Shekhar Mhapsekar, sales director, Astra Chemtech said, “Astra aspires to become a Rs 1,000-crore company by 2030.”

The company’s forte is manufacturing water-based, hotmelt and pressure-sensitive adhesives are our forte. Also, another venture is that of UV inks and coatings, with sustainable production.

Mhapsekar highlighted Astra’s water-based barrier coating, Barilac. It offers excellent oil and grease resistance plus enhanced MVTR and OTR capabilities. With this, the company aims to serve the corrugation industry.

The tagline of Astra: ‘Technology With Care’ aligns with the operations it undertakes and guidelines it follows such as production of low migration inks in compliance with Swiss, EU, Reach, ROHS, EN71 regulations.

He shed light on a triangle concept that comprises converters, manufacturers and brands with sustainability at the centre. The goal is to foster collaborative growth.

A few years down the lane, he pointed out at the move by brands to not use cartons and disregard secondary packaging. Although introduced to cut down on packaging materials, the decartonisation could not provide optimum barrier protection and product safety. In this direction, Astra complies to Product Safety Regulations (PSR) while working with brand owners including the biggie Nestle.

cMhapsekar concluded, “With Drupa not so far away, it’s surprising to see a massive footfall at Pamex this year.”