Monochem Graphics : pioneers in decals for automobile and white goods industries

Starting as a modest metal label production house in 1962, Monochem Graphics group of companies has expanded manifold. They are the leading manufacturers of insignias, decals, graphics, advertising material, etc.

Established way back in  1962, New Delhi-based  Monochem Graphics Pvt Ltd, may be one of the top three manufactures of decals and other signage material in India. “Our earlier set-up was of heat transfers for garment industry, but since that industry was not much organised, we plunged into screenprinting business,” revealed Manmohan Arora, managing director of Monochem Graphics. The company is single-handedly driven by him.

Arora is a workaholic, working for 13-14 hours a day. “My work gives me immense satisfaction, however, whenever I have time, I love to enjoy life with my friends and family.” This down-to-earth, religious-minded person is the follower of Mata Vaishno Devi. On entering the factory premises, one can see a small beautiful temple on the left side with a full-time pujari, who performs the morning and evening puja regularly.
Revealing a bit more about the history of the organisation, Manmohan told that the company was initially started by his father late Gyan Chand, who was an educationist by profession in Punjab, to produce metal labels in 1963 under the brand Super Labels. Having lost everything in his business which he started after retirement in 1958, he shifted to Delhi in 1961 to try his luck and went for setting up a facility to produce metal labels. Manmohan joined his father’s business in 1977 after completing BSc (mechanical) from Kurukshetra University. Manmohan changed the name of the company to Monochem Process in 1980, which was finally converted into Monochem Graphics Pvt Ltd in 1995.
At present, the company has four manufacturing units, of which three are in Delhi (Mayapuri) and one in Gurgaon. Sprawling over a covered area of 90,000 sq ft approximately, the company employs 300 skilled workers, including dynamic development managers, quality inspectors, professional mechanical engineers and printing technologists.

ISO 9001-2000 certified, Monochem Graphics has a world-class facility installed at a cost of Rs 2500 lakhs. The company manufactures products with the latest state-of-the-art imported machines to the best quality specifications, meeting national and international standards.  They use German printing lines and allied machinery to achieve accuracy and quality. With a facility to print upto 10 ft x 5.75 ft size, they have 13 imported screenprinting machines. Besides, they also house a few screenprinting machines from Grafica Flextronica, Mumbai. “We are producing 25,000 sq m of screenprints every month, though our installed capacity is double than this,” informed Manmohan proudly.

Monochem Graphics has emerged as a one-stop solution for all signage needs. They have in-house PU (polyurethane) coating (doming) facility, which is done on specialised machines on various substrates, ranging from vinyl to metal. As per Manmohan, the growth in doming is stagnant and there are only 5-6 players in this segment. “We have a capacity to produce one lakh pieces of 6 sq inch area per day. However, on an average, we are able to utilise 20-30% of our installed capacity,” he added.

Monochem provides solutions for maximum variety of substrates under one roof, that is, from metals (aluminium, brass & stainless steel, etc) to various plastics like flex, polycarbonate, PVC, etc and polyester, acrylic, sunpac materials as well. They also produce name plates and metal labels in various etched and painted/printed finishes, ensuring upto 20 years outdoor durability of the products. This division is catering to major automobile and general industrial sector in the country. “To maintain our quality standards, we use imported raw material from US, Europe and Japan,” added Arora.

Their fully air-conditioned factory with clean rooms has less than one micron suspended dust particles, ensuring best quality printing. The cleanliness of the set-up can be proved from the fact that alike any pharmaceutical company, all employees are supposed to wear a cap and an apron regularly.

Also, they have an outdoor durability testing facility in weather-o-meter maintained in the fully equipped test laboratory. They also house a conveyorised UV drying system, lamination and die-cutting machines, in-house exposing and developing units and metal printing machines (offset).

Their graphics and decals division is involved in developing decals and body graphics for almost all leading automobile giants and other renowned groups. Their advertising division is involved in developing advertising materials for indoor as well as outdoor exposure depending upon the product requirement.  They do maintain a continuous research and development facility, so as to create new offerings apart from development in the existing product line.

The company’s list of clients includes Maruti Suzuki, Eicher, Kinetic Honda, Yamaha, Delphi, New Holland India, LML, Whirlpool, Godrej, LG, Xerox, BHEL, Indian Railways, etc. Besides, corporate clients, Monochem Graphics also works for freelancers who bring orders from other miscellaneous companies.

According to Manmohan,“We believe in respect for people, reliability and fair play in all business deals, leading to a long-term mutually beneficial relationship.” Continuous training and upgradation of technology and products through regular improvements are their keywords. “Discipline is very important and our staff is very receptive in this regard,” he added.

Little wonder than that the company has recently bagged FESPA Gold award in Munich, Germany for decals and one bronze award for fascia panel. They have also won three Screen Printer’s Association of India  (SPAI) awards for decals and others. On asking about their success mantra, Manmohan said that to utilise each and every equipment one has, to its optimum level, can help to achieve the desired goals. “There is no point in installing a machine, which cannot be fully utilised,” he added.

Talking about the possibility of going for exports, Manmohan revealed that they shall be soon making plans in this direction.