FLEXIBLE PACKAGING
z Dussehra Open House for 500 meters a minute Flexo Master press
Echaar builds CI Flexo presses for all Indian segments
Naresh Khanna
He recounts his company ’ s installation of its first CI Flexo press , the Flexodelight model rated at 400 meters a minute at Kalyani Packaging in Kolkata in April this year . Panchal tells me over the phone , “ We were new to the industry three years ago and we have now understood quite a bit about the Indian flexible packaging market and the needs and perceptions of our potential customers .”
He explains , “ Our Flexodelight CI press has quite a bit of automation and is entirely suitable for the bigger flexible packaging converters in milk and other FMCG food products for the large Indian and global brand owners .”
Echaar started development of its new Model Flexosmart HR 300 CI press about six months ago and are currently building it in their Ambernath plant . Based on their understanding of the Indian market , the company feels there is a large potential market for the small to medium flexible packaging converters . The Flexosmart is designed to control costs by first of all doing away with very high automation but there is no compromise in print quality , or the mechanical engineering and quality .
The Flexosmart CI is particularly optimized as a versatile 1-meter-wide press that can handle milk and edible oil pouches in three-ups and most other laminate jobs . It is also economical when printing narrower webs . Although Echaar is offering an 850 mm wide CI Flexo press as well , Panchal says the one meter wide is a more versatile width .
Kirti Panchal , the managing director of Echaar and the person behind the engineering of the CI Flexo project , talks about the company ’ s experience in building CI Flexo presses over the last several years .
Top : The FlexoMaster HR 500 in final assembly on the Echaar shop floor at Ambernath
Top right : Kalyani Packaging Kolkata ’ s commercial production output on the Echaar Flexodelight CI flexo press running at 400 meters a minute
22 Packaging South Asia 5 October 2021