Made in India: Folder-gluers from Boxtech Bangalore

A folder-gluer is a technology-driven machine, and Boxtech Bangalore has always strived hard to stay in the race. According to Ananth Nayak, founder, Boxtech, the company’s technology is completely indigenous and structurally designed to suit the customer requirements. The company also manufactures tailor-made products after understanding the customer requirement and floor space availability.

Established in 2000 by Nayak, Boxtech has installed more than 610 machines by the end of 2021. Nayak says it all started in a 700-sqft rented workshop near Peenya Industrial Area in Bengaluru with a clear vision to give a better folder-gluer to the industry. By the next year, however, it managed to sell only four machines. So, to survive in the industry, the company started making machines for different suppliers in different brand names, besides offering services. It continued until 2004.

However, as the years passed, Boxtech machines started to gain prominence, often by the name – Nayak ji ka machine.

Soon, Nayak was joined by his son, Ajay, to support him at the firm. In 2008, the facility shifted to a bigger space in the industrial area in Peenya. In 2014, Boxtech had its own 3,000-sqft factory.

Today, Boxtech has a 25,000-sqft area and operates from two locations — Peenya and DabaspetAverahalli Industrial Area. The Dabaspet unit has a dedicated assembly shop with a 12,000-sqft area and supports in-house fabrication. Starting with just three people in 2000, the company has 36 people and is growing.

The machine
Boxtech launched the Velocity model in 2012 with a line speed of 200-m/min. The machine was made heavy duty, with rigid laser cut steel frames and timer belt drives. In a few years, it was upgraded with a line speed of 250-m/min.
In 2005, the company launched a new structurally designed model, Ecomatic, a portmanteau of economical and automatic, with a line speed of 100-m/min. “We have more than 400 Ecomatic machines in India. Today, this model is upgraded with a line speed of 180m/min,” Nayak says.

In 2018, Velocity Plus was launched with a dedicated pre-folding unit and a dedicated lock-bottom unit.

He adds that the Boxtech team is now working on another advanced  folder-gluer to suit the new customer requirements, with advanced features in focus.

According to Nayak, the machines are aimed at converters who are in carton manufacturing, packaging and post-press activities. “We offer the Ecomatic model to businesses planning to get into packaging and post-press for small scale carton manufacturing. The upgraded Velocity series is for high-end production and smooth operation,” he explains. 

He adds, “Today the Velocity models come with a line speed of 250-m/min. We are on the verge of making it to 300-m/min. This will be a made in India product to contest with the imported brands. This variant is for smart investors, as it is being designed considering less investment with quick ROI.”

The company also offers custom-made products. “We were approached by a customer for a specific low-height disproportionate carton a few years ago, as it was a challenging carton for other imported machines at the customer’s facility. We are happy that today the customer uses the Velocity model for this specific carton with good production output,” he says.

Customer-centric
Nayak says it is important to purchase a machine considering the current as well as future requirements. For example, the Ecomatic model and the Velocity model need the same manpower. But in Velocity, there is an increase in productivity. In this, a buyer can invest a little more for better output with the same manpower.

“We have a very good after-sales support team. However, our machines are designed understanding the customer’s requirement, low power consumption, less floor area (compact design) and generic spares. Most of the spares are available in the local market and are replaced immediately in case of a breakdown due to wear and tear. This saves a lot of time and money for the end-user,” he says.

Besides India, the company has installed its machines in Nairobi, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Angola, Tanzania, and UAE. “In this pandemic year, we faced the newer challenges, and installed a Velocity Plus model with the collector machine at Smart Printers in Kenya. There are plans to extend our product and services in European market with standard and certifications soon as well,” he says.

Some of its Indian customers include RK Print O Pack in Faridabad; Oscar Offset in Karnal; MedilinePackagings in Karnal; Print Cluster in Bengaluru; Vishwakala Printers in Bengaluru; Tholasi Printers in Bengaluru, Tacho Graphics in Ahmedabad; Astron Packaging in Ahmedabad, and Suraj Printers in Ahmedabad, among others.

According to Nayak, while choosing a folder-gluer, customers usually look for quality and output of the machine, accuracy and finish of the end product, aftermarket service support and repair and replacement cost for spares. 

The USP
Nayak says Boxtech can cater to all types of customers. It has the Ecomatic for entry-level or customers looking for small-scale job works, and the Velocity for higher productivity. “Smart customers choose our machines for good productivity and in-house production, aiming at quality, accuracy and finish of the output. We are known for our genuine aftermarket support and spare part cost,” he says. 

He adds that the Boxtech machines are designed considering the end-user requirement in mind. Some of the salient features include ease of use, turnover time between short-run jobs, quick setup time, better flexibility, upgradeable for additional accessories, and so on.

“We, at Boxtech, always try to provide the best product with proven design and after-sales service. We use quality materials in manufacturing. We have a team of in-house designers and quality control. We always try to do the most challenging cartons on the machine which other manufacturers cannot do or will not be able to achieve,” he says.

He adds that the company has also designed a carton collector machine. The advantage of this machine is that it can be attached to a folder-gluer of any brand to reduce manpower.

The company also offers basic training to operators at its factory on how to overcome the challenges they are facing in different cartons, methods of changing the belts and basic maintenance of the machines.

Boxtech has service teams in Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. It offers four service visits free of cost for the first year. Nayak says he has seen tremendous growth in the packaging industry in the past two years.

“The corrugation industry is also growing at a very rapid pace. Every new industry has sufficient workload,” he says. “Now, are we are working on new and advanced folder-gluers to cater to the corrugation sector.”