Rukson Packaging installs Komori LS 32

Meeting the demands of UV printing in MetPet cartons

By
PSA Desk
-
455
Rukson Packaging
Kishin Panjabi, owner, Rukson Packaging, standing near the newly installed Zhongke’s thermal lamination machine. Photo PSA

Established in 1996, Rukson Packaging is a commercial cum packaging converter based in Navi Mumbai. Speaking to Packaging South Asia, Kishin Panjabi, owner of Rukson Packaging said, “We started with a small plant of around 1,000 square feet in Mulund and continued to provide services to the commercial and packaging segment until 2007. With the goal to focus on the MetPet carton segment, we shifted the plant to Navi Mumbai at a bigger space of around 30,000 square feet. The plant is equipped with state-of-the-art technology. In 2014, we had issues with the labour union. It slowed production and created problems for smooth operations. We lost numerous print contracts and our sales targets also suffered. In August 2015 we installed a 6-color Komori press with UV and varnish
coater in a bid to add UV printing capabilities to the packaging arsenal.

The Komori 6-color UV coater press meets the demands of UV printing in MetPet cartons. The press can print a maximum paper size of 24 x 32 inches and is suitable for pharma cartons. Presently, the company produces around 75,000 to 1 lakh sheets a day at the speed of around 13,000 sheets an hour, though the machine can be run at the maximum speed of 15,000 sheets an hour. Recently, Times of India published a front cover of Maruti Suzuki`s advertisement in MetPet finish. It was printed and supplied to Mumbai region by Rukson with the help of the newly installed Komori press. Rukson has also printed the 800 microns PVC sheet on the Komori press for a commercial job.

Carton samples produced at Rukson’s plant. Photo PSA

Moreover, the company has installed Zhongke`s thermal lamination machine to laminate paper sheets and MetPet films in roll form. It is a fully automatic postpress equipment designed to use a flying knife to cut the sheets according to the required size. “With this installation, we have eliminated the curing time of laminated sheets at the delivery unit and these sheets can be used instantly for the printing process. We saw the equipment at Pamex 2015 and later placed the order,” Panjabi added.

The company has a battery of Heidelberg Speed Master Cp-Tronic 72F 5-color, Heidelberg two color and a single color press to convert tonnes of paperboard with the support of a Bobst diecutter. Panjabi is confident about the growth and steps taken for the efficient production of MetPet cartons. “In future, we are planning to serve the FMCG sector and have a full-fledged prepress and material testing lab along with a bag-in-box equipment and Kongsberg`s cutting table,” concluded Panjabi.

The Covid-19 pandemic led to the country-wide lockdown on 25 March 2020. It will be two years tomorrow as I write this. What have we learned in this time? Maybe the meaning of resilience since small companies like us have had to rely on our resources and the forbearance of our employees as we have struggled to produce our trade platforms.

The print and packaging industries have been fortunate, although the commercial printing industry is still to recover. We have learned more about the digital transformation that affects commercial printing and packaging. Ultimately digital will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future.

Web analytics show that we now have readership in North America and Europe amongst the 90 countries where our five platforms reach. Our traffic which more than doubled in 2020, has at times gone up by another 50% in 2021. And advertising which had fallen to pieces in 2020 and 2021, has started its return since January 2022.

As the economy approaches real growth with unevenness and shortages a given, we are looking forward to the PrintPack India exhibition in Greater Noida. We are again appointed to produce the Show Daily on all five days of the show from 26 to 30 May 2022.

It is the right time to support our high-impact reporting and authoritative and technical information with some of the best correspondents in the industry. Readers can power Packaging South Asia’s balanced industry journalism and help sustain us by subscribing.

– Naresh Khanna

Subscribe Now