We wanted to cater to the non-pharma segment, apart from only serving the pharma industry. For that we wanted to have a fully loaded base machine where we can perform various sorts of challenging value-added label jobs in the future. The investment in the Gallus ECS 340 narrow web press is in line with the group policy of backward integration for Pravesha’s parent company Aurobindo Pharma – B Sivaprasad Reddy
Hyderabad-based Pravesha Industries has bought India’s 100th 10-color Gallus ECS 340 narrow web flexo press. The purchase was celebrated at the Heidelberg-Gallus function in Mumbai in March. The fully loaded 10-color narrow web press Gallus ECS 340 was installed in July 2016. “We already have two intermittent letterpress presses for labels. To meet our increasing demands for labels, this time we wanted to add a flexo press and we bought the Gallus,” says B Sivaprasad Reddy, chairman, Pravesha. “Also, we wanted to cater to the non-pharma segment, apart from only serving the pharma industry. For that we wanted to have a fully loaded base machine where we can perform various sorts of challenging value-added label jobs in the future. The investment is inline with the group policy of backward integration for the group’s main company Aurobindo Pharma.” At present, 80% of Pravesha’s printing and converting is for Aurobindo Pharma while the remaining 20% is for outside customers like Mylan, Hetero and Dr. Reddy’s, which again are pharma companies.
Pravesha is a closely held backward integration company for Aurobindo Pharma, which manufactures generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients for six major therapeutic and product areas—antibiotics, anti-retrovirals, cardiovascular products, central nervous system products, gastroenterologicals and anti-allergics—which it markets in over 125 countries. “We provide complete packaging solutions to Aurobindo Pharma,” says Reddy.
Comprehensive printing facility
When Pravesha started off in 2005, it installed its first offset press—a Heidelberg SM 74 6-color plus coater—which was soon followed by another 5-color plus coater Heidelberg offset press. According to Reddy, the company will likely fi – nalize another multicolor offset press for cartons in the August 2016 time-frame which will most likely be a 7-color UV interdeck press. “We are going for the 7-color UV press because apart from printing on non-absorbent substrates, we also need to print a special white color as well brand colors and metallics.”
Folding cartons for pharmaceutical products are printed on these highly configured multicolor presses that are currently converted using two diecutters from Bobst installed in 2005 and 2008, respectively. The folder-gluers are again from Bobst. Apart from these, for pharma leaflet printing (inserts and outserts), the company has a 2-color perfector from Komori, two Miller presses, Sakurai and Heidelberg. The inserts and outserts are produced on Vijuk and Herzog+Heymann machines, and in foil printing the company has a HAPA digital and 3-color gravure printing machine. “We also have a HP Indigo WS4500 digital press, which we use exclusively for short-runs of cartons and labels,” informs Reddy.
HDPE bottles
Since Aurobindo Pharma concentrates its exports to the US market that sells most drugs in bottles, Pravesha also manufactures HDPE bottles required by the pharma market at its packaging division. “We put in the raw material ensuring minimal human interface while manufacturing the bottles as per the regulatory requirement,” Reddy quips. Complying to cGMP norms, the manufacturing of HDPE bottles is undertaken under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. “The manufacturing area is a clean room facility and HEPA fi lters are installed to provide air free of microbes and non-viable particles because HDPE bottles are the primary packaging in direct contact with the drugs. Since the market is growing, the bottle requirements are going up and consequently the demand for closures, sticker labels, outserts and inserts. So, we are regularly enhancing the capacity of our production lines in cartons, labels, outserts and inserts, foil conversion, HDPE bottles and closures.”
