Vipul Jain of Chandni Industries said, “During the pandemic, we found that the playing cards business has stagnated. At the same time, there has been a tremendous growth in packaging. So, we decided to enter into the packaging-printing business. We have established a packaging-printing unit, and for this, we invested in the DGM folder-gluer with their packaging knowledge.”

Jain said DGM offered the company guidance and suggestions as it forayed into packaging. “We evaluated other available options in the market. But we found that DGM is an appropriate suit to the market demand,” Jain said. He added, “One thing we understood from DGM’s Puneet Aggarwal is that today, the time is for capability, capacity and cost. Nobody can survive in the industry with limited capability.”

Right now, the company is manufacturing lock-bottom cartons at the speed of 30,000-40,000 boxes per hour and straight-line boxes at the speed of 60,000-70,000 boxes an hour.

“Gradually, we will manufacture liner cartons and four corner cartons on the folder-gluer as the demand rises,” Jain said, adding that the target is to manufacture 10 lakh cartons per day.

Chandni’s journey began as a candle manufacturer, thanks to the late Chandra Prakash Jain in 1961. In the 1970s, the company diversified into playing cards and became a dedicated playing cards manufacturer in 1984. Right now, Chandni Industries manufactures one lakh playing cards packs per day and the installed capacity is to manufacture 1,25,000 playing cards packs per day. Jain joined the family-owned business in 1994.

“We are familiar with the paper and board packaging due to our existing business. So, we could start the packaging business with our existing setup. It is one of the fastest-growing industries. So, we decided to enter packaging printing,” he said.

The existing set-up at Chandni includes two Heidelberg SM 74s, one with a coater, a Heidelberg Suprasetter CTP and workflow from Heidelberg along with India-made and manual machines for the operations.

Today, the company is targeting customers from pharma, cosmetics and FMCG. “We found that packaging is competitive and margins lie with innovation. We are ready for the same, and have invested a good amount in pre-press. We also maintain a QC lab. We are now preparing for an ink kitchen,” Jain said. Chandni boasts of a 16-hour operation, and converts 150-200 tonnes of paper and board, with a team of more than 100 people in Barhi Industrial Area, Sonipat, Haryana.

The factory area is 1,800-sqm of which 30,000-sqft is the constructed area. “In the future, we will go for greenfield expansion and more equipment,” Jain concluded.