After serving Surat’s garments sector for more than a decade-and-a-half through his firm Imprint, Naimesh Naik in 2016 took a completely different turn. At Imprint, Naik had perfected the art of UV printing. However, with the aim to break new grounds, he switched over to manufacturing packaging cartons that would use paper board and plastic. And this led to the birth of Weepac.
In the last two years, Naik has steered Weepac on a steady growth path and has been adding state-of-the-art technology to the shop floor.
“We are not really bothered about the number of hours our machines run. Our aim is to ramp up operations in a steady and measured pace. The quantity of paper we are consuming now is a fraction of what we did at Imprint, but that is not an issue for me. We are more interested in setting standards,” says Naik.
In the last two years, Weepac has invested in a Bobst Novacut 106 diecutter, Bobst Visionfold 110 folder gluer with four and six corners attachment and plastic kit, a
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lamination machine from China, pick and place machine from France’s Esatec, soft creasing machine, plastic straightening machine, and a digital sample making machine from Valiant. It has also bought EngView and PaSharp prepress software, which are distributed in India by Emerging Graphics.
Talking about investing in high-end solutions like Bobst from the very onset, Naik argues that it was important for him to partner with the best for something he was new to. “I was not very familiar with technologies such as diecutting and folding gluing, so it was imperative that we joined hands with someone who was among the best in this business. That is why we opted for Bobst.”
New offset 6-color with coater press in the offing
Having invested in the postpress and converting departments over the last two years, Naik is now planning to upgrade Weepac’s press department, which currently has two second-hand presses—a 6-color Komori and a 5-color Mitsubishi. Naik also plans to bring in CtP operations in-house, which at present are outsourced.
“The only part of the link that now needs an upgrade is the press department. In the next few months we will finalize on a 6-color with coater offset press. We are in the final phase of the decision-making process,” Naik informs.
Naik recently visited Japan to attend the RMGT open house, which was held in January this year. He also attended the Komori open house which took place last year.
“These are the two options we have zeroed in and a decision will be announced very soon,” he shares.
Marketing is key for Weepac
Investing in technology is extremely important but Naik feels that investing in people is equally critical. Weepac has a strong marketing department in place, which constantly interacts with brand owners and participates in leading exhibitions. The response that Weepac got during the last edition of Gulfood has instilled a lot of confidence in Naik.
“We have realized the importance of brand building and marketing and that is why we are approaching this year’s Gulfood with greater energy. This will also give a boost to our export ambitions,” Naik says.
Weepac will also be participating in the upcoming Plastindia that will be held in Gandhinagar, where it will showcase all the solutions that it can offer.
“We participate in exhibitions such as Gulfood and Plastindia not to sign deals but to build our brand and interact with the industry. It is very important for us,” he concludes.
