The highlight for Pune-based Nichrome Packaging Solutions at the PackEx India 2014 was its horizontal form fill seal press model T170 with spout attachment. The press was formally unveiled at interpack earlier this year where it was displayed with standipack and zipper attachment. This particular version of the T170 was displayed for the first time at PackEx. The T170 press has been made at Nichrome’s Pune plant in technical collaboration with Spain’s Totpack. The press has an output rate of 45 packs a minute with 3 side seal and 4 side seal pouch formats. T170 is a PLC-based press with touchscreen interface and has the facility to offer single or perforated chain of pouches.
The press has had a very encouraging response, said Mrunal Joshi, executive director of Nichrome. Also present at the company stand was Nichrome’s managing director Hemant Ogale who said that the HFFS press has been made with European knowhow but keeping in mind Indian aesthetics and requirements. There are lot of packaging applications that are unique to India. Using Totpack’s expertise we have made a press with the Indian market in mind, Ogale stated.
Although not on display at the event, another newly launched press that Nichrome was promoting at PackEx was its pick fill seal (PFS) press for ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. The press enables two or three different fillers to dispense multiple types of ingredients in the same pouch. It has multiple filler options like visco filler, servo auger filler, volumetric cup filler, multi-head weighers, indexing type bucket conveyor, and more.
The specially designed RTE filler can dose Indian curry-based products without damaging the food particles. These RTE food pouches packed on Nichrome PFS can be later subjected to a retort process for long shelf-life, Joshi said. Delving into the company’s plans for the near future, Ogale said that exports would be a segment where Nichrome is likely to put a lot of focus going forward. Currently, exports make up about 20% of the business and Ogale wants to expand it further. African markets have been an area of strength for the company but in recent years Russia and Central Europe have not been good locations for Nichrome. The recent turmoil in Ukraine, which was a bright spot for Nichrome in the Central European region, has not helped either. Plans are also afoot to offer post packaging solutions by tying up with another company. “By providing post packaging solutions we want to help customers reduce manual intervention as much as possible, Joshi said.
