Benefits from Bhumi World Bhiwandi move

In 2013, the three-decade-old company, which specialised in commercial print then, decided to diversify into the packaging. “The Shah & Nahar Industrial Estate in Lower Parel is gala-type and suitable for commercial printing set-ups. For packaging jobs, we needed more space,” said Dhiren Thakkar, director at Nirman. “Expanding our operation in Mumbai was not a viable option,” he said.

The company invested in a 20,000 sqft site in Bhumi World’s Bhiwandi industrial estate. “The site is in close proximity of the highway, so the logistics and transportation are easy. Most of our clients’ warehouses are also in Bhiwandi, so transporting the finished packaging was taken care of,” said Thakkar. And the most critical aspect of the move to Bhumi World was the cost. “The investment in infrastructure was about 85-90% cheaper than in Mumbai,” said Dhiren.
Until 2013, the company specialised in commercial printing jobs, catering to the printing needs of its pharma and FMCG customers. One of the reasons for Nirman diversification to packaging was the declining commercial print demand. Thakkar said, “We used to print large quantities of visual aids for the pharma companies, and posters and collaterals for the FMCGs. For example, HUL used to print around 10- to 20-lakh posters back then, but now they are hardly printing any, instead of pouring all the monies in the digital media. Likewise, pharma companies are supplying tablets to its medical representatives for demo purposes instead of print.”

The company continues to operate its commercial print business in Lower Parel which is equipped with one four-colour, a single-colour press and a five-colour Komori Lithrone 529 press installed a year ago; a plate setter and complete post-press facility. The company, however, is running only one shift as against 24-hour operation it did in good times. Thakkar said, “The decline can be gauged from the number of plates we now consume – from 2,500 plates a month, we are done to just 1,000.

”On the contrary, the Bhiwandi packaging plant is running in full swing. The company has two five-colour presses; a Bobst folder-gluer and die-cutting machine; and other packaging finishing kit. “We are producing 30- to 40-lakh cartons of different sizes in a month and converting around 1,200 tonnes per annum,” said Thakkar.