The corrugated industry is flourishing in India and is witnessing a heavy demand for corrugated boxes of international standards. In FY 2016-17, BHS, a leading global manufacturer and solution provider of machinery for the corrugation industry with a global market share of over 50%, has sold three machines of which the installation of one machine, complete Steady E Line, is already going on in Hosur near Bangaluru. The installation of the other two machines, Eco Line, in South India will be started in February and April 2017 respectively. The Eco Line machine was launched in September 2015 and is especially made for the Indian and African markets.
BHS already has a couple of installations in India. “The corrugated market is growing at a very good pace. While we have installed a complete Steady Line in Oji, Neemrana, we have installed a half line at MWV in Pune. The installation in Hosur, which is again a complete line, will be completed by December 2016. This is the first Steady E Line in India and has a width of 2.2 metre,” says Bijendra Sharma, director, BHS Corrugated India.
Bobst, which manufactures flexo folder-gluers for the corrugated industry, has also contributed wholeheartedly in increasing the number of installations in the Indian market. In the FY 2015-16 alone, the company broke through five FFG 820 orders, significantly again in the South India market. Most of these machines are either 2- or 4-color machines with modern technologies for fast changeover and increased productivity. The first Bobst FFG 618 Quatro in India was installed at Pyramid Packaging in 2013. Again after three years, Ahmedabad-based Astron Packaging added a 6-color FFG 1228 NT RS machine. These machines are highend machines which can perform printing, slit and score, rotary diecut, fold and glue, stack and make predetermined bundles, all inline. According to Venugopal Menon of Bobst, these machines are capable of converting 250,000 boxes with up to 20 changeovers daily.
Indore-based Worth Peripherals has recently installed an Emba Ultima 4-color flexo folder-gluer. In addition to the two extra colour units for the Ultima, Worth Peripherals has also ordered an Emba ‘Liquid Creaser’ as an add-on to ensure production of perfectly square boxes. In India, Emba has installed eight machines till date which includes three installations of 175 QS Ultima machines with the latest one at Girnar Packaging in 2014 while one machine each at Dhanalaxmi Group in 2011 and South India Paper Mills in 2012.
