Ink innovation: How Karan Mahajan is repackaging the future of a family business

Karan Mahajan, the managing director of Hi-Tech Inks, speaks about the industrial landscape of India not in terms of production volume or market share, but in the language of systems. This is the vocabulary he brought back with him after completing his Industrial Engineering degree in the United States, a concept he describes as a “passion for process, quality, and scalability.” He is the heir apparent turned moderniser, having returned to take the reins from his father, Rajesh Mahajan, an industry stalwart whose legacy he was intent on building upon.

His initial motivation was, as he says, “very personal,” rooted in family, yet it evolved into a sophisticated appreciation for the unseen complexity of his product. An ink, for Mahajan, is not merely a coloured substance; it is "at the heart of how brands communicate with consumers." He is drawn to the meticulous complexity behind what looks simple on a shelf: "the chemistry, the performance on high-speed machines, the safety and compliance requirements." This blend of tangible impact, engineering, and creativity is what defines his professional curiosity.

Under his direction, the ink industry has transformed, moving away from simple, price-driven conversations about “rate per kg” to becoming a deeply solution-driven ecosystem. The modern ink company is now measured by print performance, supply reliability, and sustainability.

Mahajan sees the great challenge today as a triple constraint: the volatility of raw materials, the push for greater sustainability, and the struggle to attract technical talent. His solution is not managerial fiat but a cultivated culture of innovation. "Innovation, in my view, is a culture, not a department," he notes. He champions an environment where people feel safe to question the status quo and to "admit when something hasn’t worked." This cultural focus is supported by a simple but rigorous set of leadership principles: lead by example, be transparent, and uphold meritocracy, where “ideas must win on their strength, not on hierarchy.”

Looking forward, he sees sustainability as the defining theme, driving demand for safer chemistries and recyclable packaging structures. The rise of eCommerce and the need for agility—shorter print runs and faster changeovers—will push manufacturers to become more technologically advanced.

Ultimately, Mahajan’s passion is rooted in building something enduring: transforming a "traditional family business into a modern, ethical, and innovation-driven organisation," now one of India's largest ink companies with a turnover over INR 500-crore. The personal joy, he says, is in solving "tough technical problems for customers and seeing their lines run smoothly." His desired legacy is not simply one of scale, but of integrity and having helped raise industry standards and developed future leaders. For Mahajan, balance between the professional and personal is not a static state but an intentional process, maintained by strategic focus, time for family and health, and, critically, the practice of delegation, which allows both the leader and the organisation to grow.