Reminiscing about the days when his first company was established, chairman and MD of Marina Holdings, Rajesh Pillai says, "I worked 18 hours a day in those initial days, and achieved my yearly target in 6 months. My first company was Marina Designers, today I own 10 companies, all under the umbrella of Marina Holdings, a British Virgin Islands company. We were a one-man organisation in those days, where I was the MD and I was the peon."
With no print qualifications, Pillai has entered the industry 'by mistake'. "I am a software graduate from National Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore. After graduation I joined a printing press in the accounts department, and then moved to design department and later headed the department. My next move was to sales and marketing. Marina Designers was my first company, established in Sharjah in 2004. We are below the line advertisers, especially POSM's and sales collaterals. We deal with multinational companies, covering the entire MENA region, our products, mainly for indoor advertising including kiosks, banners, promotion materials are sent across the region even upto Morocco."
Marina Holdings has a total of 10 companies under it, including 4 in the UAE, 3 in India, 1 in USA and a procurement office in China. They are in process to open an office in Saudi Arabia. " The companies in UAE are production units, located in IMPZ, Dubai. We own a total of 18,000 sq feet area and 30-40% of our turnover is produced here."
Talking of their strength, Pillai says their forte was structural designs. "We get the structure approved and the agencies work on our structure and do the branding. We have high end 3-D softwares, we put up the stands in the supermarkets virtually, sometimes even do the entire campaign virtually showing displays exactly how they would be placed. Our clients are mostly FMCG's."
"One needs to have a vision to progress on the path to success," continues Pillai. "Only hard work is not enough, a clear cut vision, a dream is also required."
"We are interested in web printing, our next expansion plan will be in web printing, we will be operating a separate unit in IMPZ itself. At Fespa last year, we have been observing the changes and growth in the industry. With the age of latex and UV cured printers, we invested in HP's FB 500 and 700, and our clients have been happy with the output. Earlier, we would do all our stands and other jobs through screen-printing, and though it was cost effective, we needed volumes. This motivated us to buy the inkjet printers."
With headquarters of a lot of multinationals being based in Dubai, this gave them a geographical advantage felt Pillai. "Even though we plan operations in Saudi, where production is cheaper, but most orders are placed from Dubai. I travel extensively; even to European countries, but the import-export rules are more flexible here, everything is available within a 100-km area. However, where technology is concerned, in my opinion, the West, even India and China are ahead technologically."
On the subject of the challenges facing the printing industry, Pillai said that the offset scenario was totally crowded. While digital faced the problem of technology changing too fast. Earlier life of machinery was 7-10 years; nowadays it is only between 3-5 years, which adds to the overall cost of printing. Even labour, electricity is cheaper in Saudi Arabia as compared to Dubai, reducing production costs. "However, the advantages Dubai offers are too numerous. Here you can have a company up and running within a week."
Employees of Marina enjoy a lot of benefits, similar to that the MD enjoys. An example that Pillai gave was of insurance. "My employees have an insurance policy similar to what I have. I firmly believe that companies should look after its staff. I have moved up from the lowest rung. Very often people moving up the ladder forget their beginnings."
The chairman signed off saying that in 5 years' time he would like to see Marina run as smoothly and professionally even in his absence. "We are already establishing the structure, investing in ERP software from Mircosoft to ensure that the company functions just as well even if I am not there."
HIGHLIGHTS- Marina Designers was established in 2004, with one employee
- The firm has expanded to a 80-employee organisation
- Today, the parent company Marina Holding has 10 companies in UAE, India, China and USA in its stable
