Udaipur’s Miraj invests Rs 18 crore in packaging expansion

During the inauguration of its packaging printing production plant in 2013, KG Sharma, director of Udaipur-based Miraj Multicolor, had shared with PrintWeek India that within a year or two, the company would expand its print production scale and would add more equipment.

21 Dec 2015 | By Rahul Kumar

True to the plan, the company recently invested in multiple equipment, including Esko’s ArtiosCAD software and Kongsberg XE10 sample table, a five-colour Heidelberg CD 102 LX 3 UV printing press and a Bobst Nova Cut 106E die-cutter and Bobst Vision Fold folder-gluer.

“We realised the need for expansion and investment in more equipment at the time of the inauguration of our packaging print production facility two years ago,” said Sharma.

Miraj Multicolor, established in 2001, belongs to the Miraj Group. The company has its presence in manufacturing, exporting and supplying school and office paper stationery products, among others.

Madan Paliwal, chairman of the group, said, “We started our print production with Heidelberg and Bobst. So, both are tried and tested products, and we did not have doubt in repeating the order. Only Esko is new for us. We found the Kongsberg XE10 table to be the most precise sample table with excellent precision, ease of use, speed and versatility. We already can feel a lot of difference in our production controls through the implementation of CAD software.”

Paliwal added that the company invested Rs 18 crore in 2015.

The Miraj Group is active in tobacco, FMCG, real estate, hospitality, and stationery manufacturing and packaging printing. Miraj Multicolor is based in Sukher Industrial Area, around the Aravali Hills of Udaipur, the city of lake.

Looking at the bigger picture, the annual turnover of the Indian packaging industry will touch USD 32 billion by 2025, from the present USD 24.6 billion. Globally, the total turnover of packaging industry is about USD 550 billion and the Indian share is about USD 24.6 billion per annum. The industry is growing at 15% annually.

Sharma explained that the company had to expand its production capacity for two reasons. “One, the overall packaging printing demand is growing in the country and we are the only facility in the vicinity with huge capacity and latest technology and equipment. Second, we have to produce cartons and boxes for our in-house production,” he said.

He is confident that Miraj will achieve 100% growth after the new investments. “We are also planning to buy another Heidelberg in 2016 and the configuration is likely to be Heidelberg CD 102+7 LX 3 UV,” he said.

An ISO 9001:2008 certified company, Miraj has also applied for BRC and ISO 22000. The company has a workforce of more than 250 people, and it converts around 70 tonnes of paper and paperboard, and consumes 150 kg printing ink and around 40 printing plates daily.