Vasai’s Fancy Pack shifts to automation with Maxima

Fancy Pack is a packaging converter company which caters to stationery, FMCG and pharma industries. It was started in 1996 by the name Funpack which used to print promotional posters for the movie industry. But with the advent of wide-format digital promotion, Saurabh Shah, owner of Fancy Pack, forayed into the packaging business.

The packaging jobs undertaken at Fancy Pack focus on cartons. This includes jobs with value addition like aqueous, UV, screen, drip-off and Braille jobs. Fancy Pack produces jobs for the stationery industry.

Some of the clients include Flair, Cello, and Milton. Since the last two years, the focus has shifted towards the pharmaceutical and FMCG packaging.

Fancy Pack has an in-house pre-press unit, two Heidelberg printing units, two Polar cutting machines, an Acme crash lock bottom carton pasting machine along with a Maxima, plus two manual die-cutting machines.

Shah, said, “We provide total packaging solutions under one roof. None of the jobs are being outsourced. This results in shorter turnaround time.”

Prior to investing in a Maxima, all the die-cutting operations were being rendered manually. Earlier Fancy Pack had five manual machines. Now it has eliminated three manual machines after the investment in Maxima. The sheet conversion rate has increased by 5000 sheets/day.

“The decision to shift to Maxima from a manual process was due to the intricate window lamination jobs of the writing industry. It becomes very difficult to die-cut laminated window sheets manually.” Shah’s mantra is: Humans follow time-consuming processes, automation speedens the decisions.

The Maxima EXB35 runs at an average speed of 5000 sph and for lamination jobs it is 4000 sph.

“It is better to invest in a new machine, rather invest in a high-grade refurbished machine, when there is hardly any difference in the cost. Refurbished always comes with the vexed issues of downtime and maintenance,” added Shah.

Shah spent time at packaging plants and got a first-hand machine demo. Also, he visited Excel’s Ahmedabad manufacturing facility before inking the deal. Shah stressed, “The USP of the machine is in its ease of operation plus the requirements of a carton job are fulfilled by the Maxima.”

Shah expects to achieve the breakeven in the next two-three years. His factory is “in a mode of continuous improvement with a plan for future investments in inspection and getting the unit under ISO standards.”