Mumbai-based labeling solutions provider Mudrika Labels expects to grow by 20% in the 2019-2020 financial year underpinned by the big investments it has made in two new narrow web flexo presses that will have been installed in the current financial year ending on 31 March 2019. Mudrika’s 50,000 square foot state-of-the-art Vasai plant was inaugurated in January 2015 in order to consolidate the entire label business under a single roof.
“The financial year 2018-2019 has been good so far for us as we have made two big investments during the year. In August, we bought the Gallus Labelmaster Plus and we have also ordered a Lombardi Synchroline 430, which is expected to be commissioned by March 2019. With these new presses we expect top line growth of 20% in fiscal year 2019-2020,” says Manish Desai, one of the directors of Mudrika Labels.
Once the Lombardi press becomes operational by March 2019, Mudrika will have a total of 12 narrow web flexo presses at its Vasai plant. The total of 12 label presses would comprise seven Gallus label presses, including the new Labelmaster, four Kopack presses and one Lombardi. With a battery of 12 presses in action in 2019-2020, Mudrika’s total installed capacity will rise to 15 lakh (1.5 million) square meters per month in 2019-2020 from 11 lakh (1.1 million) square meters per month in FY 2018-2019.
Speaking about the Gallus Labelmaster and the Lombardi Synchroline, Desai says the presses will help in increasing productivity with a higher number of labels imposed in wider label stocks together with higher running speeds. The Labelmaster has a maximum speed of 200 meters per minute and it can print on a variety of substrates such as paper, self-adhesive materials, cardboard, monofoil label materials and tube laminates. The press is installed with UV curing systems.
Desai believes that more and more label convertors will employ presses with bigger widths in the coming future to optimize their operations. “The label industry in India is extremely competitive so you need to be highly efficient to retain your edge. Bigger width presses in the label industry are now becoming popular. I will not be surprised if we see even bigger widths in the coming years,” Desai argues.
New plant at Vasai, in-house plate making and focus on exports
With two new presses added, Mudrika’s Vasai plant has no more space left. The company has thus bought another piece of land in Vasai where a new plant will come up in the next few years. “The Lombardi is the last press that the existing Vasai plant can accommodate. We have bought another parcel of land in Vasai where the new plant will come up. It is expected to be ready by 2021,” says Desai.
In the meantime, Mudrika will be working on bringing the flexo plate making operation in-house. Until now most of the plates are being sourced from third-party suppliers. “We have reached a certain stage and size where we felt we needed the plate making operation in-house. Although we should have gone for this earlier, now is also a good time. We expect this prepress and digital flexo imager to be running by the middle of 2019,” he adds.
Mudrika is also looking to sharpen its focus on exports, which currently constitutes about 20% to 22% of its business. The plan, according to Desai, is to take that share close to 35% in the next few years. “We see a lot of opportunity in markets like the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa,” he concludes.
