“Shuban specialises in pharma packaging, and are a certified DMF (drug master files) for USFDA approvals. We are one of the leaders in contraceptive pouches. We are now setting up a brand new unit for mono cartons,” informed Bharat Gupta, managing director of the seven-year-old Shuban, while talking to PrintWeek India.

He added, “Until now the Rajasthan market hasn’t seen much of industrialisation. However, the new government has launched new initiatives to lure the industries in Rajasthan. For example, it has extended subsidies for the pharma industry, creating a pharma zone in Udaipur. Plus, liquor is a growing market in Rajasthan. There’s already a need for packaging, and we hope to cater to these needs.”

Gupta has also invested in a two-acre plot for the new plant, and the first phase of construction will see a production unit of 30,000-sqft built.

Besides, Bobst Novacut E 106 E and VisionFold 110 folder-gluer, the expansion includes machinery like Zongkhe’s dry lamination machine and e-flute laminating and rigid box making machine and an eight-colour sheetfed offset press with a UV coater (though Gupta did not disclose the name of the manufacturer, the market buzz is that it’s a Komori G37 press).

Gupta said that making the Bobst decision was much easier given the speed, the consistency and the accuracy is much higher than any of its competitor. “When I started my first unit I installed a very old Bobst die-cutting machine with which we are still producing 40,000 sheets per day. With the new Bobst machine, I am sure we can produce 1-lakh sheets without sweating,” he said.

The new unit is expected to become functional in April 2019.

Shuban presently converts around 200-tonnes of the duplex and 100-tonnes of pharma paper per month. “We are doing Rs 50-crore turnover with the existing business. With the new unit we are targeting to cross the Rs 25-crore turnover mark this year and hope to cross the Rs 100-crore in the next two year,” Gupta said about his future projections of the new unit.

For Bobst, Shuban is a new customer, but a unique one, said Venugopal Menon, business director, Bobst India. “Shuban is a new client, which is already using a pre-owned Bobst machine. And it’s very heartening that someone who had been using a used Bobst machine has opted to buy brand new Bobst machines.”

Menon added, “What Bobst brings to the table for the customer is the reliability and 100 years of experience of making converting machines for packaging. But clubbed with that is the precision, what is known as registration accuracy, throughout the life of the machine at full speed, and of course the longevity of the machine.”

The third generation upgrade to the NovaCut 106 E underlines the virtues of minimising stoppages and faster changeover of jobs. Menon explained, “All the features address these two virtues. A few other features which were available on the higher models like MasterCut and ExpertCut have been incorporated in the NovaCut 106 E 3.0.”