Uflex invests in second Heidelberg Intro printing line
Uflex, India's largest multinational flexible packaging and polymer science company and the first Indian manufacturer of aseptic liquid packaging, announces to double its production capacity from 3.5-bn packs per annum to 7-bn packs per annum. To achieve this, the company decided to invest in second printing line from the Heidelberg Web Carton Converting GmbH. This investment is part of its larger growth strategy in the liquid packaging space on the back of its ambition to expand its global footprints. Investing in the Heidelberg Intro Web printing technology is thus the first among many steps toward achieving its production capacity.
23 Feb 2021 | 2512 Views | By Rahul Kumar
Uflex, established in 1985 and after becoming extremely successful in flexible packaging, it was time to diversify with offerings within the packaging business and aseptic liquid packaging emerged as an obvious choice for the scope of innovation in the segment.
The decision was taken and the Greenfield plant in Sanand with 85,000-sqm packaging area and a current printing capacity to produce 3.5-billion packs per annum was commissioned. Now, the company aims at doubling the production capacity with the second printing line in the plant. The Asepto plant, within a few years, has become a subject of interest in the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, it was necessary and a definite requirement to increase the existing capacity.
When the factory was completed, the investment was only in the latest technology and state-of-the-art machinery. One of the key-suppliers is Heidelberg Web Carton Converting, which delivered an Intro web-flexo printing press. The high-class machine prints seven colours at a web-width of 1,320-mm with a speed of 500 MPM for all packaging materials of Asepto products. The highest quality and reliability of the machine combined with the best performance parameters are proven facts of Heidelberg Intro. Therefore, Intro was the first choice for the second machine as well. The new custom-built Heidelberg Intro will be installed in 2021 and will double Asepto’s printing capacity.
Ashwani Kumar Sharma, president and CEO, Aseptic Liquid Packaging, Uflex said, “Asepto is on a significant growth path. Heidelberg’s Intro Web-Printing-Press machine is the perfect fit to meet all our, and our customer’s requirements. Not only are the expectations for the machine, but also the seamless after-sales service factors make Heidelberg Intro an ideal system to give a push to our growth plans. The partnership shared by the two market leaders over the years has created a win-win situation for both of us. Once the commissioning of the project is complete, we will be looking at global expansion. Asepto Sanand will certainly act as a benchmark.”