Established in 1991, Worth Peripherals is a family-owned corrugated packaging manufacturer based in the Madhya Pradesh State of central India. In its early years, the company focused on the production of corrugated packaging for soap, detergents and other consumer goods in a factory on the outskirts of Indore. In 1997, the company opened a second, larger plant opposite the original plant and a third factory was opened in Indore in 2005, equipped with an Indian-made corrugator.
“In 2012, we opened another new factory. As a result of the bigger site, we closed the first two factories and sold off the equipment. Today, we have two decent sized plants,” explains Raminder Chadha, CEO of Worth Peripherals. “We have scaled down the plant we built in 2005 and convert board there, which is supplied by our main plant. We focus on the production of fitments and partitions at that site now.”
In 2017, Worth Peripherals went for an IPO and became listed on the NSE Platform. Today, the family owns 75% of the equity, the remaining 25% is traded on the NSE Stock Market.
High Standards
Accredited to ISO 9001 and other certifications, Worth Peripherals is proud of its hard-earned reputation for high quality corrugated packaging. The company has been awarded ‘Best Packaging Partner’ on numerous occasions by many of the leading FMCG customers, primarily in recognition of the company’s product quality, consistency, reliability and services.
Many of the FMCG customers focus on the manufacturing of personal care items, shampoo and home care products, along with confectionary, other foodstuffs and beverages (such as beer and soft drinks). Worth Peripherals also serves the chemical, pharmaceutical, agriculture and hardware industries. With India’s buoyant economy supporting the growing demand for a wide range of consumer goods, the company is considering a number of expansion options to handle projected future demand.
Market Coverage
Worth Peripherals uses its production base in central India to cover a wide geographical area. Most customers supplied with corrugated sheets and boxes lie within a 600 km radius of the plant. Chadha explains, “We have our own fleet of trucks to serve our customers better with ‘Just In Time’ deliveries.”
The company’s main plant is located on an eight acre site, where factory and warehouse facilities occupy 180,000 sq ft of space. The facility runs a 1.8m Hsieh Hsu double wall corrugator, which has been upgraded to run at 250m per min. The plant is also equipped with flexo printer slotters with RDCs and folder gluers, made in Japan and Taiwan. Working a two shift, 16 hour day, the company produces an average of 3,200 metric tons of board per month.
European Standards
But what sets Worth Peripherals apart from the competition is its choice of high quality European flexo folder gluers. Recently, the company completed installation of an EMBA 245 QS Ultima, a six-colour flexo folder gluer with the DualBox™ feature to meet growing customer demand for high quality packaging. The machine is one of the first of its type to be installed in India with DualBox™ functionality. The purchase was made to assist the company retain its position as a leading supplier of high quality printed packaging to the fast growing Indian corrugated packaging market.
EMBA 245QS Ultima.
“This is one of the first twenty models of this machine to be installed worldwide,” says Chadha. “We were the first company in India to have installed the EMBA 175 QS Ultima in 2015 and we subsequently upgraded it to run six colours with rotary die-cut unit in 2017. Our aim has always been to make this plant the best facility in India, as far as flexo printing is concerned. We are now close to achieving this, following the addition of the new 245 QS Ultima.”
EMBA 175 QS Ultima, which was installed in 2015.
Both 175 QS Ultima and 245 QS Ultima are equipped with EMBA Liquid Creaser™ to ensure production of perfectly square boxes. More and more Indian companies are employing greater levels of automation in their warehouses and other storage facilities, making the demand for perfectly formed boxes a necessity.
“With TwinFeed and DualBox technology, we are able to double up the production capacity while running small boxes at normal speed, yet always ensuring the print quality. We are able to supply perfect high quality printed boxes that will be run on automatic case erectors that require perfectly square boxes to ensure maximum packing productivity,” explains Chadha. “There is a shortage of skilled manpower in India, so our customers are starting to use case erectors and fillers a lot more. Many customers have already shifted to auto-case packing all over India.”
Damage to box blanks during warehouse storage and general freight transport conditions across India are other factors that have resulted in customers demanding higher quality boxes. “All our customers are concerned about case compression. Because of reduced space in many end-user warehouses, blank stacking is getting higher and higher by the day,” adds Chadha. “Poor road infrastructure conditions in many parts of India also subjects the corrugated packaging to additional stress during the delivery process.”
Zero Crush
Having good experience with the Ultima platform, Chadha noted that the EMBA vacuum transport system ensures virtually zero crush and prevents caliper loss. “Thanks to the zero crush characteristics of the Ultima, we can ensure better quality boxes,” continues Chadha. “That’s also a benefit to those customers who want a sustainable approach to packaging.”
Worth Peripherals is already seeing a long term shift among customers who are switching from doublewall board to singlewall boxes. Around 20% of the company’s boxes are currently made using doublewall board while 80% are singlewall – a proportion that continues to rise. “We’re starting to use a better grade of locally produced paper,” he explains.
With the 175 QS Ultima and the recently installed 245 QS Ultima, the company is ready for expansion. “We hope to increase output to 4,500 metric tons per month in the near future. Adding the 245 QS Ultima with DualBox feature should allow us to hit that level quite soon,” says Chadha.
Expansion Plans
Worth Peripherals has also started a successful partnership with Yash Papers, which is based in Vapi in Western India. “We are continuing to expand our horizons further with a Pan Indian presence,” adds Chadha. “The active involvement of my son, Jayvir, who represents the next generation of the family in the business, further accelerates the company’s growth – he is overseeing all the expansion plans in his capacity as a Director.”
Chadha concludes, “Other equipment purchases are also under consideration at this time. We want to install some pre-press equipment such as plate mounting systems as well as pre-feeders and palletisers for the converting lines.”
“With a Quick Anilox Change feature on the Ultimas, we are confident of producing boxes with High Graphics,” adds Chadha. “Supermarkets are leading this trend, as they want shelf ready boxes for display. Chilled and frozen food is also growing in India and demand for corrugated will increase because of that, particularly for dairy, meat and poultry products. Corrugated capacity in India is increasing faster than demand, but with the latest generation of machines and a better set up, we are confident we have a bright future.
Quick Anilox Change feature on the Ultima.
