Drivers of packaging industry in India

The spending on the packed foods in India is still low when compared with other countries of the world. But this trend in increasing as there is demand for packed foods due to rapid urbanization, increase in disposable income and growth in young working population. The annual growth is in region of 13 – 15 % which is expected to take the packing industry of India to 32 billion dollars in the next four to five years.

Private and public sectors are working together to create at least 30 food parks. These parks will encourage the growth of packing industry, related infrastructure, packing transport and refrigeration facilities. The boost from establishing food parks will see an investment of around 25 billion $ in next few years in the food packing industry.

The increase in middle class population of India and its rising disposable income will push the growth of packing industry into north ward direction.  The total value of world packing industry is around 550 billion $. The share of India in the world packing industry is of around 16 billion $, which  is bound to increase with the changing lifestyle in India in coming years.

Within India also packing industry is not just confided to packing food and related items, it also packs drugs, medicines, fruits juices, spices, electronic items. The packing industry spans many other industries also. The growth of e commerce industry will further give big boost to the packing industry, as the quality packing will be one of the marketing strengths of the e commerce companies.

Today, the packing industry Robopac India in India is highly segmented and most of the industry is dominated by small and medium companies.   The suppliers of machines, raw materials and related services are all fragmented into small companies. In future , the growth will encourage some big companies to merger small companies and create space for more production in packing materials , and increase scale by using latest technology with reduce manpower in various stages of the processing and packing .

The marketing agencies have highlighted the problems faced by the small and medium companies. Almost all of them suffer from high cost of   raw material, lack of adequate credit for expansion, lack of regular power supply, unskilled manpower and lack of proper training to market the brand and streamline the distribution system. But the preferences and expectations of the customers are Carton Wrapping Machine increasing, which is making packing more attractive, stylish, and easy to open and use of finest raw material to preserve the freshness of the material or foods items inside.

Packing types and machinery used in packing

Packing can be of different kinds. The type of packing used depends on the need and distance which a product has to travel before reaching the customers. The products which are directly sold to customers are packed in easy to open packing. These products go directly to retailers from manufacturers. The packing for shipping containers is different. It has to pass through different agents, distributors and wholesalers before reaching the customers.  The packing is done in such a way that it keeps products safe and protects them from any abrasion during the journey.

Also, the packing can be mentioned in relation to the products that are being packed.  the medical packing , food packing , chemical packing ,  over the counter medicine packing and material packing are some example of the packing . The material used in these packing can be different.

Packing can also be categorized by its layers or function. Two type of packing come in this category that is primary and secondary.   In primary packing, only one material is used to wrap the product and hold it .this is the packing, which is in direct contact with the contents or product.

Secondary packing is Carton Wrapping Machine used over the primary packing and also is used to hold several products with primary packing together. Then, for shipping and transportation, the secondary packing can be put into tertiary packing for better protection.

Two widely used packing or wrapping machines types are –

Flow wrapping machine –The horizontal machine, which is fully automatic can pack number of solid products of all sizes and shapes with films and laminates. The machine can pack at least 7000 products per hour, but the packing speed of the machine and products also depends on the size and shape of the products.    The speed of the machine is controlled by AC motor. The products like box wrapping Machine  chocolates, biscuits, surgical products, cells, bandages and gums etc can be easily packed by the machine.

Four side wrapping machine – The fully automatic machine can pack solid products in punches with hermetic seal on four sides. The machine is capable of packing up to 4000 packs in an hour.  The machine is controlled by the AC motor. All type of heat sealable laminations and films can be used with the machine. The machine is suitable for product like syringes, sterile products, medical disposal able items such as gloves etc. The frequency of the machine can be controlled when packing different sizes products.

Different types of stretch & pallet wrapping machines

Wrapping machine is used to wrap a product or an item for better packing by stretching the wrapper around the product. The use of these machines save lot in terms of labor in attaching , pressing and  packing the products .For different types of packing , different  machines are used . Some of the widely used wrapping machines are;

Shrink wrapping Stretch Wrap Machine comes in automatic and semi automatic versions. The machine seals and shrinks in one direction. And the machine can take all types of sizes and shapes without any problem. Since, machine is automatic in operations; only one operator is needed to operate the machine. The operator can see wrapping process visually to make sure that process is going smoothly. The cost of operations of the machine is very low, as the consumption of electricity is very low. The shrinking temperature can be controlled thermostatically.

This machine is used for stretching the wrapper for power applications.  The machine is capable of wrapping both palletized and non palletized loads. Stretch films can be used with this machine. The biggest advantage of the machine is that it gives controlled wrapping removing any influences of environment like dust, dirt or moisture and also provided protection from ultra violet rays. The automatic version of machine adjusts the height of the package or pallets automatically. However, if need arises, the operator can turn the table manually. The machine automatically uses the preset number of wrappers on the products.. It is very easy to use the machine, the operator just has to attach the film to the load and start the wrapping cycle. The different wrapping needs can be programmed in the machine.  Stretch is even on the surface of the product.

Pallet stretch wrapping Pallet Wrap Machine  is made to stretch and wrap a film around a pallet load. The film is used to provide extra support to the load during transportation and also gives protection from any damage on the way to destination. This machine is used in chemical, electronics, home appliances and building material industry.  The machines have automatic height adjustment sensors and can wrap in one direction. The over top gives more wrap on the top of the load. The maintenance cost of the machine is very low.

These machines provide safety in wrapping, it also saves lot of labor used in wrapping about pallets loads .the smooth and balanced wrapping is other benefits. The most important, it saves lot of time wrapping.