Tejbir Singh of Meera Packers said the company zeroed in on the Eterna Ecut1060 because of the machine’s output and quality. “Also, besides the punching capability for various duplex boards at high speed, its ability to punch corrugated board and kappa board with consistency was impressive,” he said.

He added, “With this installation, we hope to replace three of our existing manual die-punching machines. Also, we expect to bring down the manpower requirement from six on manual die-punching to two with the same productivity of around 40,000 sheets in a single shift.”

Singh said the Meera Packers team was eager to learn and adapt new technology, and with the technical guidance of the Suba team, the company has been successfully running the machine. “The process application knowledge of a company like Suba has helped us in imparting the necessary training,” he said.

With the replacement of the three manual die-punching machines, Meera Packers now targets to achieve a production of 40,000 sheets in a single shift. “This machine provides constant quality and quantity resulting in fulfilment of our commitments of timely delivery to our valuable customers,” he added.

Meera Packers, a growing printing and packaging company based in Ludhiana was incorporated in 1989 by S Ravinder Singh Sachdeva and is professionally managed by Tejbir and Rajbir Singh.

The company is into offset printing and packaging, paper bowls and glasses, kappa boxes and MDF boxes with clientele in various sectors, such as the sweets industry, pharma, hosiery and FMCG. The company also supplies exclusive packaging boxes to overseas customers.

Tejbir Singh, the managing director of the company, ensures that the vision and the goals of the organisation are achieved, while Rajbir Singh, director, takes care of the production.

Singh said, in recent years, sweets manufacturers, quick service restaurants and FMCG sectors are recording significant growth.

The company employs a skilled team of 250 people in various departments. “We visit various exhibitions and seminars so as to educate our team about the latest technologies in our industry. Besides, regular in-house training sessions are being conducted to educate about new developments in the industry,” Singh said.

The company’s 1,00,000-sqft shopfoor comprises machines such as Heidelberg CD six-colour + coater, Heidelberg SM six-colour, Planeta four-colour, Dominant five-colour, Kodak CTP, auto die-cutter from Shanghai Eterna, Chinese folder-gluer, Clamshell burger box machine, paper bowl and glass machines, rigid box machines, and so on. All the machines are 2000 to 2022 make.

Singh said in the packaging industry, the major challenge today is to provide consistent quality without compromising on output for which one has to invest in the latest machinery and also impart regular training to all team members to adapt and successfully implement the new system and methods for the overall development of the company.

He said with the installation of the Eterna die-punching machine, the company has achieved its target to automatise the entire production process from pre- to post-press. “Besides the existing segments, like the sweets industry, we have now started a new segment of paper bowls and glasses. So, this machine was a necessity to match the productivity rate of the fully automatic line ahead of it,” Singh said.

He said with the new investment, the turnaround time is expected to come down significantly, by at least 30%. “Suba has enumerated the various points required for successful automation. It is critical that input materials and the prior processes are also taken care of in the process. At the end of the day, efficiency is determined by a convergence of all three critical elements — machine, material and machinery. Meera will work towards this consistently,” Singh concluded.