IndiaCorr Expo is the only leading exhibition in India offering a platform for the corrugated industry to source machines, networking and learning techniques as well as to develop an international presence. The last three editions of the event have received welcome response from the corrugated packaging industry in India. Bijendra Sharma, MD of globally renowned corrugator manufacturer BHS, feels, “The IndiaCorr Expo is a good platform to share knowledge, technologies, and industry trends and also to discuss various challenges and the way forward.” IndiaCorr intends to share success stories and technological advantages of its new product, ECO line, which was launched last year during ICCMA 2015 in India.
With the corrugation industry in India growing at a steady pace, BHS intends to engage more with the growing customer base, and assist in the expansion of both existing players and new industry entrants at IndiaCorr Expo 2016, being held from 8 to 10 September in Mumbai. BHS expects to project its role as a complete solution provider, rather than just a machine manufacturer for the corrugation industry. The company will showcase its well-structured service network across the country, its service packages, touch base with the new industry entrants, and explore ways of forging a partnership with them for future growth.
Expansion plans in India
BHS will highlight its upcoming installations in India. It will partner Bobst in organizing a special event on 9 September to bring together partners and stakeholders of the industry on one platform to share knowledge and information. This year is turning out to be a positive one for BHS in terms of new complete line orders. In order to provide excellent pre-sales and post-sales support to customers, BHS intends to invest more in resources.
In addition to its headquarters in Pune with virtual sales/service presence in Bengaluru, Delhi and Nagpur, the company intends to increase its presence across major corrugation hubs in India. With rapid growth in their installations in India, they expect their manpower base in the country to increase by 40% this year.
Challenges faced by corrugation machine manufacturers
The Indian corrugation industry is growing at around 12 to 14% mainly due to electronics, FMCG, retail and the food industries. With the end customer becoming more quality conscious, delivering good quality consistently at competitive prices is the biggest challenge today. The consolidation process is also evident in the Indian market.
According to Sharma, “Customers in Asia are facing greater challenges in cost efficiency, high demand from end users and higher quality requirements.” As a result, they offer comprehensive solutions aligned with future trends towards greater automation in relation to scarcity of labour, energy and raw materials. With energy costs increasing, the BHS complete solutions add value, efficiency and energy savings to the production processes.
