The already installed die-cutter is a Dayuan fully automatic die-cutting 1,300-mm machine with lead edge feeder and five-ply flute laminator running at a maximum of 6,000 sph. Now, the company has booked a five-ply flute laminator with a speed of 8,000 sph with servo control.

Saurabh Mendiratta, director, Friends Box Factory, said, “We felt the need for automation to improve our production quality and to decrease our dependency on manual operation. We met multiple suppliers and manufacturers in the market, and found Robus to be appropriate for us. Robus never tried to sell its equipment to us but guided and taught us where and when to invest.”

The company has already installed 10 machines from Robus India, and is planning to install more. Mendiratta said economic price range, quick and fast after-sales service and perfect guidance are some of the reasons to invest in equipment.

Established in 1975 by Gulshan Rai, Friends Box Factory is a family-owned business and is run by the Mendiratta brothers. Sanjeev Mendiratta, the eldest, is responsible for marketing and business development; Sumit Mendiratta is responsible for finance and accounts; and Saurabh Mendiratta is responsible for production and planning.

The company converts more than 800 tonnes of paper, duplex board and kraft paper to manufacture mono and corrugated cartons. “We serve pharma, FMCG and MNCs and manufacture all possible flutes for our customers. We also manufacture high-end boxes especially for sweets manufacturers,” Mendiratta said.

The print production set up is equipped with two Heidelberg printing presses with coater and online UV and post-press equipment including folder-gluer, die-cutting machines and others.

The corrugation unit is equipped with three high-speed fingerless corrugation machines, three- and five-ply flute laminator, stitching machines and others. More than 100 people work in the three-acre fully constructed plant in a 12-hour shift.

“We are growing at a CAGR of 10-15% and are investing on automation each year for the last five years. The investment on automation will continue. We have plans to diversify into other segments of packaging, but we will stick to paper and board,” Mendiratta said.

He added that automation is the need of the hour because of the unavailability of labour and semi-skilled people. “Thus, we have opted for automatic and semi-automatic machines to make our operations hustle-free and faster. By investing in multiple machines from Robus, we could increase our production 25-30% per month with less manual intervention.”