Speaking to WhatPackaging? Sunil Puri, director, Apaar Packaging, said, “When our largest customer Honda Motorcycle opened a unit in Gujarat, we decided to set up a factory in the state. Since we have been associated with the company from its inception in Manesar, Gurgaon, we felt it a necessity to have a unit in Gujarat to maintain a continuous supply of our products to Honda.

“Besides, many other automobile companies like Maruti, Krishna Maruti, and Fiem among others have also started their production in Gujarat. So, we found it to be a better opportunity to expand our business outside of North India.”

Apaar manufactures air bubble sheets, which are used in the packaging of sensitive items that can be damaged or get scratched while shipping. “Air bubble sheet protects such products during the transit thanks to its cushioning effect,” said Puri.

Apaar boasts of a daily production capacity of four tonnes. The new plant has boosted the company's monthly capacity from 90 tonnes to 125 tonnes.

Apaar Packaging claims to be the only company in the world manufacturing 8mm diameter air bubble sheets, which reduces the cost of packaging while retaining its strength. Explaining the concept, Puri said, “Worldwide air bubble sheets are manufactured with air bubble diameter of 6mm, 10mm, and 25mm. The 10mm diameter sheet is the most common one. In the competitive world where everyone is looking for cost reduction, we thought of producing 8mm diameter air bubble which increases the number of air bubbles by 20% and thereby provide better protection even if the grammage is reduced by 10 to 15%. So far it has been well accepted wherever we have supplied.”

Besides this, Apaar Packaging is perhaps the only company in India to manufacture 2500mm width air bubble sheet. The wide sheets allow the consumer to customise sheet sizes according to the size of the product thereby reducing the wastage at the consumer level.

The company also manufactures 10mm and 25mm diameter bubbles, which are available in various colours. “The coloured air bubbles are used mainly for antistatic air bubble sheets. These are used for packaging of electrical products in order to protect against damage while shipping. The antistatic air bubble sheet dissipates static charge, thereby protecting the sensitive electronic chips which can damage them,” said Puri.

Looking at the current market dynamics, Apaar anticipates a growth of 35-40% in the next two years.