Bobst calls for higher efficiency in packaging

Bobst, the Swiss-based packaging equipment company, has called for the use of automated approach with a focus on investing in equipment that will drive competitiveness. And while making a decision on which equipment to buy, that decision should be weighed in terms of cost per unit of production and its return on investment.

04 Jan 2016 | By Rahul Kumar

Bobst, which launched a year of events to celebrate its 125th anniversary under the motto, “125 year: For the next generation”, hosted a seminar at Bengaluru on 18 December 2015 to drive the message of competitiveness, which saw 30 print packaging CEO's representing 20 companies from the Bengaluru packaging industry participate.
 
Venugopal Menon, vice president for BU sheetfed Indian Subcontinent for Bobst, who lead the half-day seminar, quoted the latest Smithers Pira 2015 report to highlight the anticipated global growth of the folding carton market from the current USD 87-bn to USD 105-bn by 2020. “The growth will be driven by dry food, healthcare, confectionary and spirit.”
 
At present, the current per capita spend in packaging in India is a measly USD 3.2 per annum as compared to USD 13 for China  and USD 50 in Japan.
 
India’s current board production at 2.5-mn MT is anticipated to grow to 3.4-mn MT by 2020, with a 35%+ share lead by food and healthcare and consumption by value should grow from its current USD 3.8 bn to USD 5.6-bn by 2020.
 
Menon said, “Given the growth opportunities, there’s a need to steer the Indian packaging industry towards a forward-looking efficient way of producing packaging. Expectations are high, but so will be the cost of inaction.” He added, “When it comes to investing in high-value capital goods, numerous questions cross the buyers mind. Can I afford it? Is it viable? What about ROI? are some of the questions.”
 
Menon stressed on the increasing variable costs in terms of labour, adding that automation offers both high productivity and faster turnaround of orders. “The interesting part is that the cost of die-cutting per unit from multiple, cheaper hand-platen machines actually turn out to be more expensive when compared to an output from a single high-productive die-cutter.” During the seminar, Menon illustrated this cost-efficiency using the DCF method.
 
The seminar ended with an interactive session in which the audience wanting to know more on how to judge if an investment made sense, given the volume and production costs.