Print Pack Solutions: Sensible and common sense packaging - The Noel D'Cunha Sunday Column

In the not too distant past, Gopal Vachheta, managing director of Vatva-based Print Pack Solutions in southeast Ahmedabad, was spending three times more for every carton he sold, besides delayed deliveries to his customers. Expectedly this was costing dear and taking a toll on his company’s bottom-line as well as reputation. That’s when he decided to invest in the Bobst Ambition 106 A2 folder-gluer.

Installed three months ago, Vachheta explains the rationale behind the Bobst move. He says, “We used to get our jobs outsourced. So, obviously, transportation was involved, plus printing extra cartons to compensate for damages in transport. These two were sort of losses. But most important was delivery. Since it was an outside job for the company where I outsourced my work, it was not a priority, because they had their own work to do. And I can understand that.”

So deliveries were not on time, sometimes delayed by 15 to 20 days, and coupled with other factors, the overall image of Print Pack Solution was at stake. “The delays meant my customer could not take his product to the market on time,” says Vachheta. He adds, “As a result, my customers used to express unhappiness, and at times I could not press for timely payments. There were apprehensions of even losing the job. Our image in the market had taken a beating.”

The Bobst boost

The Bobst Ambition 106 A2 folder-gluer is packed with features which according to Vachheta complements his business. He says, “It is equipped with 4/6 corner device allowing faster job set up, corrugation kit that ensures consistent folding results while minimising fish-tailing and skewing of cartons, especially when it comes to doing litho laminated cartons. The HHS Xtend 2 system enhances accuracy and reliable glue application.”

The net result of the move is in the numbers. Now Print Pack Solutions saves at least 50% folding-gluing cost on every carton the company produces. Customers are happy because now Print Pack Solutions can afford to pass on some of the cost benefits to the customers. “If I am getting more jobs, because of the ability to do certain jobs with quality at high speed, I may well not charge the client for the pasting work. It is as simple as that,” explains Vachheta candidly.

Another important feature of the Bobst machine is speed. The Bobst Ambition 106 A2 can process open width size 76-1060mm for straight line and 146-1060mm for crash lock bottom carton and can run at a speed of up to 300 metre/min. “The cost of running my print business is around Rs 60,000 per day, and if I convert 10-lakh cartons at 50% speed of the Bobst Ambition 106 A2, I would be making Rs one-lakh per day,” Vachheta explains.

Vachheta (c) with the Suraj Sharma (r) and Pritesh Gadhvi (l) of Bobst India

Looking back

Today Print Pack Solutions specialises in book printing, commercial printing and packaging. But Vachheta’s story is one of courage, conviction, determination and the ability to take risks and challenges.

Vachheta’s connect with print industry started in 1992, after he joined a course in printing technology. Two and a half year into the course he joined the well known and reputed Narayan Litho Offset Works in Vatva, as a trainee for six months.

After successfully completing his training, Vachheta joined Narayan Litho Offset Works in 1996 as a production in-charge. This continued for almost a decade till 2006, when he decided to venture into printing business of his own.

As luck would have it, there was a silver lining to the cloud after the owners saw the business ability in Vachheta and willingly let him plan his next move in west Ahmedabad’s Navarangpura area, across the Sabarmati River. He established Print Pack Solutions in November 2006 with a Komori Lithrone four-colour 28x40 size press in Navrangpura.

Three years on, in 2009, Vachheta moved back to Vatva after the owners of Narayan Litho Offset Works in a kind gesture decided to hand over the entire infrastructure including the presses to Vachheta. “They told me to revamp the business, as I wished. So I moved the Komori four-colour press to Vatva and added another Komori six-colour plus coater press,” he recalls.

Rising from the ashes

In an unfortunate development on 4 August  2013, there was a fire in the press, which destroyed all the printing and the allied machinery, but for one press. An undeterred, but confident Vachheta got that press repaired and running in just 25 days. “We re-started the business on the same premises, with the same zest and enthusiasm.”

In 2014, Print Pack Solutions added a five-colour plus coater press with one unit capable of printing on the backside of the sheet, which Vachheta calls reverse printing. “In 2015, we added another similar Komori five-colour plus coater; two punching and two laminating machines required for packaging work.”

The company also set up a quality control lab for its packaging output.

Working the way up 

Initially, Print Pack Solutions specialised in commercial and printing. “As work grew, we also added packaging to our portfolio. We added punching and lamination, then another set. It was a gradual induction into the packaging business,” says Vachheta.

No wonder, Vachheta is confident of his packaging business after adding the latest Bobst folder-gluer. “I think from my point of view, it’s been a tremendous boost to my business and it has become our strength to attract more business.”

Discussing the brass tacks, Vachheta says, “I don’t think there’s any business sense in doing straight pasting carton jobs, which can be done on any Rs 10-lakh machine. It’s value-addition that you do to the cartons that will be profitable. Once you have the ability to do certain kind of jobs and offer quality new opportunities will emerge.”

In the end, it’s all about staying ahead of the pack, and brand Bobst gives the company the edge. “Bobst as a brand works, because most of the clients we approach are aware of the brand, and know the capabilities of its machines. That creates a big impression. Today for my customers who have a deadline and are willing to pay a premium, I can confidently tell them that I can deliver. This was not the case before I invested in the Bobst Ambition 106 A2,” says Vachheta.

Print Pack’s present turnover is Rs 10-crore and Vachheta hopes to take it to Rs 15-crore in the next 12 months. “The last six months haven’t been very good, but I expect things to turnaround soon.”

Future plans chalked out by Vachheta at Print Pack Solutions drawing boards include replacing the old presses, punching and laminating machines with new ones and also entering new business areas. “We are already developing packaging product designs using paper boards that will replace thermocol. We hope to deliver these cartons with the help of the Bobst Ambition 106 A2,” Vachheta concludes.

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