Indore-based Worth Peripherals has started a new production expansion phase, following the recent installation of an Emba Ultima 4-color flexo folder gluer. The machine is one of the first of the new models to be delivered by the Swedish firm and has been purchased by Worth Peripherals to achieve its aim of becoming a leading supplier of high quality printed packaging to the fast growing Indian corrugated packaging market.
“This is one of the first five models of this machine to be installed worldwide,” says Raminder Chadha, director of Worth Peripherals. “We are delighted with the machine and the graphics it can produce, so we recently signed a contract for two more color units for the machine that should be installed towards the end of this year. Our aim is to make this plant the best facility in India as far as flexoprinting is concerned.”
In addition to the two extra color units for the Ultima, Worth Peripherals has ordered an Emba ‘Liquid Creaser’ as an add-on to ensure production of perfectly square boxes. More and more Indian companies are employing greater automation in their warehouses and other storage facilities, making the demand for perfectly formed boxes a necessity.“We will be able to supply perfect high quality printed boxes that will be run on automatic case erectors that require perfectly square boxes to ensure maximum packing productivity,” explains Chadha. “There is a shortage of skilled manpower in India, so our customers are starting to use case erectors and fillers a lot more. Customers like Unilever have already shifted to auto-case packing all over India.”
Damage to box blanks during warehouse storage and general freight transport conditions across India are other factors that have resulted in customers demanding higher quality boxes. “All our customers are concerned about case compression. Because of reduced space in many end-user warehouses, blank stacking is getting higher and higher by the day,” says Chadha. “Poor road infrastructure conditions in many parts of India also subjects corrugated packaging to additional stress during the delivery process. That’s why so many boxmakers in India promote double wall boxes to negate damage in the supply chain.”
As part of efforts to produce more robust boxes, Chadha noted that the Emba Ultima vacuum transfer system ensures virtually zero crush and prevents caliper loss. “Thanks to the zero crush characteristics of the Ultima, we can ensure better quality boxes even with lighter weight papers,” continues Chadha. “That’s also a benefit to those customers who want a sustainable approach to packaging.”
Around 30 % of the company’s boxes are currently made using double wall board while 70% are single wall — a proportion that continues to rise. “We are starting to use a better grade of Indian produced paper and we continue to reduce the grammage of our fluting,” he explains. Working a two shift, 16 hour day, the company produces an average of 2,700 metric tons of board a month. “We hope to increase to 3,500 metric tons a month in the near future. Adding the Emba Ultima should allow us to hit that level quite soon,” says Chadha.
Expansion Plans
“We want to invest in another single facer for the corrugator,” says Chadha. “At that time, we will upgrade our Hsieh Hsu corrugator to be able to run at 250m per min. This will happen in the next 12 to 18 months.” Plans also call for further expansion of the company’s printing and converting capacity. “We will buy a new 4-color printing machine and we plan to install it sometime in 2017. We have not yet decided whether to buy it from Europe or East Asia,” says Chadha.
