MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT – SLAP

It gives me great pleasure to write this message to you as I have been elected as the President of the Sri Lanka Association of Printers for the second term.

I consider it an extreme privilege to have been elected as the President for the second term and I believe that it is our responsibility as the incoming EXCO of the Sri Lanka Association of Printers to ensure that the printing industry sustains it’s presence amidst the  current economic crisis.

The Printing Industry at present is navigating through difficult times with many obstacles faced mainly due to the import restrictions of raw materials that are hampering production process. However I must stress that, what we have in abundance in Sri Lanka is endless talent and innovative potential. In fact, I can tell you from personal experience, we’ve required quite a bit of talent and innovation to navigate even day-to-day life in Sri Lanka, these past few months. But fortunately, the road ahead is brighter than the one we’ve recently travelled.

Therefore, we must realize that our strengths are high-quality printing, publishing, and packaging, driven by innovation and value creation. And, this should be our focus. We must look to be the hub of innovation and quality, for printing, publishing and packaging, and other industries too. That’s where our edge is.

As an industry, considering the rapid development happening. it’s time to change or shift towards the latest technology is a must. Printing is changing, because of the forces outside the print and we have to adjust the print within these forces. Ink on paper is definitely not enough and one cannot stand waiting for the worse to happen. Try to accept the challenge to change to flourish. Our primary challenge is adapting our services and offerings for the export market, competing not on price, but instead on quality, value addition, value creation, sustainability and other non-price differentiators, such as innovation, creativity and providing end-to-end solutions.

To benefit, we must find innovative ways of getting our products and services to be visible in foreign markets. To achieve this, we can act alone or in partnership with others. Our strengths and weaknesses are complementary to one another, making for the perfect circumstances for effective collaboration. Stakeholders must collectively consider these emerging opportunities, for the greater good of the global industry, particularly in terms of supply chain diversification.

The multiple crises that Sri Lanka has faced and is facing over the past 2 to 3 years, particularly as a result of the present economic, energy and foreign exchange crises, provides us with one other huge opportunity. A true incentive, a need, and a desire to strengthen local manufacturing and services as a result of, not just import restrictions, but also the realization that a heavy reliance on imports is unsustainable.

We must use this atmosphere to look at new ways of doing things; finding alternatives and finding opportunities. And reinventing ourselves for the brave new world we now find ourselves living in.

It is also essential to allow youth into the industry and give them as much responsibility as they care to bear, so that they may use their innovative thinking and ideas to create value for our customers, both locally and globally, thus sustaining the industry into the future.

Speaking of youth entering the industry, I am aware that many are reluctant to enter our industry, which from many perspectives appears to be one in decline, as a result of digital technology. There is of course truth in this, but only in a sense. Instead of an industry in decline, we must be realists and see that it is an industry in transformation, in flux. Personally, I do not believe that the industry is in decline, it is in the process of adapting to the new paradigms that digital technology has created.

Today, consumers, and thus our customers, are looking for more than price. They’re looking for quality. They’re looking for responsibility; they’re looking for innovative presentation. They’re looking to be engaged and have an experience that rises above the mean of the ordinary. We must understand, that is our niche, that is our strength, and that is what will make us a hub for innovation, not just in printing, publishing, and packaging, but in all our other external facing industries.

Warm Wishes

Peter Deckker
President
Sri Lanka Association of Printers