<p>Leading screen technology company Harkness Screens, which has a factory in Bengaluru, sees huge opportunities in the Indian market.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“We opened the Indian factory in March 2013. Until 2012, we had a UK team and an Indian team working on the establishment of the factory. We took a lot of our experiences in the US, France, and the UK factories and created, what I consider today, the most-modern screen manufacturing facility in the world,” Harkness Screens CEO Mark Ashcroft told DH during his visit to the city from the UK.<br /><br />“We are getting some Japanese cinema customers coming over in a few weeks to see the facility in Bengaluru, and it is a real showpiece. The original investment decision was based on purely supplying the Indian cinema market. We have had such a good success that we are now able to supply screens around the world from the Indian factory. We are supplying the screens from the Bengaluru factory to Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Thailand, among others,” he said.<br /><br />The facility in Bengaluru has capacity to manufacture 1,500 screens a year. “There are 12,500 screens in India. In reality, those screens should get changed every 10 years. So, we have got the capacity to handle the need of the market in India,” said Ashcroft.<br /><br />Talking about the company’s expectations, the CEO said, “We expected the market to grow very quickly. It is still very positive. But I think, we expected more and new screens to be put in. We want to help cinema operators with our screen technology and certainly Indian market is very receptive to our approach. Over the last two years, we brought our R&D team to India to meet the cinema operators, both multiplexes, and single screen operators.”<br /><br />China, the biggest market<br />Harkness has five factories across the world — China, India, France, the UK and the US. In China, it is planning to open a new factory this month. <br /><br />“That factory will be only for the Chinese market. The dynamics of the Chinese market is amazing. Everyday, there are 20 new cinema screens in China,” he said, adding that the price range of screens is $65-150 per sq metre.<br /><br />The €25-million-turnover company’s major clients include Wanda, AMC, Cinemark, Cinepolis and INOX, among others. Talking about trends, he said, “Screens will continue to get bigger. There are people experimenting with having the pictures not only on the wall, but on the sides and ceilings as well. Virtual reality and augmented reality will be a part of cinema,” he said, adding that 58-metre square is the average screen size in India, while globally it is 62-64 metre square.<br /><br /> </p>
<p>Leading screen technology company Harkness Screens, which has a factory in Bengaluru, sees huge opportunities in the Indian market.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“We opened the Indian factory in March 2013. Until 2012, we had a UK team and an Indian team working on the establishment of the factory. We took a lot of our experiences in the US, France, and the UK factories and created, what I consider today, the most-modern screen manufacturing facility in the world,” Harkness Screens CEO Mark Ashcroft told DH during his visit to the city from the UK.<br /><br />“We are getting some Japanese cinema customers coming over in a few weeks to see the facility in Bengaluru, and it is a real showpiece. The original investment decision was based on purely supplying the Indian cinema market. We have had such a good success that we are now able to supply screens around the world from the Indian factory. We are supplying the screens from the Bengaluru factory to Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Thailand, among others,” he said.<br /><br />The facility in Bengaluru has capacity to manufacture 1,500 screens a year. “There are 12,500 screens in India. In reality, those screens should get changed every 10 years. So, we have got the capacity to handle the need of the market in India,” said Ashcroft.<br /><br />Talking about the company’s expectations, the CEO said, “We expected the market to grow very quickly. It is still very positive. But I think, we expected more and new screens to be put in. We want to help cinema operators with our screen technology and certainly Indian market is very receptive to our approach. Over the last two years, we brought our R&D team to India to meet the cinema operators, both multiplexes, and single screen operators.”<br /><br />China, the biggest market<br />Harkness has five factories across the world — China, India, France, the UK and the US. In China, it is planning to open a new factory this month. <br /><br />“That factory will be only for the Chinese market. The dynamics of the Chinese market is amazing. Everyday, there are 20 new cinema screens in China,” he said, adding that the price range of screens is $65-150 per sq metre.<br /><br />The €25-million-turnover company’s major clients include Wanda, AMC, Cinemark, Cinepolis and INOX, among others. Talking about trends, he said, “Screens will continue to get bigger. There are people experimenting with having the pictures not only on the wall, but on the sides and ceilings as well. Virtual reality and augmented reality will be a part of cinema,” he said, adding that 58-metre square is the average screen size in India, while globally it is 62-64 metre square.<br /><br /> </p>
