Kanodia Technoplast, a major player in the gravure printing packaging and converting market, has been a frontrunner in driving path-braking innovations in the flexible packaging industry. “Over the past two years, our strategy and internal call has been to bring ‘Innovation in Action’ in the flexible packaging industry,” says Anant Gadre, executive president at Kanodia Technoplast. “In line with this new strategy, we have rolled out two to three innovations per quarter in the past one year and our aim is to grow that number.”
The flexible packaging industry in India is one of the highest growing industries in this segment globally with CAGR topping 15-18 %. “We as an industry are at a great place as the overall consumption of packaging is growing. More and more products are now moving towards branded packaging as manufacturers are realizing the shift of consumer focus on packaged products. Also there is a great shift from rigid forms of packaging to flexible, as there is clearly a huge saving in terms of cost and carbon footprint and much greater convenience in terms of handling and usage. Hence, the push towards rolling out more and more innovative products is the need of the hour as the industry has mostly been follower of matured Western markets up till now. It is time we realize our strengths and build upon them. Today we have the best equipment in the world and a large growing market to cater to. All we have to do is enhance our focus and start thinking out of the box,” shares Gadre.
Kanodia Technoplast holds a unique position in the industry as it houses the entire gamut of technological capabilities from the best manufacturers in the world. This has helped the company to combine different technologies to deliver innovative products. One such example is its recent diversification into high-end WPP bags. By leveraging its expertise in different technologies, Kanodia has successfully developed WPP bags with spot matt, holographic images and window metallized structures catering to local and overseas market. “The response has been very encouraging,” says Gadre, confirming doubling of capacity of WPP bags within six months of diversifying and commencing the product line.
This strong push by Kanodia into innovations and new product development is reflected across its product segment. KANCAST (CPP film) with 15 mic film, high-end holographic films with special features, special feature pouches such as KANSLIDE and KANLOCK, antiskid solutions for economy packs and specially developed high-end twist grade films are just some of the new product offerings from Kanodia which have been well received by the customers.
Kanodia Technoplast manufactures laminated flexible packaging material in reel form and a variety of pouches servicing major players in the FMCG sector. The company has four manufacturing plants and is backward integrated for manufacturing gravure cylinders, inks, sealant films including PE and CPP film, metalizing films and holographic films.
KANLOCK. Photo PSA
In-keeping with the strong pace of growth, Kanodia is investing in its fifth manufacturing facility at Kundli near Sonepat with state-of-the-art fully loaded European equipment. The new plant is expected to commence production in Q3 of this financial year. “The new capacity and the plant with focus on innovation and diversification will help serve our customers better,” says Gadre. “The plant will enable us to meet our customers’ expectations in terms of faster delivery and better quality. We are determined to continue investments in new technologies. After the second phase of expansion of the new Kundli plant in 2018, we expect the production capacity to double.”
“To support the new plant in Kundli, our strategy is to provide opportunities to home-grown talent and also hire freshers from top institutes and train them. The first batch of engineers will be returning back trained from Germany by midJuly,” says CS Pandey, senior general manager, human resource at Kanodia.
Speaking about the new innovative products rolled out by the company, Chetan Kanodia, managing director of Kanodia Technoplast, shares, “All our innovations have been underpinned by our endeavor to add more and more value to the various FMCG brands we partner with. An innovative packaging leads to the brand standing out on the shelves, thereby attracting more takers. This philosophy has been well understood and received by many brands in the country that are benefiting from the value created by innovative packaging.”
