Global Indian exhibitor at Pack Expo in ChicagoACG Worldwide to expand its presence in Bangladesh and ThailandACG Worldwide has been a supplier to the global pharmaceutical industry for over fifty years with processing, manufacturing, and packaging solutions. A strong customer focused, solutions-based approach has helped ACG develop solutions that fit the stringent requirements of the pharma and food industries. Packaging South Asia talks to ACG Wordwide which was the only Indian exhibitor at the recent Pack Expo in Chicago. Amy Munice and Sandip Sen collaborated on this interview with Quateel Ahmad of ACG Worldwide.Manasvi Hegde, sales manager – North America, ACG Worldwide
PSA: Please tell us a bit more about ACG Worldwide.
ACG: We benefit immensely by being an end-to-end solutions provider and we manufacture a wide range of materials and machines for the packaging industry and particularly for the food and pharmaceutical industry. We have high-speed, reliable and cost-effective blister packing machines, a full range of cartoning machines and end-of-line packaging machines. We also provide vision inspection systems for tablets and capsules, blisters, cartons, bottles, vials, ampoules, labels and shippers. We are one of the leading providers of integrated and full track and trace solutions.
PSA: What new products are you introducing that of interest to the South Asian marketplace – are any of these showcased at the show?
ACG: Driven by our many innovation teams, we at ACG have been delivering new improved and path-breaking technologies. We’ve developed NoMist, an anti-fog packaging film that’s ideal for food, medical device and diagnostic kit applications. It was featured in the CPhI Worldwide Innovation Gallery at this year’s show in Paris. We’ve also specially developed UniDose, a packaging film that’s suitable for unit dose applications and packing pastes and liquids such as ketchup, oils, vinegar, detergent and other substances hat require high barrier protection. In machines, we’re soon to launch a higher speed blister packing and cartoning machine, another blister packing machine with deep draw cavities that’s ideal for packing ampoules and vials, and a stretch banding machine to add to the end-of-line packaging solutions.
PSA: What potential and or challenges do you see in the South Asian market?
ACG: The South Asian market is a promising one. Our primary target industry — pharmaceuticals — is expanding in this market. Consisting of one of the fastest growing pharma economies of the world, India, the South Asian market has attracted global attention with a growth rate of 14%. One of the crucial elements of this growth could be attributed to close regional partnerships and cross-sharing of information between companies. A continued strong collaboration between the South Asian countries could help sustain this growth momentum.
The challenges could come from inadequate process control and resultant issues if quality is not monitored. We work closely with our customers using our vision inspection systems to control the production quality.
PSA: Do you have any plans for sales and service expansion in the coming year in South Asia?
ACG: Yes. We’ve been growing consistently in the region over the past several years. And, as we grow, the need to remain closer than ever to our customers is also felt. We’ve already have a significant presence in India and an office in Indonesia. We are further expanding our presence in Thailand and Bangladesh by opening our own offices there. Therefore, it is clear how important the South Asian and Southeast Asian market is for us. We are committed to our customers in the region and look forward to working more closely with them.
