Our colleague Prashant Chauhan, Sales Manager for India's film extrusion and converting business, recently did an interview with Food & Drink Industry magazine. The publication wanted to learn a little about NDC Technologies, our view on the India market, the latest news on technology innovations, the Nordson acquisition and our vision for the future. Here's the interview article in its entirety.
Brief us about NDC Technologies & activities?
NDC Technologies is a leading global provider of intelligent, connected measurement and control solutions. For over 50 years, we’ve been transforming process operations around the world – from food and tobacco to plastic film and converted materials to cable, tube and metals and to energy storage materials. We have thousands of satisfied customers that rely on our measurement systems every day to improve quality, increase productivity and deliver manufacturing savings. Matter of fact, we have over 100,000 installations around the globe that have amassed over 1 billion operating hours. And we continue to grow. The impact we make on the world and the lives we touch can be seen everywhere.
Over the years, NDC Technologies has played a dominant role in the film extrusion and converting industries. We solve some of the most challenging process control applications involving measurements moisture, thickness, basis weight, coat weight and length and speed. And we use a diverse array of technologies from our deep portfolio of solutions to do this including laser, ultrasonic, near infrared, nucleonic, optical and other measurement methods.
How do you see India as a potential market and what are the prospects?
India is a key growth market for NDC Technologies and what makes us unique is that we offer a wide range of solutions and services. Under the "Make in India" initiative by the Indian government, we see continuous growth opportunities in India. We’re particularly proud of the NDC team in India who have demonstrated a customer-centric and responsive level of support that our customers have come to expect from our company. They’ve been particularly effective in helping our customers navigate the challenges of operating their plants while dealing with lockdowns and travel restrictions during the pandemic. Through this team and with the support of our corporate functions, we’ll be identifying new business opportunities to meet the specific needs of customers in the India market.
According to you, what are the key factors affecting your business?
With the Covid-19 virus still a real threat and a number of regions and economies in lockdown, the disruption of supply chains, transportation and logistics continues to be challenge for everyone. There’s not doubt that the pandemic has pushed the creativity, resilience and flexibility of every organization globally. It has been a real test of corporate values and purpose. Our organization has been very good at navigating through these challenges. NDC runs an agile, distributed supply chain and our global network includes manufacturing, component suppliers and logistics operations. If and when there may be impacts to our global supply chain, we have developed robust contingency plans that enable us to reroute orders, expedite alternate supplies and add manufacturing capacity as required.
What are the product innovations in the recent past?
We recently released our new SlimTrak II scanner which is the next-generation system designed for the narrowest web processes. It’s uniquely designed to fit into the tightest machine spaces. Not too long ago, we also introduced our HazePro gauge that accurately and reliably measures the optical quality of transparent film products. This innovative measurement system enables you to make immediate on-line haze measurements to confirm product quality and precisely adjust the film and sheet extrusion process to tightly maintain the desired product appearance.
We’re also currently working on several new products that are in the pre-production stages, and we’ll be introducing some of them at the upcoming shows. Unlike anything on the market today, these innovations tackle some of the industry’s toughest measurement challenges. For instance, our soon-to-be released Series 9 gauge is the best-in-value measurement system on the market today. This product is equipped with a unique set of capabilities for unparalleled measurements. When integrated with NDC’s high-performance single-beam scanners, such as our new SlimTrak II, and Pro.Net TDi web gauging controller, it provides process vision far beyond that of conventional in-process measurement systems. Users can effectively perform ultra-accurate measurements of moisture, coat weight, degree of cure and film/layer thickness across a wide range of applications such as extrusion, coating and lamination.
Brief us about challenges and opportunities in India in your segment.
India is becoming a rising power in the global arena. The Indian market is growing at a fast pace and the country is full of skilled and talented youth that are fueling its growth. And this will play a huge role in building the country’s future to drive innovation, industry and the economy in the right direction. Looking at another dimension, the Indian consumers have long been known to be price sensitive. However, consumer spending power is on the rise and the future is full of promise.
How do you see the acquisition of NDC Technologies by the Nordson Corporation?
We are very excited to join the Nordson family. It's a great fit. The combination will afford us the opportunity to continue to build on our 50-plus years foundation of delivering innovative measurement and process control solutions to the industries we serve. NDC has a rich history of working closely with industry to solve some of the most challenging gauging applications. The NDC Technologies’ team is eager to enter this new chapter with Nordson, furthering our mission of transforming process operations around the world, delivering value and making a difference in people’s lives every day.
What is your vision for NDC Technologies in upcoming years?
We’re doing great things to transform manufacturing businesses around the world. Since the beginning, we’ve always placed our focus on the customer and helping them to drive outcomes that matter most. Across the globe and in various industries, we’re known for our high-quality measurement and control solutions. Matter of fact, NDC Technologies’ vision statement is "Intelligence that transforms the world." What we mean by this is that we will be placing a greater focus on developing innovative process intelligence solutions that help our customers transform acquired process data into knowledge and knowledge into intelligence. Intelligence that enables our valued customers to enhance production processes, increase productivity, boost process efficiencies and deliver the highest quality products.
To learn more about NDC Technologies' measurement and control solutions for packaging, visit our information portal.
