The maestro who the industry icons admire

Talib Ebrahim Balasinorwala (Talib bhai) got into the punching business by associating with his uncle Abbas bhai in 1970. When he began, his uncle owned four to five platen punching machines, which weren’t available in the island city and the neighbouring suburbs. Work came to them from the nooks and corners of the city, as printers in those days didn’t own die-cutting and punching machines, and all the work was outsourced. Abbas bhai and Talib bhai’s firm, Paper Packs & Prints, would undertake these jobs on a contractual basis.

Talib bhai learnt and mastered the art under his uncle’s tutelage, whom he credits for his tech-achievements and goodwill that he has created over the decades. When Abbas bhai passed away in 1980, the onus was on Talib bhai to take the business forward, and that is exactly what he did.

In 1981, Talib bhai took over the reins of the business and drove it forward. When he took over the business, he had about 10 to 12 punching machines. Since the printing industry wasn’t as high-tech as it is today, and it also didn’t function with the factory shop floors of the 21st century, Talib bhai was the problem-solver for all types of punching jobs.

50-year partnership with Parksons
Talib bhai has been associated with Parksons Packaging since 1972. Yusuf Talib Balasinorwala, 42, son of Talib bhai, says that the Parksons family knows Talib bhai and considers him to be a family member. A modest Talib bhai mentions that he has been associated with Parksons since the time his uncle was handling the business. And he continued the journey on the same path.

Talib bhai says that he had a lot of work when he took charge of the business. Initially, there were no tempo or truck services, and goods were transported with the help of haath gaadi (hand carts). Talib bhai says, “Those days, transportation with hand carts was cheaper. As the industry grew, printers wanted to reduce costs, and transportation of materials for punching and embossing was an added cost. Printers in those days were canvassers for whom Talib bhai would do the job as and when required. Printers started acquiring punching and embossing machines to reduce costs, which reduced Talib bhai’s work.

Yusuf recalls an incident where Talib bhai was contacted by Ramesh Kejriwal, chairman and managing director, Parksons Packaging. When Talib bhai met Kejriwal, the vexed issue of punching popped up; Talib bhai was offered the punching job on a contract basis.

Talib bhai took up the offer and started punching for Parksons. The first Parksons plant was in Daman, and the second Parksons plant was set up in Chakan. The punching was handled by Talib bhai. Also, he handled the playing cards business in Daman. These contracts helped Talib bhai survive and thrive in the industry.

Kejriwal spoke with warmth about the five-decade relationship of Parksons Packaging with Paper Packs & Prints. “It has been a learning experience to see his sincerity and hard work towards each and every packaging job.” When Parksons Packaging started its journey at Daman in August 1996, Talib bhai was handling the die-cutting and pasting jobs, being run on hand platen punching machines and an Indian Acme glueing machine. He continued working with Parksons at Daman and even at the Chakan facility.

Punching above his weight
All the industry a-listers whom we interacted with, from Faheem Agboatwala, managing director, Hi-Tech Printing Services, Mumbai, to Saifee Makasarwala, chief operating officer of Silverpoint Press, one theme resonates. No matter how challenging the job is, Talib bhai would take it up and deliver above the expectations of his clients.

Talib bhai, in his prime, has been a one-man army. He used to travel from Mumbra to Worli. During the weekends, he carried all the extra work to his home. He was the perfect man to get the job done, even for those who wanted to enter the packaging industry; he was a mentor and tech guru.

Talib bhai says, “I managed the entire business for several years.” When asked what the driving force was, he says, “Allah ki den hai (It’s all God’s will).” He mentioned that his reputation exists only because of his service. He shares, “When I had to meet deadlines, I would work late nights, round-the-clock, to get the work done.”

Iqbal Kherodawala, managing director, Printline Reproductions, Mumbai, has worked with Talib bhai on innumerable projects. Diving deep into his memory bank, he says, “The words indomitable and indefatigable were made for Talib bhai. In his unit, he was omnipresent, and such was his energy that you would see him on one machine, and then like a superhero, he would materialise on another.”

The man who never misses a deadline
Talib bhai has a reputation for never missing deadlines, and he is very proud of his achievement. He has also made labour more democratic and knows that most of the young ones who come to him for a punching job are ignorant about the nuts and bolts. He is so dedicated to this trade that he advises on the correct grain, arranges for the dies, and gets the pasting done, with a crash course on the nitty gritty of punching.

Talib bhai mentions that earlier technicians used to take up challenges, but that is not the case anymore. Today pundits who sit in ivory towers think the production process for each job can be run by an algorithm, Talib bhai celebrates the genius of common sense. He believes in the mantra of doing the ordinary things in the factory. His aim: to keep the lines of clients running. He says, “Ultimately, the work should be constantly moving, and we should be optimising output.”

Yusuf forays into the business
When Yusuf enrolled into college, he started assisting his father and started a lamination line in order to take the family business forward. In 2012, the father-son duo expanded their business into cold-press glue in partnership with Faheem Agboatwala, managing director, Hi-Tech Printing Services, Mumbai. Yusuf was just fresh out of college, and under the guidance of Agboatwala, they collaborated with an organisation in Hyderabad to produce cold seal packaging.

A proud father (Talib bhai) with his son (Yusuf Talib Balasinorwala) 

Agboatwala acquired the technology, and they worked together for seven years till an MNC set up shop in India and the business suffered a dent. The father-son duo then invested in the business of rigid boxes. According to Yusuf, the idea was suggested by a well-wisher. The family has been in the rigid boxes business for 13 years. Agboatwala reminisces about how Talib bhai used to run the business. He is completely hands-on. If there are two things to learn from Talib bhai, it is: humility and hard work.”

Year-on-year, Paper Packs & Prints has cemented its place in the business, and now they are reasonably satisfied. Their USP with rigid boxes is punching. Taking his father’s legacy forward, Yusuf has also started working on packaging concepts. During our interaction, he showed a few prototypes of packaging design and new structures that he has developed along with some of his clients.

Technical know-how is the key
Today, the industry has undergone a massive transformation, but Talib bhai has stayed abreast with the transformation and thrived by taking up new challenges. He has never thought of doing anything else, and he has dedicated his entire life to his trade, which is his life’s goal.

Khushru Patel, managing director, Jak Printers, says that he loves Talib bhai unconditionally. Patel states, “Talib bhai deserves a page in Jak history. Once upon a time, for about a decade, he was our backbone. His dynamism inspired us to excel and grow in our lives.”

Today, Yusuf has taken over the mantle from his father, whom he loves and idolises. 90% of the current business comes from rigid boxes, and Yusuf is working towards establishing the packaging-concept business at scale.

Talib bhai believes that if one door shuts, hundreds of windows open. He never lost faith, even when the business was on the decline; his perseverance helped him survive the challenges and take his business forward. He says, “Hume haathi banke ganna nahi chabana, hume cheeti banke shakar khaana hai (We don’t want to be elephants chewing on sugarcane, we want to be ants feasting on sugar).”

Talib bhai’s expertise and his appreciation by his many long-standing collaborators prove the mettle of the man. His spirit of hard work is what makes him so special, and it is the reason for his success. Plus, his spirit is that everyone must get the best solutions, and he does everything possible to develop them. This is Talib bhai’s DNA.

Long live the legacy of the king of punching.