Already Cherat Packaging Pakistan and BSW Machinery, the Vienna-based subsidiary of Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H), are partners since 2010 when Cherat Packaging added PP cement sacks to the portfolio. The close cooperation has led to further investments in the PP sack business by Cherat Packaging and significant technology developments by BSW. This year the joint developments have led to the successful introduction of PP sacks for 50 kg cement with only 65 gram sack weight.
In the global cement industry woven PP sacks are an established flexible packaging solution. The main alternative to PP are paper sacks. W&H and BSW as the technology and market leaders in both technologies have been working closely with Cherat Packaging over the last few years. Now Cherat Packaging is the leading producer of sacks for cement in Pakistan, both in paper and woven PP.
Both partners have come up with a new development – the 65 gram woven PP sack. Woven PP sacks are used globally as flexible packaging for cement. The most commonly used size is the 50 kg sack. The weight of such a PP sack has been set as a global standard to the above 80 grams. Therefore, the new technology package offers a reduction potential of over 15 grams or 20%.
The new sack is very well received by clients in Pakistan. More than 50% of the cement factories have tested and approved the sack and are now commercially using these bags. The advantages are clear. The reduced material consumption has a major impact on overall cost. Carbon footprint is reduced as less PP to melt directly translates in less energy being used from polymerization to extrusion.
Amer Faruque, CEO of Cherat, says, “We look back on years of exclusive cooperation during which we always got top technology and constant support in the best business manner. I am happy to say that BSW under-promised and overperformed. BSW supported continuous growth of our business and we continue on this path with our third complete new BSW production line for PP sacks which is on the way to Pakistan.”
According to Walter Häder, CEO of BSW, “From the outset Cherat implemented a stringent quality management process covering the whole process from the PP granule to the final bag. The experience of the engineering and production team in making paper sacks was a strong foundation. They quickly adopted that every process step is crucial for overall success. We want to highlight that Cherat is up there amongst the firms which run at the highest overall efficiency and lowest waste rates. Their customers benefit through top quality.”
