DaiEi Papers International Corporation,DaiEi policies,investments and plans,DaiEi's paper industry,DaiEi Papers
We believe in Globalisation, Innovation, Function and Trust
Mr. Khushal Varadpande (In-charge of Middle East & Africa for DaiEi Papers)
1. Kindly give us a brief overview of your organization DaiEi Papers International Corporation (DPIC)?
DPIC is one of the largest paper trading companies in the world, headquartered in Tokyo Japan, with four regional offices in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and USA. These in turn manage a total of 15 offices worldwide. Since our inception in 1924, at DaEi, we have been transcending borders both qualitative and geographical and have achieved unprecedented levels of quality and service. Each of our offices acts as a sourcing as well as selling unit. This gives us flexibility of sourcing from various regions/suppliers to give our customers a wide range of choice as best fit for their requirements.
Mr. Khushal Varadpande
2. What kind of products you deal in and which are the markets you are catering your products to?
We cover almost the entire spectrum of products relating to the paper industry. We deal in Publishing grades like newsprint and art paper for Web printing. We also deal in products like Wood free Coated and Uncoated, Packaging (coated boards, sack craft, etc.), Specialties (synthetic and thermal paper, etc.) , Films & Foils, and Fiber and Equipment. In terms of markets , we cover almost the entire globe.
3. What are the difficulties that your organization faces on the procurement of products? How do you overcome the effects of price volatility, increasing global competition, etc. to come out with quality products at competitive prices?
We work closely with our customers. Most of the times we are the first ones to inform our customers of the trend either upwards or downwards of the market. This helps us strengthen our relationship with them at the same time insulate our customers to an extent from volatility of the market.
We consider our suppliers an integral part of the system. While we are customer focused, we don't lose sight and interest of our suppliers as well. Over the years, DaiEi has nurtured strong partnerships with leading pulp, paper, and film producers, waste paper packers & machine manufacturers around the world.
Careful handling of these two important ends helps us remain a notch above our competition.
4. Innovation is the key to growth; to what extent is innovation a part of DPIC's strategy?
All DaiEi policies, investments and plans are focused on GIFT.
G- Of management is thought on G-Globalization worldwide scale.
I- Work of the I-Innovation new paper is created.
F- Always you inspect & service performance as F-Function circulation.
T- Reliance confidence from T-Trust society is obtained.
At DPIC, we believe that innovation is a key to the growth and consolidation of our market. We have made innovation an important part of culture and strategy at DaiEi
5. What is it that your organization enjoys the most about being in this line of business?
From the organizational point of view, any business which provides a decent ROI (Return of Investment) is enjoyable. I guess the paper industry had welcomed us 80 years back and has allowed us to create a long lasting impression in the mind of our customers. From DPICs origin in 1924, it has come a long way and has enjoyed the journey (ups and down) so far. Knowingly or unknowingly we have become a part of every household, whether in the form of newspaper or currency.
6. What are the current trends in the development of DPIC? What new markets and products can we look forward to in the next 5 years?
We are in the midst of an interesting product launch in India. We will be introducing shortly Hewlett Packard's PAPER RANGE. After having stabilized the volumes and reach in India, we also plan to move to neighbouring markets in SAARC.
On new markets, we will soon have our office in the Middle East region, while serving the market from our various existing offices and suppliers. We are consolidating our current position and move forward in the direction of providing support to existing customers and expanding our base.
We are already catering to the world paper market and we are now aiming to consolidate our position in the region specific markets.
7. How does DPIC stay ahead of competition in this fast changing world?
We focus on 1. Seamless Global Transactions, 2. Sales and Logistics infrastructure both at mill and customer end, 3. Intimate local knowledge of culture through local management and staff, and 4. Forming strategic alliances in global trade.
8. What is your opinion on the global paper industry?
The paper industry has not been given its due. An interesting fact is that in terms of dollars turnover worldwide, the paper industry is bigger than cement and steel put together. It's a low involvement industry even though paper touches each of our lives in numerous ways since the time we wake up till we sleep. Our Managing Director Mr. Vijay Gupta in Singapore says, "Money (currency notes) is paper" which is very important for all of us. Another aspect of the paper industry is that it is perceived as not an environment friendly industry. However, there are statistics to prove that the paper industry like us have contributed to afforestation. This sector needs to be recognised as an important industry and should be applauded for its contribution in the ever growing world economy.
9. Is China a big threat to your industry type?
It's not a question that has a multiple choice answer in terms of 'yes/no' or 'can't say'. From a trading company like DaiEi's point of view, China is no threat at all. In fact, it's a great opportunity. If you see the past ten years of paper industry in China, the early years provided us with an opportunity to sell to China and over the past few years we have found in China a supplier base.
China's expansion has come from foreign investment in terms of very large projects. The new capacities in China are very modern with a state of the art infrastructure. This will help the industry in terms of economies of scale, and better and updated products. Moreover, the region is itself witnessing tremendous growth in terms of demand. Increased capacities will be required to meet this demand. We consider China as a potential supplier of Paper and also a potential customer for Fiber.
