Ambar Patel, managing director of Shilp Gravure

Ahmedabad-based Shilp Gravure is ane of India's leading packaging pre-printing solution providers. It produces engraved gravure rollers and photopolymer plates for flexo printing for the narrow-spider web and wide-web segments of the flexible packaging and characterization manufacture. Shilp has been an innovator and is always on the sentinel for new things to try in order to continue the operations of the company efficient. Since ability is a very significant toll component in the overall scheme of things, saving on that front will automatically impact the cost incurred by the company. Keeping this in mind, Shilp is embarking on a projection to gear up up a solar power system at its institute.

"We volition soon commence the solar ability project with installations of solar panels on the roof of our factory. The power will be for internal consumption and whatever is surplus, if any, will be supplied to the Gujarat state power grid. Our state receives bright sunshine for almost 10 months of the year, and then this makes sense. Power is about vii-8% of our total toll, which is very significant and any saving on that front is a welcome step," says Ambar Patel, managing director of Shilp Gravure.

Reliance on renewable power is not something new for the company. It is already generating ability using wind turbines. This power is supplied to the Gujarat state power grid and the aforementioned amount of power is provided by the country grid to its Ahmedabad manufacturing unit of measurement.

"The wind mills are located near the coastal parts of the land and the ability that is produced is supplied to the gird. The grid in turn supplies an equivalent amount of ability to our factory near Ahmedabad. This is a kind of a bandy deal. We as a corporate are doing our best to promote renewable energy sources," informs Patel.

Sitting on sufficient capacity for the most term

Since the focus for next yr or and then volition be on the proposed solar power projection, any major investment in machinery in its gravure rollers and flexo plate-making segments is non on the anvil. The company has anyhow invested in upgrading the found and machinery in the last i-and-a-half years and holds sufficient capacity for the near futurity. The company deputed India's first Kodak Flexcel NX Wide 5080 system in Feb last year. The platesetter can handle a maximum plate size of 50 x fourscore inch and boasts of a maximum imaging rate of 12.5 sq/yard per hour.

"We went for the Kodak Flexcel NX Wide 5080 system of 50 x 80-inch size exist- cause our customers demanded so. The market place wanted bigger sized plates and therefore it was fourth dimension for us to invest in such a system," says Patel.

Shilp entered into the flexo prepress business concern almost a decade ago by acquiring a flexo trade shop. The company's flexo plate making business is now driven past ii parallel lines – 1 by the latest Kodak system and other by Esko. Shilp installed the Esko CDI 4260 digital flexo imager and a Degraf 405 DW plate processor when it started the flexo concern.

Not only has Shilp invested in its flexo business, it has also made some big investments in its gravure roller making businesses by bringing in ii new engraving machines.

"We bought two cylinder engraving machines from Ohio last year. Now we take a total of 20 engraving machine at our plant. With these investments we have sufficient capacity in both roller and plate making divisions," informs Patel.

With sufficient capacity at manus, Shilp is also looking to strengthen its presence in eastern India market, Patel adds.

Cylinder engraving machines at Shilp Gravure establish

Growth visible but about-term challenges remain

Patel agrees that in the last ten years the Indian packaging industry has seen tremendous growth, which is expected to proceed in the long-term as well merely the consequence of plastic waste management and the confusion and uncertainty regarding the policy surrounding it is creating some hurdles in the short term.

"The confusion regarding the plastic waste material management is not just pain the make owners but also the converters. Shilp has been doing its part in talking to the Gujarat industry body. Our industry association will soon encounter the relevant authorities in Delhi to present the case. I hope with the new government in office clarity should emerge," he concludes.

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