An unwary first-time visitor to Bobst India may be forgiven for thinking that the company manufactures liquor: the reception area showcases a range of whisky cartons. No, the plant doesn’t produce alcoholic beverages – nor does it manufacture the cartons. What it does make are the machines that make the cartons. “It’s a big business,” grins Upendra Deglurkar, president and local entity head. “The box is complicated to make – and it needs to be rolled off with not only high precision and with printing accuracy, but also at high speed because the numbers are so huge.” Ergo, it’s only Bobst machines that are used for cigarette packs and cartons, as well as a range of other mass-production items from toothpastes to pharmaceutical products.
The Indian operation, which began in 1996 – the 105th year of its CHF1.33 billion (€1.22 billion) parent’s existence – could only sell refurbished second-hand machines during the initial years. “Those were the rules at the time; and the state of the packaging industry in the country was also only that advanced,” Deglurkar explains. In 2004, however, it started ‘a little manufacturing’ – mainly assembling CKD and SKD machinery, painting it and doing a bit of localisation; six years later, it was ready to make one line of machines.
By the time Deglurkar joined to take over the company in 2012, it was producing 70-80 machines a year, and was selling about 25 per cent of these in India. The rest were exported, to a number of countries including China.“I decided to develop local R&D for one speciality machine line,” he says. “When I proposed this at the Lausanne headquarters, there was only disbelief: how, my directors asked, could a country like India make a Bobst machine?” But he persisted, and succeeded – the entire machine, except for the electronic brain that needs to be imported because it is a proprietary software, is now made at the plant at Pirangut near Pune.
“We now produce an average of 100 machines a year, including other families like carton folders, counters and stackers,” he says. “But our 25:75 ratio of domestic to export market is still the same, surprisingly!” Turnover has grown from Rs100 crore to Rs270 crore while the number of people has also trebled from 100 to 300. Today, Bobst has a population of 1,200 machines all over the country, some of them manufactured as long ago as 1962 – but still running three shifts. “They are real workhorses!” he adds.
Our 125 years of history stand as a reminder that Bobst could never have come so far without the motivated and passionate people who drive its success
It is, Deglurkar says, ‘a good feeling’ that the machines his Bobst makes are so good and reliable that they don’t have too much competition. Of course, he admits, they are also expensive. But as one of his big customers, Harish Madan, promoter & director, Securipax Packaging, based in Roorkee and Noida, points out: “Perfection doesn’t come cheap!”
Kirit Modi, chairman & managing director of the Mumbai-headquartered Horizon Packs – which has a national footprint,with plants in 11 locations from Solan in Himachal Pradesh to Poothurai in Tamil Nadu and Daman to Kolkata – talks of the changing trends in the corrugated box industry which have resulted in rapid automation of both his and his customers’ packaging lines. “The fruit and vegetable market is also opening up, with colour printed cartons,” he says. “Modern retail has made a splash in the market necessitating attractive packaging.”
The Swedish parent, which was started in 1895 by Joseph Bobst, is now in the sixth generation, with Jean-Pascal Bobst at its head. The company employs 4,800 people in its production sites on three continents and a network of sales and services offices spanning over 50 countries. In 2015, as much as 52 per cent of all packaging sold worldwide was made using its machines. With 1,350 patents registered, “innovation is in the company’s DNA and stands at the core of its strategy,” the CEO says in a special 125th anniversary publication. “Our 125 years of history stand as a reminder that Bobst could never have come so far without the motivated and passionate people who drive its success.”
And so, on 23 March 2016, group employees around the world got together to hail their company’s anniversary. The local entities organised a series of celebrations for 24 hours, beginning in Japan and ending in Mexico. Bobst marches on.
(This article is reproduced from Business India magazine. It first appeared in our issue dated September 12-25, 2016)