Easing the converting bottleneck with an Ambition 102 A2

Mumbai-based Globe Print n Pack has a rich history when it comes to packaging innovation. For its creative designs and pre-press for primary and promotional packaging on transparent PET, PP, and paperboard, Globe has Esko’s Artios CAD, Deskpack, Plato Software. It recently added Art Pro Plus and Esko’s Automation Engine to improve its design and workflow efficiency.

Globe has successfully partnered with two UK-based companies to develop print and converting products. The first is Bell Packaging, a specialist in clear packaging with Jet lock caps in different shapes and sizes. The other partner company is Eml Viscom, a part of the TPS group, which specializes in POS and in-store products.

Globe works primarily for FMCG brands and substantially in the textile, pharmaceutical, houseware, jewelry, cosmetics, and stationery segments. Its administrative office is in the Mumbai suburb of Goregaon, while the manufacturing takes place at its state-of-the-art plant in Vasai. In November last year, it added a brand new Bobst Ambition 106 A2 folder gluer to process 4 and 6-corner cartons and microflute corrugated cartons. This was the company’s second Bobst Ambition folder gluer, the first, commissioned in 2016, was an Ambition 76 A1. 

The fast-growing converter also ordered a Bobst Novacut 106E diecutter in drupa 2016, which was commissioned in 2017. This was followed by the addition of a brand new Komori GL640 press with UV curing and an online coater.

“We process a variety of jobs which include crash lock button cartons, straight-line cartons, 4 and 6-corner cartons, and corrugated cartons. The newest Bobst Ambition bought late last year, is primarily to improve the efficiency of the job changeovers,” says Rahul Gupta, the owner of Globe Print n Pack.

Also active in the company’s management, son Abhinav Rahul Gupta, adds, “The Bobst folder gluer we bought in 2016 was configured to primarily handle plastics. With the new Ambition 102, we can handle paperboard more efficiently. Also, running two folder gluers has reduced the bottlenecks in the converting section.”

The company’s 30,000 square foot Vasai plant now has four folder gluers including the Bobst pair, which share a commonly configured collection table. Also recently commissioned are two new window patching machines as Globe reaches a production level of 200 – 225 tons of paperboard and plastic sheets printed and converted monthly.

There has been a sharp increase in the raw material cost in the last six to eight months due to the supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Abhinav Rahul Gupta’s response is that more than the cost increase, it is the uncertainty of raw material supplies that is a bigger issue, although this is only a short-term problem. “The increase in raw material costs has been sharp but I feel this is a short-term issue that will eventually get sorted out. In the long-term, the outlook for growth of the Indian packaging industry remains very positive,” he adds.

The elder Gupta says that while Globe has grown at a robust pace in the past two years, the trick in the coming future will be to manage the finances well. “Yes times are indeed tough but at the same time, the paper packaging industry is also growing at a healthy pace. For instance, the usage of paper cartons and corrugated boxes has risen sharply in the food industry, mainly due to the growth of food delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato,” he adds.

Abhinav adds that Globe is now working on effectively utilizing the current setup before entering an expected expansion phase in 2023. The company plans to set up a new unit near the existing plant in Vasai – where it already owns 40,000 square feet of land and is planning to build a new carton production infrastructure. “The details of our expansion plans are still not finalized but it will be fundamentally similar to the setup we currently have, with technology up-gradation as per the future demands by our customer industries,” concludes the senior Gupta. 

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.

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