Innovation Lifeline
Apr,2006

"Our forte is in innovation. It is only by understanding the requirements of the medical / pharmaceutical industry have we been able to develop specialty packaging," said Naresh Kumar, Managing Director. "One example is the coated breathable paper that we developed for packaging syringes some years back. We should have had it patented because it has now become standard packaging in the industry," he proclaimed. Under controlled pressure, the coated paper allows ethylene oxide (ETO) gas to permeate it, enabling syringes to be sterilized. "It took us 18 months to develop it, but we succeeded in formulating the right structure," said a beaming Kumar.

The company has many more successful applications to its credit: like the thermoformable film made up different plastic materials, which was developed without a tie layer. Then there is the self-peelable, aluminum based PE film laminate that was developed to replace surface printed coated aluminum foil for surgical blade packing. "The previous packaging was not only expensive but since it was surface printed it was prone to scratches. Also, the foil could not prevent oxidisation. Being a life saving device, we saw a need to develop a solution that would be able to protect the blade inside the packing plus allow for gamma sterilisation," explained the founder of the company, who is an engineer by profession.

Having been involved in plastics since 1973, Kumar is no stranger to the packaging industry. "The plastics business in India was very new at the time when I set up the first company, Skylab Industries; to supply injection molded rigid packaging. Amongst our first few customers were Dabur, Niki Tasha, Hammer Flask and Hindustan Syringes (still a customer of ours today)." In 1985, the company expanded its business to include the manufacturing of blank video cassettes. "With the start of cable television, the business nosedived and we decided to diversify. We had to keep up with the rapid changes in technology and move on," he explained.

But the changeover from rigid to flexible packaging must have been something of a blessing in disguise as Kumar says they have not looked back since 1993 when the new business took off. "At first we were only processing 300 kg of material a day but the business has grown by more than 10% every year," he added, explaining that a Windsor three layer PE line was bought in 1996 followed by an extrusion coating line and a three layer cast sheet line to produce blister packs for disposable needles and syringes. The company made its largest capital investment last year when it purchased a fully automatic, high speed eight color rotogravure printing machine and a five layer Rajoo Engineers blown film line.

Already, Skypack has lined up a number of developments that will be manufactured using the new technology. According to Kumar, "We intend to market specialty films like high barrier PVDC coated and heat sealable films, sealable / peelable films for pouches, cups and trays as well as EVOH and nylon based and anti fogging films." But before Skypack is able to commercialize its new products, it has to educate the cost sensitive domestic market. Kumar says he has handed over this daunting and challenging task to the marketing team, headed by his son Naveen Talwar. "He not only has to oversee new developments but also be able to convince the market that the products are more aesthetic, functional and, in the long run, more cost effective," explained Kumar.

Quipped Naveen, "We have started promoting transparent, high barrier films that can go through metal detectors without any problems, unlike metallised PET or foil." Others include metallised PE to replace MET-PET and clear, high stiffness film for bags. Since it is able to offer equivalent barrier protection and is a more environmentally friendly alternative to PVC sheet, thermoformable PET sheet is also being promoted. He claimed that Skypack was the first Indian company to have had successfully developed thermoformable webs based on PETG, Barex and GAG. "Though these environmentally friendly, self heat sealable sheets are a novelty in the market, there have been no takers so far," lamented Naveen. "One reason cold is that the packaging machinery for processing these sheets requires modifications, which means additional costs. Unfortunately, most local packaging companies are not prepared to take the risks - if one company is willing to take the lead, the rest will eventually follow! It is just a matter of time before companies realize the benefits of our films," he opined.

Though comfortably ensconced in the medical / pharmaceutical sector, Skypack is expanding its horizons to food packaging. "Barrier films for prolonged product shelf life are catching up in India," said Kumar, adding that with its stack die design Rajoo's five layer blown film line allows the possibility of extending the number of layers to seven. Skypack has already supplied five layer barrier films for oils and is working with an OEM supplier on a specialist film for packing coffee.

Other projects include a sealable / peelable film with good hot tack and the ability to withstand steam sterilisation. This will be used in DuPont's Tyvek HDPE fiber protective material, which is commonly applied by the apparel, construction and medical industries.

"Processors should be ready to meet the challenges. We believe that with our technology in place and a stable production, we are ready," stated Kumar. Having chalked up a turnover of Rs.250 million last year, Kumar says the company is on track to staking its claim as one of the leading producers of packaging materials in India.

For further details please contact:

Khushboo Doshi
Head-Marcom
Phone: +91 2827 252701/2/3
Fax: +91 2827 252700
Email: info@rajoo.com
Website: www.rajoo.com