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Conveying Systems: No Longer a Luxury
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A Knowledgeable and Reliable Partner
Q. What was the single most reason for you to take the plunge into a business based on bioplastics / biopolymers?
I believe we have borrowed our planet from our next generations and we have obligations to hand over to them this Mother Earth in a better shape than we have received it - sustainable materials is one of the solutions which we can offer and, hence, I believe biopolymers play a key role in this segment.
After spending a decade and a half outside India, I believe it is time to pay back Mother India what we owe to this lovely country. A lot of developments have happened across the world and if we can adapt some of them for the Indian markets, opportunities will be endless. I sincerely believe that if you are passionate about something and really believe in it - which I do - in sustainable materials - then success is guaranteed. We found a reliable and supportive partner in FKuR - who is a market leader in this segment. This journey of SKYi and FKuR started way back in December, 2010 and here we are in 2022 with a dedicated biopolymer plant set up as a joint venture between SKYi and FkuR to cater not only to the Indian market, but also to the surrounding countries.
Q. What are the challenges faced whilst forming the company and the most crucial milestone this far?
More than challenges, I would like to call them learning. We had several interesting learnings, especially on realisation of time scale whilst working in a complex environment like ours. Ease of business is still a distant dream; however, it has opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
The most difficult phase was when we actually decided to set up the manufacturing plant - it was March, 2020 and by the end of that March, COVID-19 restrictions struck India, so all our planning went for a toss. Be it banks, machine suppliers, vendors etc., everyone was in a panic mode and in the same boat. However, I must appreciate our partners - machine manufacturers - who had a lot of patience and supported us to realise our dream. Our very young and relatively less experienced team worked day and
In the coming years, different geographies will grow in different business segments; e.g., India is pretty focused currently on offering alternate solutions to conventional banned single-use plastics so compostable biopolymers will see growth. In other countries, it is a mix of compostable and non-biodegradable / recyclable polymers as well. These may open up different well-established applications; e.g., toys.
Dr. Sachin Jain
Managing Director, SKYi FKuR Biopolymers Pvt. Ltd., Pune
night during the month of June - till August, 2020 - when COVID restrictions were strict, especially in Maharashtra and that too in Pune. This was a very important milestone in our biopolymer business history.
It was a record that within a span of two and a half months, our team, definitely with the support of machine suppliers, set up the whole plant. What started with a lot of hesitation in the first week of June, 2020, got completed and we had our first successful production trials on 18th August, 2020 - ECON and other suppliers’ engineers stayed with us for a couple of weeks without complaining about the external environment. I think this is the spirit of India and we are proud of it.
Q. As a material, what is the biggest hurdle facing biopolymers for its large-scale adoption? How can the industry address or circumvent this impediment?
I think it is a question of time and biopolymers will overcome the hurdles it is facing. Any change is difficult to accept and adopt. Some changes evolve over time, some are forced and some have no choice but to accept. Biopolymers currently are in the very infant stage in India, and also in developed economies, it has not reached its maturity yet. Fortunately, I have been a part of the early history of biopolymers - both, durable and compostable - and both have different challenges; however, when I look back some 20 odd years ago, biopolymers have come a long way. It has started to find commercial applications, a lot of innovations have happened on the material side, application / product side and are fast penetrating the unforeseen areas.
Yes, there are still challenges and certain hesitation in adopting these solutions, especially when people compare conventional plastics, which have existed for a century now, with biopolymers which are only a couple
of decades old. Obviously, biopolymers have to compete with plastics - such an established material. Secondly, due to the very nature of biopolymers, they are different in terms of processing; be it in blown film or thermoforming or any other manufacturing process. Even the processes and machines need to be optimised for biopolymers so that we come to the same level of productivity as that of conventional plastics. I believe in certain areas this is already happening. This is part of evolution.
Embracing new solutions such as biopolymers by the plastics fraternity will certainly help it to grow faster and it is an extension of the existing solutions. For a new entrant, the learning curve is longer. I have started seeing this change happening across the country. This is part of adopting a change.
Another important role is that of regulations. I believe the scientific community in India, including CIPET and CPCB, did an excellent and commendable job in identifying the problem and providing technical and environmentally-friendly solutions. If the implementation is enforced in the right spirit and regulatory framework, this will speed up the change for everyone to benefit. This is part of forced change and, I believe, it is inevitable.
Q. Biopolymer, as a material, is here to stay and with the plethora of products that you have in your portfolio, you have all your bases covered; what next?
Yes, FKuR has one of the broadest product portfolios amongst all the biopolymer manufacturers and we are proud to bring them to India. We have products which are suitable for flexible packaging, rigid packaging, thermoforming, injection moulding etc.
By setting up a manufacturing plant in India, we clearly wanted to make a statement that we are serious about business to provide sustainable solutions in India and are in line with the Government of India’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission; secondly, we want to be closer to our business partners - our customers - whom we can better serve when we are present in the same geography.
Now that we have set up a plant, we have started adding more product lines that can be manufactured at the India plant and are gearing up for future growth. We would like to be competitive and yet offer the best quality. Quality is our prime focus and we would like to offer the best to our customers.
Looking at various challenges which will come due to the ban on singleuse plastics, we are offering several solutions to customers by supporting them with technical expertise not only on materials, but also on processing so that they are well prepared for the upcoming times.
Likewise, we are also adopting our product portfolio to comply with regulations of different countries and that’s why many MNCs like to work with us as we have manufacturing in Europe (Willich, Germany) and Asia (Pune, India). Both plants have different advantages and yet few common features; e.g., produce similar quality of products and proximity to customers.
Q. What role has ECON played this far to be your business enabler?
ECON has played a significant role in our journey. If I remember correctly, we have been discussing about setting up a plant in India since 2018 and ECON was patient with us until we actually released the PO in 2020. During this period, ECON shared a lot of their learnings and also business insights like a real partner. This is the key to longterm success.
ECON brought the experience of its Austrian facility and people to India which gave us confidence and high chances of getting it right the first time. With multiple machine installations in India, their business network has become vast; with their reference, the possibility of a connect becomes very high.
We bought state-of-the-art ‘underwater pelletiser’ along with the online screen changer from ECON India. A good quality underwater pelletiser is an important part of the whole plant as the shape, size and consistent quality of the end product is solely dependent on the pelletiser. Importantly, it also helps to increase the output of the production. The online screen changer ensures that the line runs uninterrupted during changing of the screen and the melt flow is passed through the second screen without disturbing the operation. This helps to run the machine continuously and ensures consistent quality products for our customers. This is indeed very critical as our customers’ production lines run continuously and we need to assure them the material supplied by us will run smoothly without any breakdowns.
In ECON, we have found a reliable partner who is helping us through our journey.
Q. What is your analysis of the market leadership position attained by ECON in its business segment?
Not a very difficult question to answer! I think business is done by people, obviously quality of product is the basic criteria.
One of the major reasons for ECON’s success is the accessibility of Indian management to their customers. ECON India team is fantastic and very supportive in every step of business growth.
Second important reason, I would say, is that they are very fast in their response to help support customers. We
had some hiccups post installation of the machines, and ECON, without hesitation, sent us the replacement tool which was very expensive; they made sure that our production did not stop and eventually they sorted out the challenge we were facing. Service to customers is key to success.
Third reason, of course, is the quality and technology at affordable prices in India. Adoption to Indian market demand keeping in mind the price expectation is another success factor which is making ECON the market leader and far ahead of its next competitor.
Q. How do you see the market trends from here on within your business verticals over a period of 3 years? Which is the segment / sub-segment that you feel shall contribute significantly to your business growth?
In general, the biopolymer market is growing. New applications are opening up and that is propelling business growth. It is an exciting time and yet also of caution that it should not go in the direction of conventional plastics and ruin its reputation.
In the coming years, different geographies will grow in different business segments; e.g., India is pretty focused currently on offering alternate solutions to conventional banned single-use plastics - so compostable biopolymers will see growth. Obviously, it will depend on acceptance by the plastics industry and how seriously the government would like to enforce the regulations.
In other countries, it is a mix of compostable and non-biodegradable / recyclable polymers as well. These may open up different well-established applications; e.g., toys.
Q. How do you see the evolution of your global partnership? Do we see a big foray into manufacturing in the coming years?
Global partnerships are very important. First, the culture differences between two countries bring in a lot of synergy obviously till you understand and integrate cultures, it is very difficult. However, once you understand, working can be smoother.
For customers who are present across the globe, such partnership is very beneficial and also sought-after. Cultural understanding of business and proximity to customers and sometimes simple things such as common communication language makes the difference in building customer - supplier partnerships. This also helps us to bring our combined strengths to the market by offering solutions that are both commercially and technically attractive.
Importantly, as I mentioned earlier, every geography has different needs, and who best can convince you internally than your own partner so that future growth is secured by offering market relevant products.
In the past couple of years, we had several challenges; however, I foresee that with upcoming business opportunities and regulations being implemented, more and more investments will come into manufacturing and we will surely like to be ahead to serve our customers.
Q. A failure that you have experienced, that has taught you the most.
No one likes to fail, me neither. However, it is a part of our life and of the business as well. It is bound to happen - whoever gets up first and starts again by quickly learning from what went wrong will succeed. Sometimes, learning is small and can be ignored; at times, it is hard and expensive.
One of the things which I learnt from our recent failures is that you should focus on your strength, rather than chasing what your competition or expected market is doing. There is always room for everyone and if we focus and build on what we offer best, I think we can get the market share that every competitor would be envious of.
We need to be alert about developments around us and in the market; however, only focusing on what others are doing is bound to fail us in the long term.
Biopolymers currently are in the very infant stage in India, and also in developed economies, it has not reached its maturity yet. When I look back some 20 odd years ago, biopolymers have come a long way.
Q. What does competition mean to you?
Just like customers, competitors are your best teachers. It is always very important to have competition in the market as it helps to grow the market. No customer would like to work with a product which is offered only by one supplier.
Competition for us is not only from our peers who are in the similar products, but also from the solutions providers who offer alternatives to even compostable polymers such as paper, pulp based products etc.
I believe there are more and more business opportunities and there are a lot of innovations needed and also happening all across - which may bring competition. If we are alert, we will innovate some and at the same time also adopt some.
Competition will help us grow the business and together we can help better serve the cause of a sustainable and green environment.
