Pioneer gets its second Bobst flexo folder-gluer

Kolkata-based Pioneer Packaging Industries, one of the oldest corrugation plants in India, has installed Pioneer has installed a Bobst FFG 8.20 Discovery. The machine was installed last year.

04 Apr 2022 | By Rahul Kumar

Upendra Deglurkar of Bobst with Ram Gopal Agarwala, Dinesh Kumar Agarwala and Nandkishore Agarwala from Pioneer Packaging Industries at their plant in Kolkata

This is the company’s second Bobst machine. The company installed its first Bobst FFG 8.20 Discovery at the end of 2018. It was the first inline flexo folder-gluer in Eastern India. 

With an automatic board and two inline, Bobst 8.20 FFG machines, along with state-of-the-art conveying system, Pioneer Packaging has a converting capacity of 60,000 MT/annum. 

Ram Gopal Agarwala, chairman and managing director, Pioneer Packaging, said, “Before investing in the machine, we evaluated a few machines from the far east and more. We also had a look at the Bobst machines at 2-3 locations until we were convinced that a Bobst machine was the one which could adequately resolve our production shortcomings. Soon, we required another machine to fulfil further increase in requirements and demands and we did not think of any other machine.”

Pioneer is the key supplier to a large number of multinational companies and meets the requirements of quality corrugated boxes in industries like FMCG, food and beverages, eCommerce and many more. The RSC boxes produced on FFG 8.20 Discovery are as per global standards, and performs on auto erecting lines without any complaints. Pioneer considers this a big advantage to meet the expectations of their customers. 

The production of the rapidly growing company was approximately 30-million sqm in 2019, 43-million sqm in 2020 and 50-million sqm in 2021. This company is aiming for higher numbers in 2022.

With 50 years of experience of manufacturing quality corrugated boxes, printed or unprinted and equipped with the latest advanced equipment and machinery, the company is all set to take their production to the next level.

Agarwala said, “We feel that eCommerce is booming post pandemic during the market recovery phase. Therefore, corrugation in India has a lot of scope going ahead to take India from a two-trillion to a five-trillion economy,” 

Dinesh Kumar Agarwala, director of Pioneer Packaging Industries added, “The machine was very attractive in terms of output. Since we already had jobs being churned out of the Discovery 8.20 flexo folder-gluer, we felt we needed to boost our production capabilities so that when the orders come we can produce up to the max potential and service all of them.” 

He added, “The machines are easy to operate and Bobst supports us in terms of operator training.”