Established in 2009, Ahmedabad-based Jayshri Propack is a BRC-IOP certified flexible company that specializes in high performance multilayer films. The company has recently installed a Windmoeller & Hoelscher (W&H) Aquarex 7-layer blown film line, the first of its kind in South Asia. Several applications can be done on the machine including thermoforming, anti fog, vacuum bags, MAP films across the FMCG, food and other organized sectors.
Despite having no background in the polymer and packaging industry, Ravi Hirpara, Jignesh Hirpara and Hiren Hirpara, joint directors at Jayshri Propack dealt with the serious issues faced by the Indian industries, that is, quality and service at better pricing. Speaking to Packaging South Asia, Ravi Hirpara, director, says, “The whole idea behind the setup was to meet the demands of the FMCG as well as the organized segment in the packaging as well as the food industry. When we set out we observed, there were not many players in India to meet the expectations of various companies. So, a major chunk of end users at several companies were looking at basic solutions that were good quality, better pricing and help from the converters.”
Initially we invested in a 5-layer blown film line and CI flexo press by W&H and supplied the barrier films primarily to edible and dairy companies. Barrier packaging is a niche market and understanding the clients’ requirements as well as arriving at a solution, obtaining approvals, ensuring everyone is happy and convincing the clients that the initial investment is high are the tiresome jobs that we do frequently. Even the leading FMCG companies are hard to convince as every other company pursues the old method since ages.
In 2015, Jayshri installed Miraflex, an 8-color CI flexo and Hirpara believes it to be a high-end machine to provide better and consistent print quality that can help tackle the counterfeit issues prevalent in the market. Speaking on the installation of the new Aquarex 7-layer blown film line, Hirpara adds, “This special technology is pretty young in the marketplace. It is capable of delivering high quality of film with minimum deviation from the required thickness and the excellent quality in transparency. It was ordered in late 2014 and took a year to manufacture and was installed by the second quarter in 2016. Today, Jayshri Propack produces 650 tonnes of films a month. W&H is a brand that evokes confidence amongst clients regarding quality.”
Recently, for khakhra – a Gujarati snack, they designed a film by imparting high thickness and barrier properties to it. The company also plans to provide a novel form of barrier packs to improve the shelf-life of sweets and confectionery products. Also, the company jointly works with a filling and sealing solution provider. Citing an example, he says that offering a better quality film is like providing a tyre to an automobile. However, offering just a tyre in the market won’t serve any purpose as the end product is a stunning car. Likewise, the end product is an attractive pack. The whole idea is to get the basics right by offering good quality and service at a better cost,” Hirpara concludes. In the past, Jayshri has been successful in replacing triplex laminate structures with single polymer film and sells their high quality film with high gloss, good mechanical and sealing properties under the JAQVA+ brand.
With this a basic question comes to mind, how much effort is really being transmitted by the packaging professionals in FMCG and other companies. Bringing down the cost can’t be a solo game for the converter to play. An initiative has to be taken by every company involved in the process from market to shelf.
