Indian Toners Developers Ltd (better known as ITDL), established in 1992 in New Delhi, is the India’s largest domestic manufacturer and exporter of compatible toners for use in the laser printers, new age digital machines, multi-function printers, analogue copiers as well as in the wide format printers and copiers. ITDL exports toners to more than 20 countries and over the years, has become one of the leading toner manufacturers and suppliers of South East Asia. The Government of India has been awarding ITDL for its ‘Excellence in Export Performance’ consecutively since the past several years. The Company also has a distributor in Singapore. ITDL has also established a wholly-owned subsidiary in the USA called Indian Toners U.S.A. Company, in the state of Florida in 2016. ITDL’s product categories broadly include chemical color toner, laser toner, copier toner & wide format copier & printer toner. In an interaction with Imaging Solution magazine, Mr Sushil Jain, Chairman/Managing Director/CEO, ITDL, shares about their company’s policy, state-of-the art infrastructure, quality standards, ethics and future plans.
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Please explain ITDL’s journey from the beginning to becoming a toner manufacturer and then to the present?
Indian Toners and Developers ltd. started its production in the year 1992 with a capacity to produce 600 metric tons/ year of compatible toners for use in copiers. In its 28 years of existence, it has enhanced its capacity to 3600 metric tons/ year and a small Production-cum-Research & Development plant.
The company was set up in Swiss technical collaboration and after a period of 5 years , the company was able to absorb the technology well and has been developing its own formulations with the help of a dedicated team of engineers and chemists, supported with all the highly sophisticated laboratory equipments and a Pilot Plant.
With the help of our strong R&D program, the company was able to develop compatible toners for the digital machines and laser printers, even when technology changed from Analogue to digital. The company also successfully made MICR toner and compatible toner for the wide format printers.
How many toner product units do ITDL have and what is the total production capacity of ITDL?
We have 6 toner lines which are state of the art equipment and One of the best available. We also have a Pilot Plant which can produce small batches of toners.
The total production capacity of ITDL is 3600 Metric Tons / year
How do you think the Indian toner manufacturers could meet the huge demand, in terms of quality and quantity, from the Indian toner market?
Indian toner manufacturers are able to fulfill the demand of the domestic market, in terms of quality and quantity, based on the available data.
In case of further increase in the demand, ITDL will require just six months to increase its further capacity.
As a manufacturer of toners what opportunity do you see? How the government’s initiatives of Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat are going to help you?
I can only say that the slogan of ATMA NIRBHAR BHARAT is very apt and will help the Indian manufacturing sector to build capacities and brands which are recognised in India and overseas.
‘Make in India’ is very good initiative to prompt and encourage the manufacturers ( including Toner manufacturers ) to make further investments within the country.
How do you think the Indian government’s anti-dumping law on black toners will benefit the Indian businessmen and users?
Anti- dumping law is primarily to help Indian industry which are faced with injury from the underpriced imports . The rules of the same are very clear and well laid down by the concerned ministry and department. Only when the department is convinced with the above do they pass the order of anti- dumping duty . This way the Indian manufactures are safe guarded from unjust competition from the overseas producers .
What opportunity do you see in the Indian toner market? How are you doing globally?
Toner consumption in the developed nations is stagnant or coming down by a few percentage points. But, for FY 19-20 and 20-21 ( due to economy slowdown because of Covid & other factors ), the demand in the emerging markets is on the rise. We feel being the leader in this industry in India, we should be able to capture the increase in the demand and grow further. In the global market, it is an on-going effort to establish oneself in new markets which we have been able to do slowly. Our customers, both in domestic and overseas market, are dedicated and have been buying from us since more than 20 years. This speaks much about our quality and service and we are thankful for this.
What is the future of color toner segment in India and what is ITDL’s strategy?
ITDL feels that the demand for Color laser toner is stagnant, but certainly there is scope in color copier. We are exploring the possibilities.
The imaging industry in India believes that the recent Indian govt’s anti-dumping law made toners costly for the resellers and also to the end-users. What is your take on this?
For your information , toner has been the only product in my knowledge whose selling price has constantly gone down over the years; in spite of the increase is input costs . Be it energy cost, man power , packaging, raw material , exchange rate, freight and the list can go on and on ….
What are your future plans?
ITDL is looking for opportunities of inorganic growth in the Imaging and other related segments.
