In India, a Kodak moment

India's numbers and volumes stun him. But, as Philip Faraci, President and Chief Operating Officer of Eastman Kodak, says: "I am interested in being surprised." Faraci was in India in September on his first visit since he took over his current charge in 2007. It is not that he has been ignoring India, but his earlier scheduled visits had to be cancelled because of the November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai and US travel advisories.

Faraci, 55, spent nine days in India studying the outlier in the global recession. Kodak India has been growing at over 50 per cent in its digital business (yes, it still has film products) and is currently No. 2 in digital consumer cameras after Sony.

For a company synonymous with film and photography, the past decade has been a close shave as the world went digital. If the digital revolution changed the heart of its business, the global economic crisis changed its markets. Kodak now calls itself an 'imaging innovator', and claims that it touches most of the world's images in one form or another. "We touch about 40 per cent of all commercially printed pages. We are used in packaging and even some specialised manufacturing," says Faraci, a Hewlett-Packard veteran of 22 years who joined Kodak in 2004 as director of the inkjet systems programme after stints at two other companies.

Kodak has found its strength in two core technology areas - material sciences and digital imaging- that it applies to graphics, imaging and communications. And the tide seems to be turning: after seeing business shrink for years, the company is growing again. Faraci, a specialist in the printers business, points out that while the number of images captured on film is way behind the number of digital images, the volume of printed images continues to grow. "There are more pictures today than there were five or 10 years ago," he says.

Kodak is trying to ride this wave by introducing technology for framed photo collages, scanner-friendly photo film and a video camera that looks like a mobile phone. Kodak is also looking at its geographic mix closely. With three quarters of its business coming from the anemic markets of the US and Europe, it is time to focus on the areas that account for the rest of the business. No surprise then, that Faraci's visit to India was part of a six-week trip to Asia - and he intends to be back in early 2011.

Faraci had come looking for new businesses, new models and maybe even new partners. While the market in India has many more segments that in the West, each segment means big numbers, he says. "I see some unique opportunities here," he says, noting the large numbers of high-circulation newspapers. Kodak is a leader in CTP or computer to plate printing used by newspapers.

Faraci declined to discuss numbers, but said Kodak's investments in India can only grow, together with the headcount of 250 at present. "It is just as important to get that growth out of India into other parts of the world. Don't miss that. That is a big opportunity," he says pointing to the role that India can play. For instance, it is exploring the possibility of developing products here.

Faraci looks at the big picture and leaves the pixels to Ravi Karamcheti, Managing Director of Kodak India, who aims to increase the business by three times over the next five years. Now that is a pretty picture for Faraci to take home.