The Hindu Business Line : Alden Prepress to expand Chennai operations

ALDEN Prepress Service Private Ltd (APPS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UK-based Alden Group, plans to expand operations in Chennai through acquisitions as well as through increased investment in its existing business.

It is looking at some business process outsourcing companies that have established portfolio within the financial and medical markets but is yet to finalise on this, according to Mr Nigel Wyman, Executive Director, Alden Prepress Services Ltd.

The company publishes science, technical and medical (STM) books and journals and its services include copyediting, pagination and graphics with markets in the UK, Europe and the US. It plans to invest Rs 4.95 crore this year and also recruit 240 people by the end of this year for its operation in Chennai.

The new markets that the company has developed include language translation where annual sales have grown to around Rs 12 crore. Mr Wyman said that the company is now turning its attention to the opportunities of using APPS in Chennai to provide Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services.

The market for BPO is growing fast in the UK and Alden plans to create around Rs 4 crore of sales in this segment in 2005. Though academic publishers remain Alden's main markets, the company is now looking at developing new markets outside publishing.

Price has been a major driver in the STM segment in prepress work and has dropped by almost 2 per cent this year, Mr Robert Hay, Group Technical Director, Alden Group Ltd, said.

Globally, Alden has been looking at establishing printing and binding production outside the UK. The potential in India for this work is limited and currently Malaysia is a more likely location, Mr Wyman said.

More Stories on : Announcements | Newspapers & Publishing

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page