ITC Limited: “We follow the three-pronged approach of customer intimacy, operational excellence and product superiority”

The packaging business of ITC Limited has fortified its position in both cartons and flexibles, winning global acclaim for excellence. The Chennai plant which is capable of 3,000 MT per month conversion is leading the charge for a Swachh Bharat. A look at the production data sheet indicates that the packaging giant has pioneered efforts to be carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive for the year under review. ITC’s commitment is remarkable given the spread, scale, and e

20 Dec 2016 | By Priya Raju

R Senguttuvan, chief executive, ITC Limited - Packaging and Printing Division

PrintWeek India (PWI): What does the Green Printing Company of the Year 2016 Award mean to you?
R Senguttuvan (RS): The Green Printing Company of the Year Award, we believe is the outcome of efforts that we have put in over the years. Our performance on sustainability is unmatched by any of our peers in the industries that we operate in. ITC’s triple bottom approach is the guiding force behind our efforts. This award gives us immense pleasure and further motivation to move forward with greater zeal. ITC today is an exemplar in sustainability practices, a fact that is manifest in its status of it being the only company in the world of comparable dimensions to be carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive for many years.

PWI: What's the one thing about ITC Limited - Packaging and Printing Division that very few people know?
RS: Few people know that we are the largest player in the folding cartons industry; that our Chennai plant is one of the largest integrated packaging manufacturing units in this part of the world; that the said unit is completely powered by wind energy; that the packaging solutions that we provide spans across platforms of folding cartons, tobacco packaging and flexibles (including labels), and finally that we have bagged the highest number of Awards for packaging in international platforms over the last few years. Plus, our company is constantly expanding its renewable energy portfolio. 47% of ITC's energy consumption is met from renewable sources and this is expected to touch 50% by 2020.

ITC Limited - Packaging and Printing Division (Chennai)

PWI: What advice would you give to a firm that wants to become like ITC Limited - Packaging and Printing Division?
RS: Focus on customers and deliver value. Align your competencies to provide customer satisfaction.

PWI: What's the best compliment you've ever received from a customer?
RS: One of the best one would be that the innovations that we deliver are unsurpassed. That we live by our vision to become the most preferred supplier and key marketing partner for all our customer and our mission towards continuously delivering competitively superior solutions of our customers' packaging needs.

PWI: One thing our industry can do to cater to the new opportunities and the new market sectors?
RS: Each firm has its own strategy, we put customers first. Today, we are servicing customers across agriculture business to electronics and each segment and customer has unique requirements. Our philosophy for delivering value is a three-pronged approach of customer intimacy, operational excellence and product superiority.

PWI: What's keeping you busy at ITC Limited - Packaging and Printing Division these days?
RS: We continuously invest in new technology, the latest offering from us in on flexo printed corrugated cartons with in-line die-cutting for a wide spectrum of end markets including fresh fruits, display cartons, shoe boxes, etc. Apart from this, to keep pace with the market demand for the boxes for smartphones we have also invested in a state of the art rigid box lines.