On 25 November, Manroland filed for insolvency protection with the German district court in Augsburg after negotiations with a potential investor "failed on the home stretch".

"Manroland India is a 100% subsidiary company and a separate cashflow positive entity," said Bhatia. "As far as India is concerned, we are a strong organisation and in an expansion mode. Even as I am talking to you, our engineers have started a big installation of a Manroland machine in Western India."

The company has filed a request for self-administration in order to finalise its on-going restructuring efforts as a "debtor in possession", while court-appointed lawyer Dr Frank Kebekus will act as general representative for the restructuring.

Explaining the insolvency protection process, Bhatia said that it’s a process by which a company gets an opportunity to quickly restructure. It does not mean that the company is closing. "It’s an operation that is taken over by the government of Germany. The government is supporting it and looking for fresh investors. We are confident that the parent company will tide over the difficult period quickly."

He added: "We are fully aware that the crisis was triggered as the market took another downturn, particularly in the USA and Western Europe. However, that’s not the case here in India. We have updated our customers of the current situation and all our customers have wholeheartedly expressed their support. We are thankful for their confidence in the brand."

Currently, the business activities of Manroland employs 6,500 people, thereof 5,000 in Germany. And among other things, restructure of a company would include going lean and mean, to come back to a healthy position. "In India we are hiring people to meet customer demands. Our strong and long standing customers are clear about the restructuring and have enough faith in us," said Bhatia.

TCPL, International Print-O-Pac (IPP), Borkar and Orient Press, HT Media, are some of the big customers of Manroland in India.


Industry Reaction
"I think that it’s too early to say anything but I believe that Manroland is a great company and they will manage to sort out this crisis. As for India, I do not foresee any problems and believe that its sales and service will continue to serve," said Saket Kanoria, managing director of TCPL.

Swapan Chakravorty, technical director of Orient Press, which has plants in Mumbai, Silvassa and Boisar, said: "I believe that the present economic situations in US and Europe is at the core of this crisis. As of now, there are many things which needs to be clear, in terms of support from government of Germany, banks, investors interested in the company, etc. Having said that, I don’t think that it would affect the India operation." He added: "Manroland presses are best suited for commercial and packaging print, and would still opt for Manroland technology, should we plan investment in future, provided the technology exists."

Sunil Pandita of HT Media, said: "Definitely the news is going to affect the printing industry. In the view of the new scenario, both newspaper and sheetfed offset users would now be worried about after sales services. I don’t think that Manroland’s decision to file for insolvency would create a dent in the reputation of German manufacturers. At the same time, this would not change the power-struggle amongst the top offset manufacturers, be it KBA or Heidelberg. What users would be looking for now would be better quality at great price. The return on investment will still be the main thrust of every sale being made."

Sangam Khanna, director (Komori division), Insight Communication & Print Solutions India said: "I am shocked - it's not a good news for the offset industry, particularly when it's an organisation like Manroland that's been around for very long, with its long history. It's very concerning that a player like Manroland is facing these difficulties. The Europe and the US market has been through a lot of turmoil and now it's going to boil to the Darwin's theory of 'Survival of the Fittest'. It might sem that there may be one less manufacturer to fight with temporarily, and if that is the case will it create a significant improvement in our business? I doubt it as, in India we did not face much of a challenge from them. I do hope we'll get to see some kind of restructured form of Manroland going forward as there are so many families, investors, suppliers and customers which are directly affected."

"The insolvency of the printing press manufacturer Manroland is expected to have an impact on the revenue and earnings performance of the Technotrans group in the current financial year. In its initial assessment the board of management expects that the impact on earnings of the impairment of receivables and inventories, along with expenses from orders currently outstanding, will be up to € 2.0 million in the annual financial statements for 2011. An operating profit of € 6 to 7 million had originally been planned for the 2011 financial year," said Thessa Roderig, corporate communications / investor relations, Technotrans