. This is highly beneficial for our customers, especially in the cases where the packaging material is really thin, ultimately benefitting the consumer in a big way.
Can you share with us your plans/ strategies for business growth in the coming days?
Cerium Technologies has plans to expand its presence in the western and southern region as we see a lot of growth potential in these regions. Currently, our distributors have also been stationed to serve the customers in these regions. As we are a service centric company, there arises a necessity to have the right persons in place, so that we would be able to serve our customers in these regions much more efficiently and effectively.
Please let us know a little about your efforts on the R&D front.
We have always believed that companies that innovate will always stay ahead of its competitors. Today, the technologies exist and the only requirement would be to understand how to apply the same in coding application. Currently, we have around 15 employees, some of whom individually hold more than 2 decades of coding experience. The staff members are continuously being provided with the relevant training, which can enable them to serve the individual requirements of each of our customers effectively. We are growing every day and also believe in the capabilities of young talents and are bringing more youngsters on board by providing them with the necessary training, since they are much more aware of the latest technologies.
Today, automation integration is happening in almost every solution. Data automation is being increasingly applied today by many businesses in supply chain. There arises the traceability part, wherein, the machine produces a product, while the scanner scans the same and checks to ensure whether the code is right or if there has been occurrence of any duplication. We have also partnered with other businesses for handling inventory management and provide the right solution to our customers
Finally, please let us know your future plans.
Currently, our primary focus is to double our business revenues each year for the next few years, as demand for our product is high and we are of the opinion that the packaging industry will enjoy double-digit growth in the next 5-10 years. Currently, we are having plans to expand our presence to more cities and to serve more sectors. The work on the same has already begun. We are also targeting the big players in the market, including MNCs. Apart from F&B Industry, we are looking to serve the pharmaceutical industry too.
Our primary goal is to serve our customers effectively and for that purpose, we are working to ensure that we have the right people in place. In order to increase our reach, we are partnering with local dealers, which can enable us to offer our services in more markets in a much better way. Currently, we are working with around 10 dealers, who are helping us in expanding our presence in these markets.