Pashupati Polypropylene Industries, a leading flexible packaging printer and converter in Nepal, has purchased a new Bobst RS 5003 8-color rotogravure press. This is seen by industry experts as a significant breakthrough for the packaging industry in the Himalayan mountain country. The Pashupati Group is based in Biratnagar just north of the Nepal-India borders and its multiple units include Laminar and Pashupati Polypropylene Industries.
Apart from flexible packaging, the group produces several other packaging materials, including woven and non-woven sacks and printed BOPP adhesive tapes. The company’s clients include brands such as Dairy Development Corporation, Salt Trading Corporation, Unilever Nepal, Bottlers Nepal (Coca-Cola), Dabur Nepal, Surya Nepal, Britannia, CG Foods, Asian Thai Foods, Sujal Foods, and Pokhara Noodles. It specializes in the food, beverage, alcobev, and personal care segments.
Pashupati Propylene was established by the late Kamal Kishore Rathi in 1983, a pioneering figure in the country’s plastic industry. His group is known for its best-in-class and first-in Nepal manufacturing facilities. The vertically integrated company contains technology and equipment for the extrusion of multilayered films, printing, extrusion coating, laminating, and pouching. It produces flexible packaging materials for the leading global and national brand owners from monolayer films to high barrier multilayered laminate films and pouches under a single roof. It is an ISO 9001: 2015 and FSSC 22000 certified company.
The company is run by its managing director Birendra Rathi. It has been operating six rotogravure presses manufactured in India. It has opted for the versatile and higher technology Bobst Nova RS 5003 ELS 8-color gravure press with a rated speed of 350 meters per minute. The press is designed to be versatile and can produce high-quality reproduction on a wide variety of substrates, including the new eco-friendly packaging materials using either water or solvent-based inks. Expected to arrive in the coming months, the new gravure press should be installed and commissioned by the end of December 2022.
Birendra Rathi is forthright, saying that there have been challenges to the economy as in many countries emanating from the pandemic and the prices of raw materials and energy. He says, “In spite of the recent challenges for the economy, the flexible packaging industry is more resilient. It has much more stable growth and the market demand is growing. From a niche market where the volumes were very small, it has grown considerably. This is why we have gone in for a higher level of technology rotogravure press.”
He adds, “Now many more multinationals are coming into Nepal and they are much more quality conscious about their packaging. Many of them no longer want to import packaging materials from India and prefer to source from a reliable local supplier. We see a trend in Nepal, for quality and higher volumes and we want to set a benchmark for the quality and level of service. We are trying to set a benchmark.”
