Konica Minolta

JIT Enterprises, incepted in 2018 with their corporate office in Mumbai, is a fast-growing Make in India manufacturer of superior quality toner powders for printers and copiers. The company, which started its commercial production of toners in 2019, has witnessed increasing demand for its toners. In an interaction with Imaging Solution magazine, Mr. Rishikesh Awasthi, Business Development Manager, of JIT Enterprises, shares their brand strategy, channel policy, and outlook for the future.

Mr. Rishikesh Awasthi shares, “Just within 2 years of launching our toner production, today, we are getting very encouraging demand from the market. We procure all our raw materials from the US and Japan and we do thorough research to bring out toners of international quality. Our target segment is quality-conscious customers. We have both magnetic and non-magnetic toners. Currently, our toners are compatible with the laser printers of Samsung, HP, Ricoh, Lexmark; and copiers of Canon IR series, Xerox, Konica Minolta. JIT recently launched its high-quality Positive toner for Kyocera and Canon 8500 copiers with the standard at par with the Japanese toners and we are getting very encouraging feedback for these toners from the customers. We will continue to offer toners of superior quality, consistency, reliability, and to the best possible customer satisfaction.”

JIT Enterprises has its corporate office in Mumbai; and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Silvassa Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, about 170 km from Mumbai Airport and 30 km from the Vapi (Gujarat). The company has highly automated and integrated lines of machinery obtained from Alpine Gmbh (Germany) with a production capacity of 600 MT per year from a single line. JIT Enterprises has very qualified and experienced technical people working for them.

Talking about their channel policy, Mr. Awasthi comments, “JIT is a partner-driven brand and for us, partners are very important and our relations with our channel are based on trust and honesty. We give the best possible support to our partners thru motivating incentive schemes, technical guidance, training, and products of superior quality. We are now present pan-India with our sales and technical personnel across the country to give the necessary support to our partners and customers.”

In order to provide the best toners, JIT Enterprises follows continuous R&D supported by sophisticated laboratories and equipment to bring out toners of the latest standards. The company’s product line includes the latest machines: Fluid Mixer: Henschel; extruder: Coperion; Jet Mill and Classifier: Hosokawa Alpine. Their well-equipped lab includes a Multi-size particle analyzer: Beckman Coulter MS3; Magnetite Flux Meter: Magnet-Physik; and Melt flow index meter: Thermo make. JIT Enterprises continually updates and upgrades its machines and processes to incorporate the latest innovations.

Discussing the opportunity & scope in the Indian market for toners, Mr. Awasthi, explains, “India is a big and growing market and offers a lot of opportunity at present and for future. The demand for toners is expected to increase severalfold in the coming years. Earlier, most toners used in India were imported from foreign manufacturers (particularly China). Now, JIT Enterprises by installing the State of Art highly automated and integrated German line for the production provide superior quality Made in India compatible toners for the Indian users. The anti-dumping duty is a progressive step by the government because it will encourage the Indian toner manufacturers. After the imposition of anti-dumping duty on black toners, our sales volumes have gone up significantly. We are keeping our margins at a minimum to allow the partners and users to take the benefit.”

Talking about their preparation to deal with the present Covid-19 pandemic and their future plans, Mr. Awasthiadds, “Due to the 2nd wave of Covid, business is currently down, but we hope things will become normal in 2 or 3 months and the industry will get back to normal. Once Covid comes under control, we want to appoint more channel partners and expand nationwide. As far as safety during a pandemic is concerned, we are encouraging our employees to work from home as far as possible and to take all the precautionary measures. We will soon launch compatible toners for Brother printers and copiers. Before the end of 2024, we are planning to add 3 more production lines to increase capacity to meet the increasing demand.”