When Mumbai’s Continuity Printers commissioned its new Bobst Novafold 110 A2 folder-gluer earlier this year, the investment represented far more than another addition to its converting and finishing department. For director Animesh Gaggar, the Novafold folder-gluer symbolises the company’s philosophy of investing in proven technology that can support increasingly sophisticated carton applications and sustain long-term growth.
Installed this March, the Novafold 110 A2 is the company’s second Bobst folder-gluer, replacing an earlier pre-owned machine with a brand-new system capable of handling the complex folding carton structures that have become an important feature of Continuity Printers’ work.
“We wanted peace of mind,” Gaggar says. “With Bobst, you invest once and then forget about it. The support, technical capability, availability of engineers and spare parts, and the reliability of the machine are invaluable when you are producing demanding jobs.”
The decision reflects a broader investment philosophy that has guided the company over the past decade. Rather than chasing the lowest capital cost, Continuity Printers has focused on equipment that delivers consistent quality, high uptime and the confidence to take on technically demanding work for premium consumer brands.
That strategy has helped transform a business founded in 1986 as a commercial printer into a rapidly expanding folding carton converter. The company spent nearly three decades supplying tags, inserts and textile packaging before establishing a fully integrated production facility in 2017, laying the foundation for its entry into value-added packaging.
The Covid-19 pandemic became a catalyst for strategic change. Recognizing the risks of relying heavily on textile exports, the company diversified into folding cartons for cosmetics, skincare and fragrances before expanding into electronics packaging. Today, the management limits exposure to any single industry, ensuring that no segment contributes more than around 15-20% of its overall business.
The diversification strategy has been matched by aggressive capacity expansion. Continuity Printers now operates from about 45,000 square feet of production space, supported by an additional warehouse facility. Alongside the new Bobst folder-gluer, recent investments include a Heidelberg CD-102 6-color plus coater carton press, automatic lamination, window patching, rigid box manufacturing and RFID dispensing capabilities, creating an increasingly comprehensive paper packaging platform.
A decade of strong growth in premium brand monocartons
According to Gaggar, the company’s evolution has closely mirrored the rapid rise of India’s premium consumer brands. “Their expectations have changed—from small production runs to larger volumes, tighter quality requirements and more sophisticated supply chains—and we have evolved alongside them,” he says.
Since 2017, the company says it has delivered annual growth of around 28%, with manufacturing capacity rather than customer acquisition emerging as its principal constraint. “Our challenge every year is capacity, not sales,” Gaggar notes.
New focus on food and beverage packaging
The next phase of growth will focus on food and beverage packaging, a segment Gaggar believes is being driven by changing consumer behaviour, rapid growth in branded food businesses, quick commerce and premium packaging requirements.
He expects exports to become a larger contributor over the next few years. While the company supplies cartons for export-oriented customers in textiles, fragrances and healthcare products, the management aims to raise exports to around 15-20% of total business through investments in international quality standards, compliance, and overseas market development.
Invested in smart packaging & RFID
Another area attracting attention is smart packaging. Continuity Printers has already invested in RFID dispensing technology and sees growing adoption across organised retail, logistics, healthcare and consumer goods as brands increasingly seek greater traceability and inventory visibility.
“We want to become a complete paper packaging company,” Gaggar says. “Rather than diversifying into plastics, our focus is on strengthening every part of the paper packaging value chain.”
With a target of Rs100 crore (US$ 10.5 million) in annual turnover over the next few years, Continuity Printers is positioning itself for the next stage of India’s packaging growth story—one driven by premiumization, technology investments and a steadily expanding domestic consumer market.
