Divyang Patel, director, Emperial Films, said, “We always wanted to purchase the vacuum metalliser from a company which has an expertise in the area of metallising heat-sensitive films, and the Bobst K5 Vision fitted perfect for our requirements.”

The Bobst K5 Vision boasts of a production speed of 840m/min.

It has a 600mm diameter drum provides film cooling due to the increased surface area of the drum. Additional cooling is provided by the two-zone gas wedge, which provides better conduction of heat between the substrate and the drum. This is important for thermally sensitive materials.

Emperial Films caters to the food and pharmaceutical segments. “Our R&D team is constantly working on product development and finding new verticals to venture into. We can say it is a never-ending process,” added Patel.

Divyang Patel, director, Emperial Films

Emperial Films was founded in 2017 and its core business is the production of CPP (cast polypropylene) films, including clear, opaque and now metallised CPP for the food packaging industry.

The company is part of the Royal Group of Companies, which primarily operates in the plastics industry and has over 20 years of experience in the manufacture, supply and export of polymers and plastic packaging.

Emperial films have established a state-of-the-art facility at Morbi, which comprises of a Colines CPP line with a production capacity of 6500-MT per annum, a GV Metalizer KV 500 from Bobst, with a capacity of 8000-MT per annum and an Atlas Slitter with an output speed of 1000 m/min.

CPP is a heat-sensitive film and therefore requires careful handling. K5 Vision incorporates the Bobst’s winding mechanism and has been designed to handle a wide variety of films in particular heat-sensitive and thin gauge films. It can run up to 840-m/min, making it an ideal choice for CPP as well as PE film producers.

According to Patel, the market scenario of CPP films in India is projected to grow at 10-15% year-on-year, which is in line with industry growth. “As packaging specification is still being discussed on the same polymer usage, it has a long way to go before the whole market moves to change the packaging structure."

According to Patel, the BOPP manufacturers, who have developed new polymer-based films, are intensely competing with CPP film manufacturers.