Paper Mart Emagazine June-July Issue 2021 by Tulip 3P Media Private Limited

CONTENTS Jun-Jul, 2021, Paper Mart

12 TNPL: Excelling in the selection of the

best-in-class contemporary technology TNPL is also in the process of finalising one more board machine of a similar capacity of 2,00,000 TPA and subsequently, a full-fledged BCTMP fiberline.

22 JK Paper: Riding the Growth Momentum

“Our integrated expansion of the packaging board plant in Gujarat is aimed at significantly expanding our capacity and will help us to cater to growing market needs.”

66 Silver Linings to the Corona Cloud

COVID-19 is the greatest challenge humankind has faced of late. With the advent of coronavirus, the world is re-thinking to find a balance between what worked before and what needs to happen now. ....

76 UFlex Ltd:

Carving a Strong Market Niche with Asepto

“With this cutting-edge Greenfield project, we are now the world's fastest-growing aseptic liquid packaging company, with a year-on-year growth rate of more than 100 percent.”

Waste Management and its Potential to Change the Economy

Have you been wondering how to become more eco-friendly of late? Well, out of the 2.01 billion tonnes of solid waste....

78 Tensei: Creating Best-in-Class Materials from Agrifiber

We brought to market our first product – a food contact paper which is now one of the two solutions approved by one of the UK's largest supermarkets for use.

82 Haber: Maximising Plant Efficiency and

Output through AI-Driven Automation “Industry 4.0 is an enabling layer to what papermakers have already been doing where cost-effective cloud technology will enable early movers to warehouse immense data.”

NEWS

84 MRL: Rolling towards Success

“MRL has a very strict internal quality control system that ensures that the rollers are as per specifications, with quality checks at each step.”

94 Keerthi Pumps advances with next-gen pumping technology

The company has distinguished itself with the next-gen pumping technology, and has become the most trusted ....

Roll Modernization – A Path towards

the Better Runnability of Paper Machine Roll modernization can improve roll performance to the next higher level by reducing maintenance...

L•E•A•D•E•R S•P•E•A•K•S

TNPL:

Excelling in the selection of the best-in-class contemporary technology TNPL is also in the process of finalising one more board machine of a similar capacity of 2,00,000 TPA and subsequently, a full-fledged BCTMP fiberline.

Dr. Rajeev Ranjan (IAS), Chairman and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Ltd.

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L•E•A•D•E•R S•P•E•A•K•S

amil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Ltd. is an acknowledged leader in the technology of manufacturing paper from bagasse. Established in the 1980s, the company today enjoys the status of being the most environmentally benign mill in the country with the least water consumption. To further better the operation, it is co n t i n u o u s ly a d o p t i n g m o d e r n technologies and moving towards digitalisation. In an exclusive interview with Paper Mart, Dr. Rajeev Ranjan (IAS), Chairman and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Ltd. talks about the company's

interesting history, manufacturing capabilities, and world-class technology.

Paper Mart: Could you please give us a brief outline of the business story of TNPL - Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Ltd.? Rajeev Ranjan: An adventurous journey started in 1984, when TNPL (Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Ltd.), the first mill of its kind, to produce newsprint from sugarcane bagasse was set up. From a small beginning of 90,000 tonnes newsprint to 6,00,000 tonnes of paper &

board, this mill has transformed into one of the largest, integrated industries in the Indian sub-continent after crossing many milestones over the years. Bagasse is continuing as one of the primary raw materials for producing quality papers. The company has ideated a plethora of innovative and outstanding technological developments to become what it is now. TNPL is the largest exporter of paper in India. We have a total production capacity of 6,00,000 TPA of paper and boards at present with an additional 2,00,000 TPA in the pipeline at our plant in Trichy.

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L•E•A•D•E•R S•P•E•A•K•S

The core competency of TNPL is its adaptation of the latest technology and sustainability.

PM: Please elaborate on the manufacturing capabilities of the company and the core competencies which have helped you in attaining substantial growth and carving your niche in the Indian paper industry. RR: TNPL's capacity includes 4,00,000 MT of printing and writing paper and 2,00,000 MT of multi-layer coated boards. The product mix consists of folding carton boards, recycled duplex boards, and cup stock baseboards. The core competency of TNPL is its adaptation of the latest technology and sustainability. TNPL excels in the selection of the best-in-class contemporary technology, with a clear focus on the delivered quality at competitive cost combined with the lowest water, and energy consumption. The best technology, the most committed and passionate human asset with efficient monitoring & control systems are the pre-requisites for efficient manufacturing of quality products.

PM: How would you describe the key strengths of your product range? Also, could you please elaborate on the distinct features of the installed machinery and the different technological capabilities you have installed at your production facilities for the manufacturing of paperboards? RR: TNPL products, be it paper or paperboards/packaging boards, are tailor-made for various end applications as required by the end users. We have three high-quality papermaking machines, supported by state-of-theart fiber lines from hardwood and bagasse and a modern deinking plant with a three-loop system. TNPL is equipped with 103 MW power generation and an elaborate effluent treatment facility in our Kagithapuram unit in Karur District and also a world class packaging board manufacturing facility in Trichy district. This Trichy plant is also going to become an integrated pulp & paperboard mill with Valmet fiberline, Andritz chemical recovery system, and the most modern effluent treatment facility. We also have the Indian paper industry's first in-house cement plant of 3.0 lakh TPA capacity. Its objective is to handle the solid wastes generated from the paper mills at both units. We have a total production capacity of 6,00,000

TPA currently with an additional 2,00,000 TPA in the pipeline at Trichy plant. As we have hardwood, bagasse, deinked pulp along with imported BCTMP and softwood pulp grades, we have the flexibility to make different niche products for various Indian and overseas customers. Our writing & printing papers have wide acceptability in the overseas market with the tag of 'eco friendliness' with the usage of bagasse in furnish. Our packaging boards made with the mix of all these fiber components deliver superior performance with respect to functional properties as required by different printing and converting processes. We have the brand-new board machine from VOITH Germany, with the most modern technology. The machine is equipped with four forming wires (for making heavier grammages with a good formation of the layers), tandem shoe press (for preserving the bulk of the final board), speed flow, capable of running both starch and the pigmented colour, three auto controlled blade coaters (two for the top side and one for the backside of the board) giving the uniform coating thickness, in turn giving the best possible surface for achieving good smoothness & opacity. The most efficient soft nip calendaring gives the best printable surface and sheet gloss. The company has the in-house capability for handling the total sheet volume with 5 milltex sheet cutters and 5 CHM cutters with the total production and quality control by the Mill personnel, ensuring the best possible delivered quality to all our customers, across the globe. TNPL is the only company having the auto storage and retrieval system for both the intermediate reel storage and finished goods. TNPL is also in the process of finalising one more board machine of a similar capacity of 2,00,000 TPA and subseq u e n t ly, a f u l l - f l e d ge d B C T M P fiberline.

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L•E•A•D•E•R S•P•E•A•K•S PM: Tell us the market outlook for various grades of paper. RR: The Indian writing and printing paper market has enjoyed healthy growth rates of 5-6 percent per annum. Due to the current Covid pandemic, the writing and printing grade of paper is the most affected. However, the demand is expected to revive once the education sector opens up. India being a country with a large young population, the education segment continues to lead in the consumption of paper. The government's focus towards 100 percent literacy is also pushing this. Packaging grades of paper boards are growing at a very good pace with growth rates in the region of 10-15 p e r ce n t p e r a n n u m . I n c r e a s e d packaging intensity and high competition is leading to increased consumption in FMCG, packaged foods, consumer durables. Growth in ecommerce and online purchases is also fuelling demand. In view of the focus on hygiene, demand for tissue papers has increased. In the days to come, this is expected to drive growth in this segment. The push from the government on banning single-use plastics is expected to drive the growth of ecofriendly paper-based products. Paper cups and paper-based food packaging will be another area of growth.

PM: Process efficiency is very important for any manufacturing company. Please share with us the technologies implemented and the kind of efforts made by TNPL on this front. RR: Yes, process efficiency is the key metric for the overall standing of the company. The companies can buy world-class assets, but the same is to be maintained and utilised by the most competent workforce to produce world-class products, in a most co m p e t i t ive m a n n e r. T h e to t a l workforce, workmen, and executives at all levels are well trained for the job and are given individual responsibilities in

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their respective areas. We have the best automation systems, from renowned vendors. Every piece of equipment is monitored for the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) on a daily basis, to improve the machine utilisation and to understand the repeated issues hampering the availability or the lower rate of production or defective output, for taking immediate actions. The process, right from the chipping line to the packing line, is being covered under TNPL Branded 'ME (Manufacturing Excellence) Program', tailor-made and developed in-house, encapsulating the principles of '5S', TPM – four major pillars and lean manufacturing. This was started in 2018, and going on well and people are getting on board. All the unit operations and the processes are covered under 'ME' for improving efficiency by involving all the shop floor people. We also reward the workforce for the i n n ova t ive s u g ge s t i o n s, h av i n g tangible benefits through merit award schemes, and motivate them by promoting them to higher responsibilities for their vertical growth.

PM: What kind of technologies were implemented and efforts were made by TNPL to reduce the overall water consumption to one of the lowest in the Industry? RR: TNPL has always been the front runner for a cleaner environment, especially concerning water/liquid pollution. Every area in the mill operation has been assigned a narrow band for water consumption on a daily basis and the same is monitored and acted upon. We are extremely careful after the river Cauvery went dry in 2017 and the mill at Kagithapuram was badly impacted for a period of 5 months. Since then, we have intensified various measures to reduce the water consumption at the source. OEM companies are contacted periodically for the best water con-

The best technology, the most committed and passionate human asset with efficient monitoring & control systems are the pre-requisites for efficient manufacturing of quality products.

sumption levels, in various operations/departments and the gadgets to be installed on the machines. We ensure that the unmetered usage of water has been totally stopped and the mill wide campaign on the collection of waste and spillage water and put for reuse in the system, which is effectively implemented. We have now started collecting the waste streams department-wise and studying for various cost-effective treatments, rather than mixing all the areas influent in the effluent treatment plant and trying to treat a much bigger volume. At TNPL, water usage and water treatment are always focussed, providing a lot more challenges and opportunities to improve further.

PM: TNPL became the first company in the country to procure about 1.5 million MT of pulpwood directly from farmers. Tell us more about your pro-afforestation schemes. RR: TNPL uses predominantly bagasse supplemented with 35 percent of wood resources. The hardwood pulp mill at unit 1 needs annually around 0.5 million tonnes of pulpwood. However, the requirement will increase to 1.2 million tonnes of pulpwood per annum from the 3rd quarter of this year, once the commercial production of the new pulp mill starts at unit 2. In line with the National Forest Policy, TNPL initiated afforestation activities during the year 2004 with the motto of 'Self-sufficiency

L•E•A•D•E•R S•P•E•A•K•S trajectory pointing upwards, the scope for pulpwood plantation is on the rise and thus provides farmers with a sustainable market and generates employment for over 1 million mandays every year through its plantation activities. An eco-friendly paper maker, TNPL has increased the green cover outside forest areas through its pro-afforestation schemes and improved the economy of both farmers as well as local communities by providing employment.

PM: Do you face any logistics challenges while sourcing fibrous raw materials? Tell us about your supply chain. and Sustainability' by implementing two major schemes viz., farm forestry & captive plantation in the non-forest a re a t h ro u gh a p e o p l e - ce n t re d participatory approaches, which is economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally compatible. The farm forestry programme is mainly for small and marginal farmers. TNPL provides them the quality planting material at a subsidized cost, free technical support, and buyback assurance with MSP and facilitates the harvesting and transportation of pulpwood from farm to mill. Captive plantation scheme is implemented in a large extent of barren land belonging to the government departments, temples, and absentee landlords either on a long-term lease basis or on a revenuesharing basis. TNPL carries out the plantation establishment activities starting from land development, establishment & maintenance of plantation till harvesting the pulpwood and the yield is shared at an agreed ratio. The company has promoted plantations in 1,87,680 acres with the support of 35,962 farmers within Tamil Nadu under these two schemes during the past 17 years and continuing its afforestation programme with a yearly target of 25,000 acres. The productivity of plantations depends on the quality of saplings used

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for planting. In order to enhance the productivity through the supply of quality plants to the farmers, TNPL has established state-of-the-art clonal propagation centres at both its units with an annual production capacity of 50 million plants. The site-specific high-yielding pulpwood clonal plants produced in these nurseries are being supplied to the farmers through three decentralized nurseries located nearer to planting areas. The company has produced 2502 lakh plants and supplied 2242 lakh plants to farmer's fields over the past 17 years. TNPL has also digitalised the establishment and monitoring activities of plantations by developing an exclusive mobile app with GPS mapping of all its plantations. TNPL is the first paper industry in the country that started direct procurement of pulpwood from the farmers without any intermediary from the year 2009 to ensure the maximum benefit to the farmers. Till now, the company has procured 1.80 million tonnes of pulpwood directly from farmers and paid over INR 700 crore directly to the farmer's bank account. TNPL has also proved its social and environmental responsibility by obtaining FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certificates in forest management (FSC-FM) and Chain of Custody (FSC-CoC) for its plantations. With its

RR: Yes, we faced and are still facing a lot of challenges in logistics and for the fibrous raw material procurement. In the pandemic situation, especially in the last couple of quarters, the logistics for every raw material was so strained that only the container availability was the main topic of every meeting. The varying pandemic intensity in various countries also played havoc in getting the raw material out of their factories. Vessel availability and the shipment schedule also gave a tough time. But one thing to share here is that all our vendors/suppliers have been cooperating with the company and doing their best, which helped us tremendously. Regarding the virgin pulp grades, China was buying huge quantities from the Scandinavian countries, which has caused a shortage of virgin pulp grades in the global markets. In addition to this, some of the mills were shut either due to pandemic situations or maintenance activities. In the case of waste paper, global circulation has come down. The collection was also poor due to the pandemic but things are slowly improving now. This has also resulted in a huge price increase in various grades of pulp and waste paper. It is also to be noted that it is not only the availability of the material and transportation in the supply chain that

L•E•A•D•E•R S•P•E•A•K•S got disturbed, but also the unpredictable requirement for certain raw materials, chemicals, and key components/items in the supply chain due to sudden change in the marketplace, or strict lockdown in various parts of the country and across the globe. Still, the lockdown is in force in various parts, of course with some relaxation. As the market is not yet fully opened up and the third wave (in OctoberNovember) is widely talked about, the challenges with respect to planning of the raw material and all the way through shipment would continue for some more time, till things get normalised, maybe towards the end of this calendar year.

PM: The biggest challenge faced by the Indian paper industry is the uncertainty regarding the availability of uniform raw materials. How do you cope with raw material supply chain issues, price volatility, and import challenges? RR: As we are all aware, the supply c h a i n i nvo l ve s m a n u f a c t u r e r s , dealers/agents, logistics support, and customers/consumers. Unfortunately, during this pandemic, every component of this chain is impacted. The prudent planning, forecasting, close networking with the dealers and customers, etc will certainly give better results, with respect to the raw material supplies/availability.

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Planning of container loads, breakbulk shipments, and tie-up with various shipping lines and close coordination with the vendors and their agents have eased out the situation to some extent. Price volatility is a big issue for the companies while fighting for their very survival. Keeping minimum inventory with prudent planning and taking shorter runs based on the inventory and pull from the market and working with the local vendors for the JIT (Just In Time) and the VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) is the fundamental norm today to keep the businesses afloat. Import consignments are being planned meticulously by keeping in mind the fluctuating prices of the pulp grades, chemicals, and other components. Various reports on the NET, RISI, and other price indices are all taken to have some forecasting and planning for 45 days cycle, rather than planning for a quarter as it used to be earlier. These are all explaining the term ''New Normal''.

PM: With the digital era taking over businesses everywhere, offices are claiming to 'go paperless' in the near future. As a paper company, how do you react to this hypothesis? RR: Yes, digitalisation is here to stay but the paperless office might not be a reality. We will have a “less paper” office. Having said this, our young population coupled with the govern-

ment's focus on literacy will be the engine to drive paper consumption. Printing and the usage of paper will continue to be there, in varied applications like newspaper inserts, POP danglers, promotional items, etc. The co n s u m p t i o n o f A 4 s i z e p a p e r increased in spite of the digitalisation process. India's per capita consumption of paper is 13 kgs against the global average of 57 kgs. We still have a large room to grow. Paper is the most ecofriendly material and will continue to remain so. The form of paper usage will evolve based on the emerging trends. There will definitely be a shift from writing and printing towards packaging grades. We will have to identify the high-growth sectors and focus our energies on them.

PM: Any concluding thoughts that you wish to add to this interaction? RR: Paper industry is really reeling under huge stress. Non-availability of raw materials, exorbitant cost escalation of key input materials, unstable paper market, stringent requirements of state pollution boards, import threats, and changing needs of the customers all together make this industry a difficult proposition for future generations. The government should support the paper industry and domestic consumers should not just admire the ecofriendliness but also support this by using eco-friendly papers.

M•I•L•E•S•T•O•N•E A•C•H•I•E•V•E•D

JK Paper:

Riding the Growth Momentum “Our integrated expansion of the packaging board plant in Gujarat is aimed at significantly expanding our capacity and will help us to cater to growing market needs.”

Mr. A.S. Mehta, President & Director, JK Paper Ltd.

K Paper Ltd. has carried out trial runs in its new packaging board facility and integrated chemical pulp mill at Unit CPM looking at the growing demand in the packaging segment. The capacity expansion project would make JK Paper Ltd. amongst the leading packaging board companies in the country. In an interview with Paper Mart, Mr. A.S. Mehta, President & Director, JK Paper Ltd. gives us a glimpse into the new project, sharing his outlook on the packaging industry.

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Paper Mart: JK Paper has commissioned an INR 2,000-crore capacity expansion project in Gujarat. Could you shed some light on this development? A.S. Mehta: The project in Gujarat was initially programmed to be commissioned by March-April 2021 but it was delayed due to disruption caused during the COVID pandemic. We are beginning trials of the plant. The virgin paper packaging plant includes 1.7 lakh TPA packaging material and 1.6 lakh TPA of pulp making capacity apart

M•I•L•E•S•T•O•N•E A•C•H•I•E•V•E•D

Improved environmental sustainability in all respects has established JK Paper as one of the 'greenest' companies in the Indian paper industry. from boilers and related infrastructure. While JK Paper now has a capacity of about 5.91 lakh TPA (including Unit SPM), this expansion will take the total installed capacity (Paper & Packaging Board) to about 7.61 lakh TPA which would eventually go up to 8 lakh TPA through internal expansion, making us a leading paper company in the country.

PM: Packaging board is the fastest-growing segment in the paper and paper board industry; what, according to you, are the key driving industries for the packaging industry? ASM: The packaging board market in India has been growing rapidly with growing demand from sectors such as – FMCG, food & beverage, pharmaceutical, and textile sectors. With the significant surge in e-commerce, the packaging board market is set to achieve further traction. We offer a range of high-end coated packaging boards. Our integrated expansion of the packaging board plant in Gujarat is aimed at significantly expanding our capacity and will help us to cater to growing market needs. Riding on the back of new mandates of FSSAI coupled with the increasing focus on food grade and food safety packaging, the packaged food industry is seeing a paradigm shift from plastics to paper packaging with oil and water resistance aided by moisture and oxygen barrier and heat-sealable capabilities. JK Paper is positioned to take advantage of this shift and has been launching new products in this niche category to capture higher value.

Some of the new products in this category produced by JK Paper include JK OleOff, JK Ecosip, and JK HSMT, among others.

PM: When we talk about the environmental footprint, JK Paper is a wood and carbon-positive company. Please share some facts related to the same and what factors have helped you achieve this? ASM: JK Paper is a carbon-positive company. Our proactive measures in sustainability have helped us become wood and carbon-positive. In fact, improved environmental sustainability in all respects has established JK Paper as one of the 'greenest' companies in the Indian paper industry. The company has moderated the average distance covered in the procurement of wood resources, thus reducing the time and distance taken on one hand and the average cost of procurement on the other. It has enhanced the coverage of plantation wood in its hinterland by planting over 1,20,000 acres in the last four years and 4,65,000 acres cumulatively. In 202021, there has been an increase of 7 percent in plantation coverage. We, at JK Paper, have reinforced our wood plantation programme through the availability of high-yielding clonal saplings, increasing tonnage per hectare, and enhanci ng far m er prosperity. Besides this, reduction in the gestation period to grow clonal saplings into full-fledged trees has resulted in quicker incomes for farmers, greater inducement to grow trees, and secured raw material availability for the company. The sourcing of raw materials and plantation is undertaken as a part of our sustainability strateg y. The company is a responsible producer and our objectives are in line with the latest trends of increasing focus towards recyclability and eco-friendliness. We have taken up several initiatives to address global environmental issues such as climate change, global warm-

ing, waste minimization, eff luent reduction, water conservation, etc.

PM: How has JK Paper emerged as one of the lowest water-consuming paper companies in India? ASM: JK Paper has reduced water consumption, using low waterconsuming technologies coupled with effective effluent and sewage treatment, and emerged as amongst the lowest water-consuming paper companies in India. The company moderated coal and power consumption using cutting-edge technologies and alternative fuels. Since 2016-17, we have been able to reduce water and coal consumption per tonne of paper by 28.43 percent and 4.67 percent respectively.

PM: What is the mechanism to recycle products and waste at JK Paper? ASM: The waste generated in operations is considered as a potential resource for various other activities by making its best use within the operations through optimisation of existing processes. This has led to increased commitment towards reducing the environmental impact of business activities via waste minimisation and re -use. Nonhazardous solid wastes such as bamboo and hardwood dust, screen rejects, flyash, lime sludge, and effluent sludge are re-used in various processes. As per CREP guidelines, a rotary lime kiln is commissioned for the recycling of lime sludge. Lime sludge generated from the process is used as raw material to lime kiln to produce Lime. Primary ETP sludge is used to make egg trays and recycled boards etc. We ensure that 100 percent of fly-ash is used to manufacture fly-ash bricks and cement manufacturing. Paper machine effluent is segregated and treated separately in a 20 m diameter clarifier. Clarified effluent is reused in the pulp mill and chipper house. Around 95 percent of this paper machine effluent is reused/ recycled in the process. Wood dust generated during the process of wood chipping is burnt 100 percent as fuel along with coal in the coal-fired boiler.

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M•I•L•E•S•T•O•N•E A•C•H•I•E•V•E•D

JK Paper launched a #SwitchToPaper campaign with an aim to initiate a discussion on the environmental impact of singleuse plastic and bust myths around the use of paper. PM: What challenges did you face after the acquisition of Sirpur Paper Mill? What is the current scenario? ASM: After the acquisition of Sirpur Paper Mill, we had to take up a lot of refurbishment and upgradation by making new investments in paper machines, boilers and related infrastructure. As the trial production was underway, we encountered more problems forcing us to shut down for further upgradation. We resumed production but had to shut the plant again from March to November due to Covid. We have started production and it is now functioning at over 70 percent capacity, which is good, given the tough scenario. The mill is now in revival mode with production stabilising further refurbishment under the new management. A new high-efficiency boiler has been commissioned at Sirpur which is going to be a cost-efficient investment in the near and long-term. We are investing in a new chipping unit a n d f u r t h e r i m p r o ve m e n t a n d upgradation.

PM: How was the FY 2020-21 for JK Paper? What are your views on the post-pandemic recovery of the paper industry? ASM: JK Paper has attained decent consolidated revenues for FY 2020-21 despite the Covid pandemic. The company clocked a turnover of INR 2,991.37 crore, EBITDA of INR 701.41 crore, and PAT of INR 322.19 crore. In

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Q4 of FY 2020-21, the Sirpur volume was close to 70 percent of its capacity which was not there in the Q4 of the last year. We have witnessed a sharp spike in volumes and price realisation during the quarter. The paper industr y has passed through a difficult time as the demand for paper was impacted due to the closure of educational institutes and off ices. However, northern and western regions have recovered fast and businesses have gotten into the groove and we expect to see the other parts of the world getting back to normalcy soon. The paper sector is expected to have good times once schools, colleges, and all offices get back to normalcy. While the second quarter of this fiscal will see volumes coming back, the third quarter will see a bounce back to normalcy. We are confident of achieving double-digit growth in years to come and the fresh capacity would enable us to tap new areas and markets.

PM: With the digital era taking over businesses everywhere, offices are claiming to 'go paperless' in the near future. As a paper company, how do you react to this hypothesis? ASM: Yes, there is bound to be some impact and it is an inevitable part of social change that is an unstoppable trend. But there are many other uses and higher economic activities that will

continue to drive the paper demand. India as a developing nation will continue to pose high growth. Offices will show an impact on the consumption of paper although it will not be paperless, as seen in the developed western markets. Unfortunately, the paper industry is perceived to be environment-depleting (even as research has proved this to be false), as it uses wood as raw material. People need to understand that paper is produced not by harming natural forest trees but by the process of Social Farm Forestry, where farmers grow specific varieties of trees on their farmland, which are harvested to produce paper. This not only saves forest cover but also provides livelihood to marginal farmers. In addition to this Paper is 100 percent recyclable & biodegradable, and hence, has a big environmental advantage. In 2018, JK Paper launched a #SwitchToPaper campaign with an aim to initiate a discussion on the environmental impact of single-use plastic and bust myths around the use of paper. The c a m p a i g n s aw p a r t i c i p a t i o n by umpteen celebrities and online influencers including Dia Mirza (UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador), to amplify the message that paper is a sustainable alternative, we roped in Boman Irani (World Environment Day 2020) and very recently well-known e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s t , M r. S o n a m Wangchuk.

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S

Silver Linings to the Corona Cloud

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R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S

OVID-19 is the greatest challenge humankind has faced of late. With the advent of coronavirus, the world is re-thinking to find a balance between what worked before and what needs to happen now. The novel coronavirus has created a new historical divide - the world Before Corona (BC) and the world After Corona (AC). The BC era has gone and we are accelerating into a different world. The pandemic is unleashing a new era of change and bringing long-term actions in the way businesses function. According to the latest data by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), “GDP at constant prices (2011-12) in Q1 of 2021-22 is estimated at INR 32.38 lakh crore, as against INR 26.95 lakh crore in Q1 of 2020-21, showing a growth of 20.1 percent as compared to a contraction of 24.4 percent in Q1 2020-21."

Paper industry reinventing itself As we talk about the economic recovery, the paper industry has not been an exception. It went through a lot and had its ups and downs. Nationwide lockdown forced the paper mills to stop their operations. Even when the lockdown was lifted, logistical constraints, supply shortages, and rising prices were some of the issues faced by the mills. Due to the restrictions on schools, colleges, and offices, the writing and printing and newsprint segments were adversely hit making the profit margin in these segments as thin as they are. However, they say that every cloud-no matter how dark-has a silver lining.

Online shopping changing the face of packaging People are getting inclined towards online shopping to prevent the spread of the coronavirus; hence, the packaging segment is doing phenomenally well. The pharma sector and FMCG remain other key drivers raising the demand of this segment. “Within paperboard, the consumer packaging segment (40-50 percent of volumes), is expected to clock 5.5-6.5 percent CAGR up to fiscal 2025, driven by a rise in demand for FMCG, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and apparels”, said Sri N Gopalaratnam, Chairman, Seshasayee Paper and Boards Ltd.

Hygiene awareness creating opportunities for tissue papers It is a proven fact that simple hygiene measures can help us to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The novel coronavirus has brought a focus on cleanliness creating new opportunities for tissue and toilet papers. There has been a trend and substantial growth in the demand for tissue and toilet papers even in countries like India where it is still in the nascent stage. “Currently, ongoing health issues have increased hygiene awareness and a positive impact in at-home sales started showing up in the domestic market,” says Mr. J.P. Narain, Chief Executive Officer, Century Pulp & Paper. According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global wood pulp market generated USD 165.3 billion in 2020 and is estimated to generate USD 242.1 billion by 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 3.9 percent from 2021 to 2030. An increase in demand from the paper industry and a surge in consumer demand for tissue paper products have reportedly driven the growth of the global wood pulp market.

Writing and Printing segment to revive soon As the states are announcing the opening of schools, colleges, educational institutions, and offices, the demand for writing and printing paper is expected to revive. “The main drivers for the growth of this sector remain intact, which include significantly higher outlay for universal literacy, more and more emphasis on taking education to the last corner of the country, and also recent announcement regarding new education policy which will entail major changes in the syllabus. This will require massive printing of new books and other study materials”, says Mr. Anil Kumar, Executive Director & CEO, Shreyans Industries Ltd. Businesses and the economy go hand-in-hand. Strong leaders are projecting optimism and looking for new possibilities and opportunities in the new era. In this edition of Paper Mart, we spoke to industry leaders to know their transformation initiatives and understand how they are adapting to the 'new normal' and perceiving the change, hoping that the clouds will go away and the sun will shine on us again soon.

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“Containerboard, tissue paper, followed by carton board will witness higher rates of growth” Mr. N Gopalaratnam, Chairman, Seshasayee Paper and Boards Ltd.

Operations and Workforce Management Before Corona The paper industry had a robust last decade with integrated pulp and paper mills like ours, enjoying high levels of capacity utilisation and operating margins. Before December 2019, with capacity utilisation at over 100 percent, the focus of operations and workforce was predominantly on achieving higher productivity, undertaking further capacity augmentation programs, and so on. The operations and the workforce in the paper industry mostly had a vibrant positive outlook.

After Corona However, from January 2020 onwards, among various areas concerning industries and economies, the greatest impact from COVID-19 shockwaves have been on human resources — fear and uncertainty. Institutions were finding their own ways to assure the employees and retain their spirits. In o u r co m p a ny, we co n t i n u e d to approach the employees and all other stakeholders with high levels of empathy, to allay the fears and uncertainties in their minds. As a sign of this, we went ahead with our normal increments, annual appraisal cycles, and promotions. We did not let go of people.

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Supply Chain Management Before Corona Before January 2020, the supply chain strategies across most industries and companies had been stable and consistent.

After Corona The supply shock started in China and the demand shock was felt globally amidst lockdowns and other COVID-19 disruptions, the US-China trade war, shortage of containers, exorbitant increase in logistics cost, and unsustainable levels of increases in prices of commodities like coal. All these factors have fundamentally disrupted the supply chain strategies of the industry. The impact of these factors in the paper industry, which already is suffering from the lack of adequate domestic demand, has been far more severe.

Market Scenario After Corona Since March 2020, the paper industry's both inward and outward supply chains have been disrupted. The industry is yet to recover fully to preCOVID levels. There has also been a severe demand- compression due to the continued lockdowns across the country, closing down of educational institutes, commercial establishments, and downstream printers,

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R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S industries, mainly the small and m e d i u m e n te r p r i s e s h ave b e e n launched by the government. The central and state governments need to have a coordinated plan to improve the s p e e d o f va cc i n a t i o n cove ra ge . Lockdown is no more a solution; it is no longer a strategy to contain the virus.

publishers, converters, stationery services. T h e w o r k- f r o m - h o m e p r a c t i c e resulting in offices remaining closed has only driven down paper consumption. The printing and writing-the segment in which our company actively operates has been worst affected by COVID-19. The packaging/paperboards segment has been the exception to this trend, witnessing a strong demand recovery. Companies like ours have recognised this to be a growth area and are accordingly making investments to alter or create capacities to address this growing market. The recent announcement on the opening of educational institutions, in various states, is welcome news. The demand recovery in the printing and writing segment is very important for the industry to return to pre-COVID levels of operations and margins.

Profit Margin After Corona Operating profit margins in the paper industry have shrunk significantly and are yet to return to pre-COVID levels. Companies like ours, who address export markets, are able to take leverage out of the faster recovery in the US, Middle East, and other developed

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economies. Though the export sales in the current financial year have grown significantly to help the plant run at more than 90 percent capacities, the net sales realisations are largely impacted by exorbitant logistics costs which are 2-3 times the pre-COVID levels. These are now at unsustainable levels. The impact of higher logistics costs coupled with issues on container availability has resulted in a significant increase in the cost of most input materials. For example, the present price of coal is nearly three times the pre-COVID levels. Effectively, energy costs have doubled on this account. The cost of most chemicals has seen a significant increase. Due to the adverse demand situation in the domestic market, the industry is not able to pass on the cost-push to the market and is absorbing the cost-push in full. This has led to very low margins. The demand in India for printing and writing paper has to recover and the logistics costs have to come down to normal pre-COVID levels for the operating margins in the sector to improve.

Expectations from the Government After Corona A lot of initiatives to support the

Activities in the economy, across sectors, should increase substantially. Travels and meetings have to come back with full momentum. Educational institutions should function uninterrupted. These can happen only if the fear of the virus goes out of people's minds and the confidence comes back. For this, a faster vaccination drive should be the main priority for the government. Ensuring vaccine availability across all pockets of the country is the key. We, in our company, have ensured 100 percent vaccination of all our employees and their families, including temporary workmen. We are now working with primary health centres to have the people in the nearby villages vaccinated. This is going to be our priority area over the next six months. The government should also play a more active role in curbing duty-free imports. We, in the paper industry, have been affected for a long time by the duty-free import of paper. The government has to set up measures to establish a level playing field for the industry.

Future Outlook After Corona On the global economic front, the prospects are improving for the world. However, it is likely to be uneven and dependent on the effectiveness of vaccination programmes and public health policies. South Korea and the US are reaching pre-pandemic per capita income levels after about 18 months. Much of Europe is expected to take nearly three years to recover. The Indian economy may also take a similar timeline to get back to pre-pandemic levels.

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R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S With new education policy coming into effect, a gradual rise in education spending by the government (20 percent higher spend) and increased thrust on education are likely to support demand for creamwove and maplitho (60-65 percent of printing and writing segment) over the medium to long term. The demand for copier paper (20 percent of printing and writing segment) is expected to increase at 3-4 percent CAGR through fiscal 2025, primarily on account of moderation of spends on stationary by

corporates due to focus on digitalbased commercial. The demand growth for coated paper is expected to remain moderate at 1-2 percent CAGR led by a slowdown in the circulation of magazines and newspapers. Within paperboard, the consumer packaging segment (40-50 percent of volumes), is expected to clock 5.5-6.5 percent CAGR up to fiscal 2025, driven by a rise in demand for FMCG, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and apparels. The rise in urbanisation, emphasis on hygiene through

increased government thrust (via initiatives such as Swachh Bharat), and steady rise in healthcare and hospitality demand will lead to a rise in demand f o r t i s s u e p a p e r co n s u m p t i o n . Amongst the various grades, containerboard, tissue paper, followed by carton board will witness higher rates of growth. However, the outlook in the short term depends on faster vaccination, the opening of educational institutions, commercial printing seeing momentum, and an increase in social activities. n

“With gradual opening of all sectors, demand for paperboard should improve” Mr. Vadiraj Kulkarni, Chief Executive, ITC-Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division

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Operations and Workforce Management The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in India and consequent lockdowns and risks compelled the businesses to draw up a set of comprehensive protocols in terms of social distancing and sanitisation. Massive awareness and educational campaigns using posters, audiovisual aids were conducted to ensure that all workers and managers understand the protocols and adhere to the same. Various measures viz. change in shift timings to reduce overlaps, changes in canteen timings for various shift crews, infrastructure upgrades to ensure social distancing in control rooms, canteens, etc. were implemented to aid adherence to protocols. For critical maintenance jobs including trouble-

shooting, remote assistance from OEMs/experts was sought. All communications, meetings were conducted through IT platforms instead of face-to-face meetings.

Supply Chain Management The supply chain system came under stress due to lockdowns in the initial phase and localised lockdowns during the second wave. In addition to the shortage of loading and unloading crews at various nodes in the supply chain, the movement of goods across states and the availability of drivers for certain sectors posed big challenges. Transport costs went up due to some of these issues. Certain nodes in the supply chain were disrupted due to enforcement of rules in some pockets, both in the first and the second wave. The business was geared up to meet

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S

these challenges better in the second wave. And proactive measures in ensuring availability of trucks, loading/unloading crew, etc. were put in place, which ensured the smoother flow of materials across the country. Building additional inventory at various nodes of the supply chain also helped the availability of required materials for customers. The global supply chain for commodities has been severely impacted for around a year now, leading to delays in imports and exports. The situation continues to be grim, due to the shortage of shipping vessels and containers. Ocean freight has witnessed a multifold increase in the last six months and is likely to continue, thus adding costs to the business.

Market Scenario and Profit Margin The writing and printing paper demand got severely affected during the early stage of the pandemic and the subdued demand continued for two more quarters due to the closure of all educational institutions. While the demand picked up later, hoping for the opening of schools, the second wave did not help. However, in the packaging board section, the demand has been quite robust for most of the customer segments, though in 2020-21, certain segments witnessed a steep fall in demand, also affecting prices.

Expectations from the Government No comments.

Future Outlook With the vaccination program going quite well, educational institutions should be opening soon, which will propel a jump in the demand for writing and printing paper. The demand for various paperboard types should further improve with the gradual opening up for all sectors. And these are good signs for the industry. n

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“Ongoing health issues have increased hygiene awareness and demand for tissues” Mr. J.P. Narain, Chief Executive Officer, Century Pulp & Paper

Operations and Workforce Management Before Corona Prior to COVID-19, all our plants were running with optimum capacity in view of consistent market orders in all segments. All our employees were performing their duties as per schedule.

After Corona When our lives hit with COVID-19, all our plant operations were stopped at the initial phase due to nationwide lockdown w.e.f. 21st March 2020. Thereafter obtaining required permission, plants were operated as per COVID guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India with minimum manpower.

Supply Chain Management Before Corona Our supply chain risks were completely undiscovered before COVID -19. People, who were managing the endto-end supply chain, were unaware of the complexity and upcoming pandemic challenges for the overall sustainability of the supply chain. They were able to meet the desired levels of stakeholder management at optimal cost and better time management. Moreover, there were low risks towards the supply of input materials from domestic and international suppliers, cost & inventory management, and delivery of finished goods to end

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consumers. Further, no inherent changes were seen in consumer behaviour with rapid growth in market orders and prof itability for the businesses like us.

After Corona After COVID-19, the supply chain has discovered various opportunities. Different ways of working were adopted towards risk management & mitigation plan to gain prominence in the end-to-end supply chain. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the global supply chain was adversely affected because India is dependent on global markets for export & import. During the lockdown period, the demand of all segments dropped significantly and the supply chain (vehicle movement) was adversely affected due to the spread of the virus.

Market Scenario Before Corona International pulp prices were on the verge of dropping trend. The market was facing oversupply across all segments – Paper, Board and Tissue. Paper Increasing imports at cheaper rates coupled with the change of NCERT syllabus had created severe pressure on domestic players. Publishers were not printing new titles and for old titles, they had reduced print quantity by approximately 20 percent based on huge stock/returns of books from last

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S year's production. Since newsprint prices reached the level of USD 385 PMT, the newsprint mills had converted their lines to produce maplitho for the notebook segment leading to the total capacity increase of 17,500 MT per month in the non-copier segment causing price pressure. The market was witnessing positive signs from January 2 02 0 o nw a rd s , b u t t h e s u d d e n lockdown in March 2020 stopped everything. Board Packaging sector demand was low post-festival and wedding season while publishing sector demand was in recovery mode. FBB import at a very low price was adding price pressure. Export demand remained consistent. Production capacity of Indian manufacturers had grown from 9.7 lakh MT to 10.7 lakh MT per annum after the capacity addition from one of the major players. Holding prices remained a big challenge due to the excess supply situation and customers were re-negotiating the prices on a monthly basis. Tissue Tissue demand had slowed down due to festival holidays and low stocking. Export was seeing a fall in prices due to the reduction of pulp prices by about 30 percent. Import in India had increased by about 70 percent from an average of 750 MT in 2018-19 to an average of 1300 MT in the first quarter of 2019-20

After Corona International pulp prices continued to drop due to low demand from China. Manufacturing in China had been stopped temporarily due to possible hazards from coronavirus. Prices were under severe pressure with pulp rate drops. Dealer's payment rotation was affected badly as most of their customers had stopped making payments post lockdown announcement, resulting in a liquidity crunch in the market. Paper Due to COVID-19, major consumption centres of paper like schools, colleges,

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universities, courts, educational institutes, and gathering places were closed. Being non-essential items, the production of notebooks, books, and other related items was restricted. The demand reduced to 20-25 percent, which pushed the prices drastically to meet the low market demand. Currently, the schools and colleges are not fully operational; copier demand is at the 70 percent level. Non-copier grade demand is still weak with the publication sector having fewer jobs. The prices of copier and non-copier grades are again under severe pressure with poor demand after the second country-wide lockdown. Tissue Institutional sales or away-from-home market has been severely hit due to closure of consumption centres like offices, restaurants, hotels, airlines, public gatherings, etc. Most of the tissue converters were shut. Converters with emergency orders (from hospitals) opened with minimal infrastructure. There has been labour shortage at the converter's end. Payments from their buyers were also very hard to realize causing a liquidity crunch. Currently, ongoing health issues have increased hygiene awareness and a positive impact in at-home sales started showing up in the domestic market. Away-from-home demand is expected to be low as cinemas, theatres, multiplexes, and entertainment parks are still not opened. IT/ITES have also continued with work from home. Board Import started dropping from midJanuary 2020. Order flow improved in the non-packaging segment like publishing, wedding cards and paper cups till February 2020, which had a drastic demand drop post lockdown. Due to the coronavirus issue in China, there was a shortage of pharma API chemicals causing an increase in prices up to 3-4 times. As a result, pharma m a n u f a c t u re r s h ave co n t ro l l e d purchases causing low demand for

cartons. This has affected order flow from pharma customers. However, the demand for board increased from the overseas market due to supply issues from China. C u r r e n t l y, o r d e r f l o w f r o m pharmaceuticals, FMCG and food packaging segment is observing good demand in the domestic market. The non-packaging segment has an average demand. Prices are increased due to the increase in raw material costs at regular intervals.

Profit Margin Before Corona Before COVID-19, the profit margin was in the range of 23 percent.

After Corona After COVID-19, the profit margin dropped drastically i.e. 14 percent.

Expectations from the Government Before Corona Our government should be prepared for disaster management during pandemics with all types of resources and responses in order to cater and solve the needs of every industry.

After Corona There is a need for proper medical infrastructure as our health industry was not ready and prepared to accept millions of people, who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some relaxation on duties & taxes should be provided for domestic manufacturers to minimise their losses due to the pandemic up to some extent.

Future Outlook With the anticipation of the third wave of COVID 19 hitting by end of Q2, order flow is expected to be volatile. Paper The demand for paper is not picking up, as most of its consumption centres i.e. schools, colleges, universities,

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S general, is more and more cautious about health & hygiene aspects. Hence, an increase in per capita consumption of tissue is expected in the domestic as well as in the global market. The raw material price increase is pushing for price rise despite demand being below average.

educational institutions, IT/ITES etc. are partially closed. Exams are cancelled or changed to the online platform reducing the consumption of answer sheets. Paper demand will only be improved once schools and colleges will open. Government policies on the syllabus are yet not clear; hence, publication demand will be lower. The paper industry, like many other industries, will continue to be under pressure due to the pandemic.

Board With good order f low from pharmaceuticals, FMCG & food packaging sectors, the demand for the board is expected to be positive in this segment. Export demand will continue to remain good especially from the Middle East and North Africa. But due to the deferring of the opening of schools and colleges, non-operational publishing sectors are causing low demand for our other products like book covers. Similarly, the demand in the wedding card segment is also expected to be very negligible. n

Tissue Major tissue consumption centres i.e. hotels, restaurants, airlines, etc. are operational as per the unlock guidelines. Relaxation in social gathering restrictions i.e. family gatherings, cultural gatherings, religious & political functions, business to business exhibitions will help to improve the tissue demand. Due to COVID 19, the public, in

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“Physical mode of teaching will get its due and demand for paper will revive” Mr. Anil Kumar, Executive Director & CEO, Shreyans Industries Ltd.

Entire humanity has undergone disruption and turmoil during the last one and half years and still continues to be so. Despite rapid progress made in medical fields to contain the spread of COVID-19, the pandemic has defied all predictions and its future course remains unpredictable. Businesses worldwide had been affected by the pandemic. While quite a few businesses have come out of their worst period, some are performing better than the pre-pandemic period. However, many industries including the paper industr y still remain adversely affected. This situation has forced the management to look into the ways the businesses were being managed in the prepandemic period and take steps to minimise the impact of the present disruption caused by the same.

Operations and Workforce Management Even in the normal course of operations, businesses keep looking into possibilities of improving efficiencies, minimising the resources consumption, and putting the human resources to the best possible use but the current situation has put more urgency in the way management looks into these aspects. The biggest impact has come on the importance of maintaining working conditions in the mill premises with more emphasis on sanitization and

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cleanliness. Various protocols and SOPs which were necessary to keep operations running were implemented even though this entailed additional cost. We seriously followed various protocols and as a result, our workforce, by and large, remained unaffected by the pandemic. Vaccination of employees was undertaken in a mission mode and as of date 100 percent of eligible employees stand vaccinated. In the coming period also, maintaining healthy working conditions will remain a priority for the management. Maintaining operational efficiencies, conservation of resources and most efficient use of human resources have attained extreme importance due to shrinking margins and will remain so in the times to come.

Supply Chain Management Fortunately, the supply chain of our various inputs and finished goods remained, by and large, intact even during the pandemic period, as most of the inputs were available in nearby areas, and also markets are situated not very far away from our mills. The central government, after a brief period of complete lockdown, insisted to the state governments to keep the movement of goods-carrying vehicles smooth during lockdown which helped a lot. Still, this disruption has sent a warning signal and businesses would have to keep a constant watch on ever-changing situations and take corrective action wherever necessary to

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S Future Outlook

maintain the supply chain intact. Certain unforeseen circumstances like disruption in the supply of oxygen for almost 3-4 weeks was never envisaged and did affect the operations but alternative ways were put in place to minimise the impact.

Market Scenario and Profit Margin We are engaged in the manufacturing of writing and printing paper. The market of this product was gravely affected and remains so as of date due to the closure of the majority of schools, colleges and other educational institutions. Also, many offices have adopted the 'work from home' culture. Consequently, the demand for writing and printing paper has been very adversely affected. At the beginning of the current year, there was a pickup in demand and consequently, prices of writing and printing paper firmed up once the first wave of the pandemic receded. There was an anticipation that things will normalise ver y fast and normal academic session 2021-22 will start. However, with the onset of a very severe second wave, these hopes were belied and paper demand and prices went through a spin. While in most parts of the country, the second wave has shown signs of abating but markets are still apprehensive and unsure about the future.

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During last year, the prices of most of t h e i n p u t s r e m a i n e d l o w. Unfortunately, in the current year, the cost of all inputs has risen very sharply without any commensurate increase in prices of paper thus, making operations of the paper industry engaged in the manufacturing of writing and printing paper absolutely non-viable. We do hope that with most of the states announcing to open schools, colleges, and other educational institutions and an uptick in the pace of vaccination, things should move towards normalisation in a short period of time thus giving some relief to this sector. However, much will depend on the spread of disease in the coming period.

Expectations from the Government I personally do not expect any fiscal or financial support coming from the government in view of the very tight budgetary position which will tie the government's hand in announcing any relief, specif ically for the paper industry. However, a constant watch should be kept on the movement of the international market to avoid any dumping of writing and printing paper in the country from Southeast Asia which affected the industry in the prepandemic period. Currently, this threat has receded a bit in view of hardened international prices and a sharp increase in sea freight which make cross-country trade unviable.

The demand for writing and printing p a p e r h a s b e e n ve r y a d ve r s e l y impacted on account of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the total closure of all academic institutions and also partial working of offices, which are the main consumers of writing and printing paper. However, the main drivers for the growth of this sector remain intact, which include significantly higher outlay for universal literacy, more and more emphasis on taking education to the last corner of the country, and also recent announcement regarding new education policy which will entail major changes in the syllabus. This will require massive printing of new books and other study materials. Another outcome of recent disturbances has been the limitations and adverse impact of online education which has come to the fore. A significant segment of the population has been deprived of education, either due to limited internet coverage or nonaffordability of suitable devices, like smartphones, I-pads or other such devices. Many children, especially from rural or remote corners of the country, have dropped out of the education system. Also, a major segment of students, who had the means and resources of getting online education have suffered mental and psychological impacts due to constant exposure to screen time and lack of social interaction with peer groups. Educationists and psychologists are worried about the long-term impact of the same. Therefore, I am hopeful that once things normalise a bit and schools and other educational institutions open, the physical mode of teaching and learning will get its due, and demand for writing and printing paper will revive very sharply. I am personally hopeful that by the third or fourth quarter of the current year, the demand for writing and printing paper will come up significantly and this sector will be again on a growth path. n

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S

“Paper industry is expected to show better financial performance with economic recovery” Dr. Ashok Kumar, Executive Director, Pudumjee Paper Products Ltd. (PPPL)

ndian paper industry with a turnover of about INR 70,000 crores plays an important role in the manufacturing segment of the Indian economy. The paper industry like all other industries has also been affected adversely due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Indian paper industry is ver y fragmented and diverse in nature. There are small, medium and large size (from Indian perspective) mills — capacity wise, employing old to state-of-the-art technology. The fibrous raw material used for manufacturing paper include plantation wood from farm forestry programs, agri-residues like wheat straw and bagasse procured from farmers and waste paper sourced domestically as well as imported from other countries. The products manufactured are also diverse — kraft paper, newsprint, writing and printing papers, photoc o p i e r p a p e r, u n b l e a c h e d a n d bleached varieties of packaging papers/boards, uncoated and coated b o a rd s, t i s s u e p a p e r a n d s o m e tonnage of speciality papers. Though all industry segments and individual mills have been affected adversely but being diverse in nature, it is but natural that different companies have been affected differently. This becomes evident later when financial performances of some companies will be presented.

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Operations and Workforce Management The mill operations of Indian paper industry were running smoothly up to 20th March 2021 when the decision about the country wide lockdown was taken by the government. During the lockdown, most of the mills stopped their operations completely during late March and April 2021. However, depending on the locations of the mill and the local conditions prevailing at that point of time, some mills started their operations partially from May 2021. Due to atmosphere of uncertainty and very little knowledge about COVID-19, there was confusion all over and the mills were considering different approaches to start their operations as such an unprecedented situation was never faced before. Some mills started running at a reduced capacity and were manufacturing for stock as the supply chain got disturbed and the demand had vanished all of a sudden. Q1 of 2020-21 was badly affected from all angles including operations, demand, prices, high stock levels and very low paper prices which were never seen before. Q1 sales were about 50 percent on a y-o-y basis with poor or negative margins. I n d i a n p a p e r i n d u s t r y e m p l oys permanent workmen in its regular operations and most mills provide residential facilities to them. However,

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S some contract workmen are engaged for operations which are not regular in nature. Although there is no authentic published numbers available to support this claim, but in general, the permanent workforce did not go anywhere as almost all mills paid wages without any deductions. The migration of contract workmen in organized sector was also minimal which did not affect operations of most of the mills. However, the impact of migrant workforce was felt in small and medium sized mills particularly those employing a higher share of their workforce on contract basis and not providing them residential facilities. In the beginning of the pandemic, the industry manufacturing, selling and distributing essential items required for the pandemic were given permission to operate. Accordingly, the industry working in the area of health, hygiene, some food segments, ecommerce activities resumed operations because these sectors needed packaging material to pack and deliver their products. In July 2020, some easing in the lockdown restrictions started resulting in unlocking economy which showed its impact from late Q2 of 2020-21. This helped the industry particularly the packaging sector to start manufacturing operations and then slowly increasing their production. As a result, the sales in Q2 picked up which on average was about 70 percent of its pre-pandemic level but again with lower margins. Further easing of restrictions and unlocking of the economy yielded better results in Q3 of 2020-21. The demand improved and the paper prices started increasing which further strengthened in Q4 of 2020-21. The sales in Q3 of 2020-21 was about 80 percent and about 90 percent in Q4 except for newsprint and writing and printing papers with prices almost close to pre-COVID level. These numbers above show a general trend and may differ from one segment to another and from one mill to another in the absence of any authentic published

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data except by some agencies, associations or institutions.

Supply Chain Management Due to COVID-19 since March 2020, both inward and outward supply chains were disrupted. This had seriously affected the availability of all major inputs as stocks with the mills were on a normal level established over a period of time. Due to this disruption, any material which was in the pipeline did not reach the mills in time. However, it did not have much impact in Q1 of 2020-21 as the manufacturing activities were slow and there were stocks available just before the pandemic erupted and lockdown was announced. But as the production activities resumed towards the end of Q1, its impact was evident. Some inputs which are locally sourced with less lead time and stock for such inputs even though they are essential is not kept at the mills. Such inputs were not available in time due to restrictions of vehicle movement even within a state or at district level causing the stock out position and thus affecting the mill's operations. The outward disruption caused serious problems as all of a sudden; the material already manufactured and waiting for dispatches to the customers could not be moved. There were various kinds of restrictions within the country i.e. from one state to another, within the state, within the region and at district level. There was also not much clarity in the beginning which took time to resolve with the involvement of central government agencies which issued directions for the unrestricted movement of goods within the country. Even if the material somehow reached the customers, it could not be unloaded due to various reasons including non-availability of the workforce which is mainly contractual for these activities. This problem continued in Q2 as well, though to somewhat less extent, with some improvement from Q3 onwards and more improvement in Q4. The paper

industry being alive to its responsibilities, made lot of efforts to restore the disrupted supply chains to make its products available to all the sectors. Besides, there has been a major issue with the scarcity of shipping containers which are used for imports and exports of various inputs such as pulp, waste paper, chemicals and export of packaging paper, coated paper and boards and tissue paper including the more recent phenomena of kraft paper export to China. The availability of containers reduced with lot of uncertainty and the freight cost has increased to an unreasonably high level which has never been witnessed before.

Market Scenario Some information has already been given earlier. In general, there was severe demand compression due to the lockdown in Q1 and Q2 of 2020-21 and closing of many educational institutions, commercial establishments i n c l u d i n g o f f i ce s , d ow n s t r e a m activities such as printers, publishers, converters and related services such as IT companies and service industries. Due to this reason, all segments of p a p e r i n d u s t r y we r e a d ve r s e l y impacted, the worst being the writing and printing paper and newsprint segment. There was an improvement in Q3 and Q4 of FY 2020-21 but some segments like writing and printing continued to face the shortage of orders. Some companies tried to change the product mix to the extent it was possible in their respective operations but its impact was not much. Most companies except few performed quite well in the quarter January-March 2021 with close to normal production levels and price recovery close to the pre COVID level.

Profit Margin The profitability of any paper industry segment or that of an individual company depends on many factors. It is difficult to make specific observations except that all mills in general per-

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S Table-1: FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF PAPER INDUSTRY (2019-20, 2020-21 & Q4 OF 2020-21) Name of the Company Financial Year

2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21

Revenue from Operations (Rs in CR)

3054

2742

897

1962

1368

575

1184

782

328

3471

2768

1124

EBIDTA (% of Revenue)

29.6

23.1

25.4

24.5

17.7

22.5

13.8

10.4

17.5

9.4

7.4

PBT (% of Revenue)

23.5

13.5

20.5

14.8

-1.3

9.4

8.6

8.2

4.4

-6.1

-2

Name of the Company Financial Year Revenue from Operations (Rs in CR)

2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 341

233

607

443

155

1270

887

362

605

437

148

EBIDTA (% of Revenue)

14.1

9.1

13.1

7.8

-7.5

3.4

23.9

6.9

16.6

9.3

15.6

17.4

PBT (% of Revenue)

12.3

6.6

11.4

1.5

-16.3

-2.9

17.5

-1.9

11.7

14.9

Name of the Company Financial Year

2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21 2019-20 2020-21 Q4 2020-21

Revenue from Operations (Rs in CR)

745

404

169

481

415

141

540

366

118

1405

1146

343

EBIDTA (% of Revenue)

7.2

16.5

9.2

5.9

11.9

7.7

1.5

6.7

15.4

11.6

6.8

PBT (% of Revenue)

7.6

-8.2

8.3

4.8

1.2

8.5

4.9

-3

2.8

10.6

2.3

Note: 1. Income from other sources is not included in Revenue 2. PBT is before considering any exeptional items

formed badly in the first and second quarters of 2020-21 with some recovery witnessed in third quarter and more so in the fourth quarter. The published information about the f inancial performance of 12 companies is given in Table-1 without mentioning name of the company but the information is in public domain. These 12 companies represent the diversity of the nature of the industry in context of raw material usage, capacity, and product segment including speciality papers. One can compare the financial performance of 2019-20, 2020-21 and 4th quarter of 2021-22.

products switch over (limited for most mills), export potential and opportunities etc. For example, the companies manufacturing good quality tissue paper and packaging boards performed better than others due to export even though the margins were lower but the export orders ensured running the machines which helped in taking care of the fixed cost to some extent. The results of Q4 2020-21 (Tabulated here separately) were better as can be seen from Table-1. Most companies recovered fairly well in Q4 of FY 2021-22 and the Q1 of 2021-22 has also been encouraging.

The reported financial results show that all the companies were impacted severely in FY 2020-21 as compared to FY 2019-20. The extent of loss in EBIDTA margin and PBT was different for different companies. The reasons were many such as the nature of fibrous raw material and their sourcing, type of papers produced, financial performance of the company before pandemic, product segment, flexibility in

There has been a substantial impact of the increase of most input prices on the cost of production. Some inputs during the pandemic have gone up beyond imagination. These include waste paper prices, imported chemicals, packaging materials, coal, domestic inputs due to increase in logistic and other cost etc. This has adversely affected the profit margins.

Expectations from the Government All paper industry associations from time to time during the pandemic have been formally requesting the various government departments about their concern of the impact of COVID-19 and have given meaningful and practical suggestions to help and support the industry. Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) had written to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Labour, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Finance Ministry in this regard. All such communications are in public domain which can be referred for details. There always remains an issue of restricting indiscriminate imports of paper from China and ASEAN countries. Paper manufacturers in China and ASEAN countries enjoy access to cheap inputs and raw materials and also get incentives and subsidies. This does not allow the level playing field to

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R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S Indian manufacturers in the domestic market. At times, there are surge in imports of paper from these countries which affect the domestic paper industry.

The financial results of Q1 of FY 202122, though not tabulated in Table-1, have been similar to Q4 of FY 2020-21, but the scenario may be somewhat different in Q2.

These are important but short term measures to help the industry. A more comprehensive presentation was given by Mr. A.S. Mehta in the capacity of Chairman of Development Council for Pulp Paper and Allied Industries (DCPPAI) on the subject of Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) on 18th August 2020 in the meeting convened by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). This was later followed by giving specific suggestions priority-wise. Such suggestions are important and need government support to make the paper industry sustainable.

There has been apprehension about the possible third COVID wave with different predictions. This is causing anxiety with some fear psychosis in the business environment. The end users/dealers are not placing orders to build-up any stock at their level even for the coming festive season which used to see higher demand earlier. A lot will depend on the third COVID wave and its severity and how it impacts the people and the business. The government is doing its best to vaccinate as many people as possible which will be very helpful in fighting the virus. Everyone must follow the guidelines and COVID appropriate behavior to support the government efforts in controlling the disease. The data published by the government sources show the economic recovery in Q1 of the current financial year on expected lines as predicted last year and it is hoped that the trend will continue. With this economic recovery, the paper industry should also show better financial performance.

At the same time, the industry as a whole must take all necessary actions to make it more competitive in all respect and be environmentally sustainable. A number of paper companies have invested substantially in last 20 years in the technology upgradation, capacity expansion, energy and environmental management and more recently in CSR activities. This has to be done by all the companies in order to survive, sustain and grow. This pandemic has also given a message that the companies should have adequate reserves for the rainy days, not indulge in over leveraging themselves and have the financial capacity to take care of its financial commitments including payment of salary and wages to their employees during any lockdown period in future.

Future Outlook As mentioned before, Q4 of FY 2020-21 showed a good recovery, especially in packaging and paperboard, and tissue segment as is evident from the financial results. This was expected to continue in subsequent quarters as well. However, after the second wave of pandemic, the scenario has somewhat changed from mid-April 2021 with drying up of orders in some segments.

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Coming to the specifics, the fibrous raw material scenario is not promising. The imported pulp prices have softened somewhat in last two months but owing to the higher freight cost, it is not certain if this downward trend in the landed pulp prices will continue. About 60 percent of paper production in India comes from the use of various grades of waste paper. The quality of domestic waste paper is poor and quantity is also limited. The imported waste paper in FY 2020-21 has seen an unprecedented increase in delivered price with uncertainty of availability most of the times. The higher prices are still continuing and there does not seem any possibility in near future to expect any substantial downward price correction. Some experts in the paper industry advocate the ban on the import of some grades of waste paper for the sake of environment and also

think that this will force the stakeholders to increase recover y of domestic waste paper. This needs a careful assessment and consideration but the fact is that there are no concerted efforts at the country level to increase the recovery of domestic waste paper except few individual companies and organizations making their own efforts. It may be worthwhile to mention here that the waste paper recovery rate in EU during the pandemic has been almost the same as before the pandemic as there are strategies, EU policies, commitment of individual EU members, proper assessment, data sharing and monitoring at individual level and at common EU platform. In our country, we keep advising others to do something but without making any contribution from our side to improve the recovery rate of waste paper without any strategy either at any government agency or industry/institution level with a result that the waste paper recovery rate is at abysmally low level of 30 percent. Some individual companies/organizations have done pretty well but unless all stakeholders are involved, we shall continue to publish various reports but would not make any substantial progress in this area. The prices of papermaking chemicals having seen the increasing trend in FY 2020-21 are at all time high now. The prices of imported chemicals are expected to see further increase owing to the higher freight cost. The domestically produced chemicals may also see further increase in prices as some of the ingredients used in manufacturing are imported. The current imported coal prices have almost doubled compared to the level one year ago and there is no possibility of prices coming down in near future. The sea freight has increased to an unprecedented high level resulting in substantial increase of the landed price of all inputs. This substantial increase of all input prices will impact the cost of production adversely while paper prices are not likely to increase. It means the profitability of the paper industry in Q2

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S and Q3 is not expected to be the same as that of pre-pandemic level even if the overall recovery of the economy further improves.

Pudumjee Paper Products Ltd (PPPL) Pune Pudumjee Paper Products Ltd (PPPL) stopped its operations completely w.e.f 21st March 2020. As the company manufactures speciality papers for pharma, hygiene and food segments, there was request by these end users to supply papers for their urgent requirements. Pudumjee is actually a speciality paper packaging solutions company. The company got permission to start its operations in the first week of May 2021 and after making our operations ready and employees prepared to observe the guidelines of regulatory authorities and COVID appropriate behavior, the operations were started on 10th May, 2020 with about 50 percent capacity. The production in Q1 was 38 percent, Q2 - 54 percent, Q3 -78 percent and Q4 - 87 percent with overall 64 percent production in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20

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In case of PPPL, there was no adverse impact of the workforce on operations as we paid full salary and wages to all our employees including most of the contract workmen during the lockdown period. Not a single employee including contract workmen was asked to leave the company during lockdown period. This generated lot of goodwill towards the company which has helped in improving the working environment.

there was sufficient pulp stock sourced at prices of around USD 500 available in the company and with the lower production in the first half of the year, it did not impact the operations. The pulp prices of speciality papers did not reduce as much as in other segments of the industry and even though the production in 2020-21 was only 64 percent of the production in 2019-20, the profitability could be maintained.

It was hoped that being speciality paper manufacturing company producing products for companies that come under the category of essential services sector will not be hit as badly as other segments of the paper industry. But this has not been the case as many factors such as lockdown restrictions, non-availability of workforce in user industry, supply chain disruptions, payment issues from the customers impacted the company like any other paper segment. PPPL uses imported pulp for manufacturing its products and due to supply chain disruption, the availability became an issue particularly from Q2 onwards. Fortunately,

The current scenario in FY 2021-22 may not be as rosy as in previous year. The pulp prices had risen to the level of USD 800 for the hardwood and about USD 1100 for the softwood during later part of 2020-21 which have softened now. However, the future is uncertain due to high sea freight cost. The input prices of chemicals such as Titanium Dioxide and some other speciality chemicals have increased to an unprecedented level and with imported coal landed price around INR 10000/MT, the cost of production will only go up further. With paper prices not likely to increase in near future, the financial performance may not be as good as in FY 2020-21. n

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S

“Packaging segment was performing above par, be it duplex, FBB or kraft” Mr. S.K. Khetan, Director (Operations) & CFO, Emami Paper Mills Ltd.

Operations and Workforce Management

intensive paper industry, the cost of labour constitutes a major figure in the supply chain.

Before Corona

Market demand shocks: The pandemic will result in sluggish or postponed customer demand due to reduced income levels and low sentiments due to uncertainty. The epidemic might stimulate the demand for the first-purchase opportunity but it is difficult to ascertain the magnitude of change in demand.

Operations were good and satisfactory. We all were expecting overall paper demand to grow at 6-7 percent CAGR for the next 3-4 years and reach from about 19 million tonnes in 2019-20 to 24 million tonnes in 2023-24. Workforce engagement and demand from the paper industry were increasing and bullish.

Supply Chain Management

After Corona

Before Corona

The demand has weakened across most of the industries due to weak consumer sentiment and job losses. The consumers are deferring their nondiscretionary purchases and focussing on buying essential items. The restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus have affected the ongoing infrastructure and other projects, thereby leading to a cascading effect on the value chain of the paper industry.

The supply chain system was in place before COVID-19 and we all were looking for betterment and further growth.

Liquidity crunch: Businesses are under pressure to meet their fixed overhead costs as their revenues have been hit due to weak demand amid pandemic-related challenges. Workforce health and business in 'new normal': Maintaining the health of workers in 'new normal' also remains a challenging task for industries as this is further expected to add to their liquidity crunch. For the labour-

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After Corona Supply chain disruptions: Demand shock will lead to a fall in future sales and profitability of the firms. This, combined with heightened uncertainty, will result in supply chain disruptions. Due to the high degree of integration and interdependence of value chains across the economy and lockdown, the extent of the impact on the economy will be multi-fold. India's high dependence on imports of wastepaper will also cause major disruptions in the supply of raw materials. The paper industry is set to see production delays, reduced shipping; and freight options, while a drop in

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S revenue may prevent companies from meeting operational cost. Upon reopening of production units across the globe, the availability of cargo vessels/carriers will be limited, and this will not only lead to delayed shipments but also increased logistics costs. There has also been a severe demand compression due to closing down of educational institutions, commercial establishments and downstream printers, publishers, converters, stationery services among others. Anticipate continued supply chain disruptions: It's truly a global industry and whether it is shipping, logistics, or other transportation issues snarled by travel bans, supply shortages, rising prices, or anything else that affects your ability to get what you need when you need it; the problems aren't going away quickly. Supply chains for recovered paper are under strain as local authorities close recycling facilities and businesses that are usually generating large amounts of materials for recycling are closed. UK collection volumes are down significantly. The curb on the movement of people and non-essential goods has affected the supply chain, leading to a shortage of raw materials. The coronavirus outbreak in major raw material supplying countries has affected the movement of raw materials across the borders. The paper industry is feeling the heat of supply chain disruptions due to their dependency on imports for most of the requirements. The supply chain disruptions have led to a longer product cycle and increased financial liabilities. The paper dealers of India: The 10,000 paper dealers of India are the foundation of the print industry. This includes wholesale and retail and the big paper merchants. They serve as a link between a converter or printer and a wholesaler or stockist. This segment has been adversely impacted due to sluggish sales of 40 percent during the

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pandemic months. Now it is moderate at 60-65 percent. Secondly, there are a lot of government compliance, rules, and regulations, which have been introduced in the last two years – things such as TDS and TCS. It becomes onerous for a single-person organisation where the owner is handling sales and managing the account engine to keep track of these compliances.

Market Scenario Before Corona The country's paper sector registered a growth of about 5-6 percent last fiscal ended March 31, 2020. The biggest hope for the industry is the potential for the per capita paper consumption to go up from the present 14 kg to about 17 kg by 2024-25. The global average per capita consumption is about 57 kg. The newsprint industry has been in decline for more than a decade because of falling demand for newsprint, magazines and impact of digitalization. The most robust growth was seen in the packaging grades be it packaging board or kraft. The tissue also had a very good growth potential in India with increasing awareness of health and hygiene.

After Corona The country's paper industry is currently operating at less than 70 percent capacity utilisation due to the severe demand compression. All the segments of paper were adversely impacted, and it is only a matter of degree amongst different grades, with writing and printing and newsprint segments the worst affected. Among various business segments within the paper industry, the packaging industry has fared well across segments — pharma sector, FMCG, and growth of the e-commerce business. Ban on single-use plastics is expected to create an alternative paper market. One huge area of concern for the commercial print segment is the slump in the writing and printing segment.

This is because of the restrictions on schools and colleges, and the boom in online education. This has impacted the demand for notebooks and textbooks. Moreover, the government restrictions on printing calendars and diaries in government departments and PSU companies are also making matters worse.

Profit Margin Before Corona Paper Industry as a whole was having satisfactor y prof it margins and expecting much better margins in coming years.

After Corona There has been an all-round increase in input costs, across raw materials and in energy costs, as also of all sizing chemicals leading to pressure on costs. From January 2021 onwards, some signs of recovery were witnessed, especially in packaging and paperboard, and tissue segments. After the second wave of the pandemic, the scenario dampened again for the industry from midApril onwards with orders drying up for some segments. The paper industry has made substantial investments in the last 5-7 years and it is becoming very difficult to meet its financial obligation in view of the significant drop in margins. The paper industry relies on a constant supply of recycled waste paper for its source materials. This year, the collection of those recyclables has largely ceased, driving up the cost for the raw material that does exist. The paper companies are now forced to pay sky-high prices for the material they need to make paper, but, due to low demand, aren't able to raise the prices. Unfortunately for some companies, their margins are becoming as thin as the paper they sell. The Indian economy has been strained with working capital/liquidity crunch due to the production shutdowns and continuing payments toward fixed costs.

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S Expectations from the Government Before Corona Government policies were supportive to paper industry growth. By and large, EoDB initiatives proven to be helpful. GST implementation has become main engine of growth for the paper Industry.

After Corona Boosting demand: In order to boost the demand, the government should offer export incentives (RoDTEP, Duty Drawback, MEIS, etc.) to the industries timely and also cut GST rates. At the same time, the government should also look at imposing import duties on certain goods (newsprint) and raw materials, which can be manufactured locally, to provide support to the domestic industries. Enhancing supply: The government should enact ease of not just doing business but resuming, diversifying, and expanding too. It must also establish helpdesks and digital platforms to bridge the information gap between suppliers, buyers, and logistics service providers. Liquidity support: It is one of the most critical interventions that the government should undertake immediately in order to support the businesses. This can be done by lowering duties, taxes, and GST rates, providing a quick refund of taxes, and immediate release of export and other incentives under the industrial and sectoral policies.

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Easing regulatory requirements: The government should extend the timelines for existing approvals and l i ce n s e s n e ce s s a r y for m e e t i n g compliance requirements and the operation of businesses. The autorenewals/clearances/approvals based on self-declaration should be promoted across the industries, to manage the challenges of meeting regulatory requirements during the pandemic. Workforce welfare: The government should issue SOPs for businesses operating in 'New Normal' in order to help the industries as well as safeguard the health of the workforce. Policy interventions: The pandemic has highlighted the importance of having diverse supply sources within the country and across the globe. It is an opportune time for the government to revisit, renegotiate and enforce FTAs and other regional agreements, especially with respect to value addition clauses and changes in the import-export basket of India, to protect the local economy and increase reach beyond South Asia. FDI: The government should increase its focus on tapping foreign investors by offering incentives to encourage FDI in the country. This will not only help in the development of supply chain infrastructure for niche products in India but also lead to increased employment generation opportunities.

Future Outlook Before Corona The imports of paper and paperboards, barring the newsprint into the country, have been steadily increasing. In the last nine years, imports have risen at a CAGR of 11.34 percent in value terms from INR 3,411 crore in 2010-11 to INR 8,972 crore in 2019-20. The imports as per estimates are growing at a very high rate as compared to the increase in domestic production rate with under utilisation of domestic installed capacity.

After Corona Having taken a major hit due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the country's INR 80,000-crore domestic paper industry is on a consolidation mode and expects the business to get back to its normal rhythm by Q4 of FY 2021-22. The paper industry is operating under extremely challenging conditions which have been compounded by substantial quantities of paper being imported into the country at significantly lower costs. The print business is improving but will not return to former levels due to the switch to digital outputs, which grew during the pandemic. The long-term outlook of the Indian paper and packaging board market remains positive with growth expected to be driven by the packaging segment. Rising imports, due to surplus capacity globally, remains a concern for domestic manufacturers. n

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S

“New Education Policy could Trigger Good Demand for Paper” Mr. M.L. Pachisia, Managing Director, Orient Paper & Industries Ltd.

Operations and Workforce Management Before Corona Good demand for papers and boards led to the maximum utilisation of capacity.

After Corona Poor demand resulted in 60-70 percent capacity utilisation.

no issues and were able to ensure the smooth flow of the products through good management.

After Corona After the pandemic, we faced problems in maintaining supply chain management due to lockdowns and interruptions faced by vendors.

Market Scenario Before Corona

Supply Chain Management Before Corona Everything in the supply chain, from procurement of raw materials to the transportation of the final product, was happening without hassles. We faced

The market scenario was good before Corona as the domestic demand was increasing at a steady pace.

After Corona After the pandemic, the market scenario became very poor for writing & printing papers. However, the tissue paper segment was relatively doing well.

Expectations from the Government After Corona The government might soon open schools, colleges, and other educational centres. Implementing the new education policy could trigger good demand for paper.

Future Outlook After Corona We expect good demand revival once schools, colleges, and offices open. n

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R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S

“Paperboard Demand Witnessed Upsurge Due to Increased Reliance on E-Commerce” Mr. Madhukar Mishra, Managing Director, Star Paper Mills Ltd.

Operations and Workforce Management

Corporates therefore increased emphasis on CSR activities during these difficult times.

Before Corona

Supply Chain Management

The operations at Star Paper Mills were smooth and the staff was performing the assigned duties without any hassle.

After Corona T h e o u tb re a k o f t h e COV I D - 19 pandemic exerted a huge impact on various businesses across industries all over the world and the paper industry was not an exception. In particular, the manufacturing activities were hit the most as the production process was not amenable to work from home, unlike other operations. In the changed circumstances, there have been massive changes in terms of the deployment of the workforce. Furthermore, the manufacturers had to alter to the SOPs to safeguard the health of the employees. As the lockdown was announced in March 2020, millions of migrant workers made their way back to their villages or hometowns. It led to employee shortages particularly for skilled-migrant employees, across the supply chain for the entire manufacturing sector. Almost every section of society had been affected due to the lockdown.

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Before Corona The supply chain systems in place worked trouble-free prior to the pandemic.

After Corona There's been an enormous disruption of global supply chains. During the beginning of the global outbreak of the virus, industries all over the world faced significant supply chain management (SCM) challenges. The supply of inputs to the paper industry also got impeded during lockdowns. There was an unforeseen disruption in the movement of materials due to sudden declarations of containment zones. Owing to the unprecedented interruption in the global economy and world trade, the production and consumption have been significantly impacted which constrained both the imports and exports of products across different sectors globally. During the first wave of the pandemic, the local authorities were hindering movement by interpreting government orders in different ways at different places. The restrictions imposed on the movement of non-

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S essential products and their manufacturing caused a disruption even for essential items as some of the nonessentials are key inputs in the production of essentials.

Market Scenario Before Corona The demand for writing & printing p a p e r a n d co p i e r s e g m e n t w a s buoyant.

After Corona With regard to the demand for writing & printing paper and copier segment, the enhanced use of electronic devices at workplaces and the continued closure of educational institutions have severely affected the demand for cultural grades of paper. However, the demand for packaging board/paperboards has witnessed an upsurge due to the increased reliance on e-commerce by a majority of households, especially after the pandemic.

Profitability/Profit Margin Before Corona The profit margin was healthy.

After Corona The reduction in the level of operations led to inefficiencies and losses. Moreover, the increases in the cost of different inputs also posed a significant challenge to attain previous levels of profitability.

Expectations from the Government After Corona In general, the expectations regarding the response of the government to the COVID-19 pandemic can be termed into two major categories - health-

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related expectations, and policyrelated expectations. In the former category, one of the key subthemes is the acceleration of the vaccination drives. The government can play a key role in educating the citizens on effectiveness and safety, as well as procuring and distributing them efficiently and equitably. Enhanced outlays on health care across the urbanrural landscape and doubling of medical/nursing colleges are some of the other areas holding urgent attention. About the policy-related expectations, the businesses across Industries and the stakeholders are looking towards the government to increase expenditure and investments in a way that will provide an immediate boost to local demand. Furthermore, the reduction in income tax on individuals with a maximum slab of 25 percent, thereby increasing their disposable incomes, would be an encouraging step. Additionally, with the central government's vision - 'minimum government, maximum governance', the furtherance of 'ease of doing business' should be given utmost importance. Incentives provided by the government in backward areas will enable local job

creation that would in turn decrease t h e m i g r a t i o n t o i n d u s t r i a l l ydeveloped cities in search of livelihoods.

Future Outlook After Corona In the wake of the precautionary measures, recourse to digital technologies and automation has seen a sharp rise. It is estimated that there will be an accelerated adoption of automation technologies along with Robotics and Artif icial Intelligence (AI). The deployment of digital/AI in manufacturing operations will gather pace in the future. The enhanced use of electronic media in offices and educational institutes will impact the rate of growth of demand for paper. At the same time, we will witness increased demand for high-quality packaging paper/ materials. Sectors like travel and hospitality will also be impacted even after return to normalcy as businesses continue with work from home/virtual meetings etc. to some extent. Besides, there will be a massive spurt in certain sectors due to the pent-up demand after the restoration of normalcy. n

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S

“Every crisis brings new challenges which end up in generating new efficiency standards” Operations and Workforce Management Mr. Akshay Jain, Director, Silverton Pulp & Papers Pvt. Ltd.

Before Corona Operations were quite smooth. We were striving for growth at a robust pace whereas the workforce was also in high spirit to give the best of their efficiencies. We were hopeful and looking for the best talents in our industry for achieving the best efficiency and maintaining the best standards.

After Corona After the pandemic, there was a big change in lifestyle and approach towards life and goals. High-flying people adopted the principle of 'simple living and high thinking'. Most of the work is now managed through offices instead of fieldwork and also new recruitments are restricted to requirements only. All new projects are temporarily put on hold as the complete business pattern has changed.

Supply Chain Management Before Corona Before the pandemic, every input was easily available and industry was on the growing trend. All the raw materials were lower on cost; there were no hassles of sea freights. Even the financial situation of the industry was very relaxed.

After Corona After the pandemic, worldwide shipping became a big issue. There is a sharp rise in sea freight along with the basic cost of raw materials due to the production cut

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during pandemic and change in demand patterns. The financial situation of the industry has also become very tight as realisation of money from the debtor is delayed and raw material supplier needs immediate payment.

Market Scenario Before Corona The market was growing at a good pace, specially packaging grades. Asian countries, especially China, were importing paper at a good pace and creating demand for paper in all Asian countries. There was good profitability due to the appropriate demand-supply gap.

After Corona Now, markets are restricted to local levels as due to steep rise in shipping cost, exports of paper have reduced drastically. There is overcapacity of production as the local demand has also decreased. As a result, the prices of finished paper are at the lowest levels as compared to the raw material prices which are at peak. So, the paper industry is reeling under tremendous pressure. In the near future, the situation seems to be difficult as freight from Asian countries and Europe is very high. As a result, only local demand is there which leads to pressure on f inished prices and profitability.

Profit Margin Before Corona Profits were good as growth was there and mills were on their expansion plans. Waste paper prices were at their

bottom and prices of finished goods were at a reasonable level.

After Corona There is pressure on balance sheets especially in the writing and printing segment as the demand is very weak due to the shutdown of schools and co l l e ge s. O n t h e co n t ra r y, t h e demand for packing paper was good till the last quarter of the last f inancial year but since export demand in all Asian countries has come under pressure due to shipping freights, it impacted finished paper prices. On the other hand, waste paper prices are at their all time high levels, so the situation is tough and of 'survival of the fittest'.

Expectations from the Government Before Corona Industry always expects a healthy atmosphere from the government to grow and fight worldwide competition. Our fuel cost, manpower cost, taxation policies, incentive schemes should be

at par with the other economies of the world so that we have no borders to sell our products. Inland freight management is a big issue on which the government should focus.

gaps, are imported from China and other countries as the local industry is suffering and running in losses.

Future Outlook

After Corona

Before Corona

After the pandemic, the expectations from the government have increased multiple folds as the after-effects of corona are not encouraging especially in the education sector and the freight part —both incoming and outgoing. We should get subsidies for freights to fight competition on the world level. Secondly, there should be a relaxation in taxes. Most importantly, on the import side, some safeguard duties should be imposed on products that can be manufactured in India but due to price

Our future is always bright. We believe that where there is a will; there is a way.

After Corona After the pandemic, definitely, there are challenges but the future of our industry is still very bright as there is a big gap in per capita consumption of paper in developed nations compared with our country. Every crisis brings new challenges which end up in generating new efficiency standards so it is a blessing in disguise. n

Manufacturer of : Complete Paper Machine from conveyor to Rewinder • Duplex • Multi Layer Kraft • Kraft • Newsprint

D.S. Pulp & Paper Machinery Pvt. Ltd. D.S. Engineers Mfg.: Paper, Pulp & Cement Plant Works & office: Plot No. 5314, Phase IV, Ramol Cross Road, G.I.D.C. Vatva, Vatva, Ahmedabad - 382445. (Rajesh Desai) +91 9825042710, 9227225579 E-mail: dsengineers_raj@yahoo.com / dspl@ymail.com

www.papermillmachineryindia.com | www.papermillindia.com

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R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S

“Industries are shifting from single-use plastic to paperbased solutions” Mr. Abiali Jani, Director, Jani Sales Pvt. Ltd.

Operations and Workforce Management

in mid-July 2020, it took us six months to properly set up the distribution network.

Before Corona

Market Scenario

Our manufacturing unit was under erection and commissioning. All project work was going on smoothly.

After Corona All erection and commissioning work of our manufacturing plant was running smoothly till the third week of March 2020 when a sudden announcement of nationwide lockdown derailed the whole process. The plant which was expected to be commissioned at the end of April 2021 became operational only in July 2021 due to the sudden nonavailability of labour at the construction site and skilled labour for erection and commissioning. It took another two months, till September 2020 to get the operations people in place.

Supply Chain Management Before Corona Not Applicable.

After Corona Discussions with various prospective channel partners were in full swing till the third week of March 2020. However, it soon got completely derailed for four months due to lockdown, i.e. till 15th July 2020. The eager prospective channel partners showed extreme reluctance in starting the business in a scenario of lockdown. When our operations started

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Before Corona The market scenario in the segments of interest to us looked quite exciting and promising as we had planned to enter with our range of MG Papers for packaging and soft tissue products in hygiene segments.

After Corona The market scenario still looked quite promising till the declaration of lockdown in the third week of March 2020, after which almost the entire business except for the packaging segment, seemed to stand still with no improvement foreseen in the near or middle-term future. When our plant started in mid-July 2020, we found it extremely tough to establish our market with virtually no customer establishments open and literally all business houses working from home. Though, packaging/manufacturing sector was working with a limited workforce, establishing a new product range (which obviously took some time in stabilizing the quality) in the lockdown scenario was a big challenge. The situation somewhat improved after October 2020 as a new export market for packaging products — China became suddenly available and promising to Indian companies. This coupled with improvement in market

R•E•B•O•O•T•I•N•G B•U•S•I•N•E•S•S scenario after opening up of markets further gave impetus to our customer base. We were also introducing new products in new segments almost every month with a lot of R&D that improved our company's health by January 2021.

Expectations from the Government Before Corona

Operations of our new plant being erected had not started till then. It was only an outgo of company resources in a new project.

The government was expected to give a boost to the indigenous businesses by way of policies that will boost the investment in the domestic manufacturing sector and create an investment climate. Its policies were conducive to the new investments by cutting down on bureaucratic red-tapism and fast track clearances to establish a new industry.

After Corona

We were able to reach the break-even stage by January 2021 and started generating marginal gross margins from February 2021 onwards. The last lockdown during April-July 2021 did not affect us at all as during the last six months, we had developed a substantial export market for our range of products, which were being appreciated for their quality and costeffectiveness not only in India but also globally.

The costs of raw materials and utilities have been rising for the past four months apart from a tremendous escalation in sea freight costs making exports to the US, Europe, and South America nonviable. We are able to export our products only to the Middle East and the Far East countries. The government can help us in four ways, reduction in import duty of raw materials and chemicals, reduction in the cost of utilities like power and water, providing better

Profit Margin Before Corona

export incentives, and opening up hospitality business further so that depression in the business of hygiene products can be overcome.

Future Outlook Before Corona Not Applicable.

After Corona Outlook has been uncertain so far and is expected to remain so till the world is free from the effect of the coronavirus pandemic. The two factors that would help in this direction are vaccination of the global population against coronavirus and control of further infections through booster shots of vaccination so that the economy can remain open and all commercial and entertainment institutions can remain functional. Also, industries are shifting from single-use plastic to paper-based solutions; a lot of e-commerce companies have already shifted their packaging solutions to paper. So, we definitely hope there would be good growth and demand for good quality papers. n

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D•R•I•V•I•N•G F•O•R•W•A•R•D

UFlex Ltd:

Carving a Strong Market Niche with Asepto

“With this cutting-edge Greenfield project, we are now the world's fastest-growing aseptic liquid packaging company, with a year-on-year growth rate of more than 100 percent.”

Mr. Ashwani Kumar Sharma, President & CEO, Aseptic Liquid Packaging Business, UFlex Ltd.

septo—from the house of Uf lex Ltd.—is India's first aseptic liquid packaging material with a state - of-the -art manufacturing plant in the industrial hub of Sanand in Gujarat. In a conversation with Paper Mart, Mr. Ashwani Kumar Sharma, President & CEO, Aseptic Liquid Packaging Business, UFlex Ltd. presents an overview of the brand, views on the aseptic packaging market, and the procurement of the paper used in this packaging. Further, he talks about the current size of the aseptic paper-based packaging market segment and their future roadmap.

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Paper Mart: To begin with, we would like you to present an overview of Asepto – the first-ofits-kind liquid packaging brand in India and the market reach and growth the brand has attained so far? Also, how do you plan with regard to increasing your reach in the domestic and international market? Ashwani Sharma: We identified the latent need to rejuvenate aseptic packaging which could give a new benchmark to achieve for companies using aseptic packaging. UFlex - India's

D•R•I•V•I•N•G F•O•R•W•A•R•D largest flexible packaging materials & solutions company is the first Indian company to enter into the aseptic liquid packaging sector under the brand Asepto, with an investment of INR 1500 crore in a phased manner. When we began our operational journey in Q2'17, the market was dominated by one global company with over 90 percent market share and a few Chinese players. Asepto's entr y transformed the market's scope because it presented dynamic solutions that the market had never seen before. With this cutting-edge Greenfield project, we are now the world's fastestgrowing aseptic liquid packaging company, with a year-on-year growth rate of more than 100 percent. We are proud to have captured around 20 percent of the domestic market share in less than four years, resulting in our existing full capacity utilization. In fact, we have already announced in January this year that we are doubling the aseptic plant's production capacity from 3.5 billion to 7.0 billion packs annually. This will help us to continue to develop new customers around the world and meet their needs. We currently serve over 100 customers both in India and internationally. Our aseptic packaging material is being e x p o r te d to m a ny re g i o n s l i ke Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and many more. The who's who of the dairy, fruit beverage, and liquor industries are amongst our clients. Innovation has always been our strong forte and the foundation stone on which Asepto is built. With a deep understanding of polymer science as well as printing and packaging expertise, we have contributed value in a variety of ways, resulting in Asepto becoming a frontrunner among businesses for their differentiated packaging needs. We are making the most of our in-house holographic and engineering prowess to stir up the monotony that has been set in the retail shelves of aseptic packs globally.

Asepto introduced never-before-seen aesthetic features like foil stamping, holography, and 3D lens, elevating the face of aseptic liquid packs for the first time ever. By being the first to provide these value -added features in aseptic packaging, we were able to carve out a strong market niche for ourselves. This breakthrough was used by our valued clients to not only identify themselves and stand out on crowded retail shelves but also to emphasize the safety characteristics of the aseptic packaging, such as duplication proof. Even throughout this pandemic, our neverending focus on providing high-quality packaging solutions and doing-itright-the-first-time has allowed us to establish ourselves as a strong player worldwide.

PM: What are your views on aseptic packaging, in particular the liquid packaging industry in India and how do you envision the further growth of the industry? Please describe the key trends and the growth-drivers of the industry.

AS: The Indian market for aseptic liquid packaging is currently around 12-13 billion packs annually, and it is increasing at a CAGR of 12-15 percent per year. The industry is being propelled forward by rising demand for food products with a long shelf life, no preservatives, and packaged in a safe and hygienic manner. Businesses are progressively employing sustainable and efficient packaging solutions and production processes that appeal to consumers of all demographics. We've witnessed major changes in end-user purchase patterns, especially during this pandemic period, as they switch from loose to packaged products and choose better and safer eating and drinking options. In my opinion, few key trends that will shape the industry dynamics in the near future are: Packaging preference that is both safe and hygienic: Consumers are increasingly becoming more mindful of using a quality packaged product. They are aware and making judicious choices in favor of products, which are

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D•R•I•V•I•N•G F•O•R•W•A•R•D

available in packaging that guarantees quality, safety and hygiene. Tamperproof packaging has developed itself as a vital differentiating factor that resonates strongly with consumers' changing buying preferences. Consumers' desire for nutritive value propositions: Thoughtful choices that go with the lifestyle, yet are good on palate and health have become the preferred consumer choice. A lot of emphasis is on packaging and processes that are closer to nature and offer natural benefits of the product inside. Thus, new-age aseptic packaging significantly helps brands offer their products at the optimum nutritional value, keeping the convenience factor in line with their needs.

business, particularly in aseptic packaging, such as: Dairy Category: We are the world's largest milk producer, with milk output of around 200 million tonnes (MT) in FY21, However, when we look at the dairy category's share in aseptic packaging, it's abysmally low. Aseptic processing (UHT) and packaging for white milk and milk products such as ghee, buttermilk, lassi, drinking yoghurt, milkshakes, and flavoured milk among others, have enormous potential not just in the native market, but also in countries with a sizeable Indian diaspora. Without the use of preservatives, aseptic processing and packaging provide significant benefits in terms of extended shelf life and preserving the product freshness which is paramount for a perishable product like milk. For a period of 6-9 months, the milk or milk product remains as good as fresh and free from any contamination.

Care for Environment: People are increasingly becoming aware of their responsibility towards preserving the immediate surrounding and environment. In that light, they are consuming smartly and the buying patterns have also been impacted. They are keen to know about packaging, its impact on the environment, and so on. Being critical of our carbon footprint is not only a practice for businesses; it is also becoming a thought for individuals. Therefore, packaging using safe and sustainable materials for production directly relates to the end consumers' mindsets.

Alcoholic Beverages: This category has already begun to make a big positive impression not just on the business but also in the minds of consumers; based only on the fact that the product in aseptic packaging cannot be duplicated and is tamperevident. End-users are becoming more aware of the advantages of aseptic packs over glass/PET bottles, which will undoubtedly have a spilling effect on other categories too.

As we see it, there will be enormous growth opportunities in the beverage

New Categories: Many new categories in the fruit beverage market have

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emerged, including energy drinks, ready-to-drink ORS, and plant-based beverages, to name a few. They've carved out a niche for themselves across the country, and are making significant contributions to the growth of the aseptic liquid packaging business. Another prospective category to watch is aseptically processed and packaged mineral water. This category is currently awaiting approval from the concerned regulatory bodies. The best mineral water companies in India are focusing on augmenting their market shares by implementing effective marketing strategies and attractive packaging. According to a report by Market Research, the market reached INR 160 billion in 2018 and it is expected to grow annually by a CAGR of 20.75 percent and reach INR 403.06 billion by 2023.

PM: The aseptic cartons are made of materials that together result in a very cohesive, efficient, safe and light-weight package - what is your approach with regard to producing a packaging material with optimal properties and excellent performance characteristics? AS: Convenience, safety, quality, and ease of use are all important features of effective aseptic packaging. All our raw materials are sourced only from top-ofthe-line manufacturers that are known for their quality and reliability worldwide. Our cartons are made of highquality paperboards sourced from

D•R•I•V•I•N•G F•O•R•W•A•R•D i n d u s t r y- l e a d i n g S c a n d i n av i a n manufacturers which guarantee consistency in terms of quality. The long-fiber paperboard used in the Asepto package provides strong bonding, high tear resistance, and bursting strength. As a sealing layer, only the highest quality PE/mPE is used since it offers a strong bond between the paper and the other layers of the packaging material. Aluminum foil – functions as a strong light and oxygen barrier, eliminating the need for refrigeration and preventing spoilage of the product inside without the need for preservatives. The metal (aluminium) is also used as an induction sealing agent in the aseptic filling machines. This multi-layer structure necessitates a robust printing, extrusion, slitting, and doctoring process, which is possible in our highly automated, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat. Inline defect detection systems are placed on all of our machines, and they are capable of detecting and labelling even the tiniest deviation from the standard specifications. All of this automation ensures that the packaging material we provide to our valued customers is not only of the highest quality but also that this best quality material is delivered consistently. The standardization of the entire process ensures smooth runability in the customer's aseptic filling lines irrespective of its model and speed. Our aseptic packaging material is 100 percent compatible with all roll-fed aseptic filling machines.

PM: What is the ratio percentage of the 'paper' used in the aseptic packaging unit? Also, please talk about the quality of the paper used in aseptic packaging and the procurement of the same at Asepto – whether it is from the domestic paper mills or is it imported. AS: The majority of our packaging is made up of paper i.e., paperboard

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makes for 75 percent of an Asepto pack, while the remaining comprises aluminum (6%), and PE /mpe. Asepto package is light, portable, and recyclable as a result of its construction. The high-efficiency paperboard provides the required solidity and strength to the packs, as well as a good surface for clear design printing. We source our paperboard from renowned Scandinavian manufacturers. These multinational organizations provide the paper that complies with all international regulations, including Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification (chain of custody) and strict global manufacturing processes.

PM: Since packaging functionality has to be balanced with the cost and sustainability aspects emphasizing the need for a holistic approach; what is your viewpoint on developing innovative and sustainable packaging in order to enhance competitiveness in the industry? AS: UFlex follows the philosophy of achieving operational excellence while being socio-environmentally responsible. We take great pride in being a world-class player in our industry segment in terms of technology, innovation, product development, and sustainability. As an organization, we are motivated to operate and contribute to society in an environmentfriendly manner. Therefore, we strongly believe that all packaging solutions must meet the standards of recycling and circularity. Keeping that agenda as the core of our operations, our aseptic liquid packs are made up of 100 percent renewable and recyclable paperboard (FSC certified) that can be recycled to help make the world a better place. With the motto of ' R E C YC L E , R E G E N E R AT E , a n d REVIVE', we are constantly striving to make sustainable efforts. We strongly believe that zero waste - in production, consumption, and reuse without discarding anything - is a

moral, cost-productive, and visionary approach that all manufacturers can employ. Furthermore, while outright zero waste may not be conceivable, but with the help of our zero waste controlling standards and the methodologies, we execute to get ourselves closer to a genuinely zero-waste process. It is only possible when the entire value chain of packaging waste is collected, sorted, and recycled on a large scale. To achieve our waste management goals, we are associated with organizations that are collecting Post-Industrial Wastes (PIW) for recycling and t ra n s fo r m i n g t h e m i n to u t i l i t y products. We a r e c u r r e n t l y u s i n g t h e Compression Moulding technology to recycle all our PIW and the PostConsumer Waste (PCW) which are made available to us. This technology recycles all the waste into products used in domestic as well as industrial applications. Garden benches, doors, pallets, panel boards, and 10s of 1000s of a variety of other useful items are produced from waste, allowing us to remain in circularity. UFlex is also working on a technology of upcycling the paperboard component of the post-consumer Aseptic wa s te . T h e proce s s e m p l oys a n Enzymatic De-lam Technology to separate the paper portion and convert it into paper-pulp. This upcycling technology is not only unique but an example of sustainability in the real sense. The pre-consumption and postconsumption wastes need a robust waste collection system to increase the recyclability process. Furthermore, in India, the Municipal Corporation's ongoing agenda recommends that citizens separate their household waste into a dry waste bin (for dry recyclable waste such as paper, carton packages, plastic bottles, and so on) and a wet waste bin (for food waste) so that the recyclable waste can be successfully recovered in a clean/dry state by waste-

D•R•I•V•I•N•G F•O•R•W•A•R•D sealing and protective capabilities will be able to be employed as a single co m p o n e n t p e r h a p s i n a s e p t i c packaging as well. However, there will be a technical transition in both the sides of manufacturing from paperboard suppliers and on the existing filling technology to implement this single component paperboard modification.

PM: Going ahead, what are the future plans of the Company in terms of product development and further augmentation of manufacturing capabilities? pickers and sent to the appropriate recycling stream. These initiatives and attempts will certainly ease the entire process for a sustainable solution contributing to a circular economy.

milk, buttermilk, lassi, flavored milk amongst others). The existing aseptic packaging material industry consumes approximately over 100,000 metric tonnes annually.

Our responsible actions today will help us in preserving and protecting our resources for ourselves, and for future generations.

PM: Since the usage of paper-based materials as the go-to substrate in packaging is gradually increasing; what are the different opportunities in terms of co-designing additives that are easy to separate from paper, in order to reduce fiber losses during recycling?

PM: What is the current size of the aseptic paper-based packaging market segment in the country? Also, please outline the present consumption of paper as a material in the market segment. AS: As previously stated, the Indian market for aseptic liquid packaging is currently around 12–13 billion packs per year and rising at a CAGR of 12-15 percent per year. According to many research sources, this industry is likely to double in size in the next 4 to 5 years, to roughly 25 billion, as several new categories and new players contribute to its growth story. The beverage segment (which includes juices, nectars, still drinks, and other fruit-based beverages) accounts for almost 50 percent of the current market size. The liquor segment (which includes IMFL like whisky, rum, and country liquor) is the second-largest, accounting for around 35 percent of the domestic market. The dairy segment contributes to the remaining 15 percent (which includes products like white

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AS: Today, various advancements are being made to improve the quality of paperboard, which eliminates the need for co-designing additives like PE and aluminium, reducing the difficulties of recycling paper and fiber loss. High barrier paperboard is available, with strong qualities such as barrier, sealing, and product integrity protection. There are paper companies which have come up with breakthrough technology and developed high barrier paper that doesn't need PE coating as the barrier layer or sealing layer. Such products do exist in the market as we speak and these products can directly go for recycling without any problems of separating polymer (PE coating) and paper. Therefore, paper cups (for coffee, teas, colas, etc) can be made out of such barrier cupstock paper. In fact, we believe that in the future, high barrier paperboards with strong

AS: Asepto was conceived as a brand that would consistently innovate. Asepto introduced first-of-its-kind next-generation technologies of holography, foil stamping, and 3D lens for the global market. These technologies, which used captivating effects to attract attention, enabled brands in carving out a position for themselves on crowded retail shelves by displaying differentiation. It offered them a fresh identity. As a result, the market can anticipate and experience several of the new developments that are in the making and will provide value to brand owners over time. Our proactive drive to innovation didn't stop at aesthetic renewal; as a p owe r f u l b a c k w a r d i n t e g r a t e d company, our solutions provided our customers (manufacturers) with reliable aseptic filling machines. We have now established ourselves as a total system supplier, in addition to aseptic packaging material. In the domestic market, our multiple filling machines with speeds ranging from 7500 to 8000 packs per hour have already been installed. We are now developing high-speed machines capable of producing 10,000 packs per hour, which will provide brand owners with greater flexibility. The machine features a cutting-edge servo drive mechanism that smoothly drives the station and ensures high performance.

D•R•I•V•I•N•G F•O•R•W•A•R•D This revolutionary filling line, with a changeover time of approximately 3-4 hours, can pack multiple format groups (pack sizes) such as 100ml-125ml and 160ml-200ml. And there will be around 12-13 hours when the format changes from smaller packs to larger (100/125160/200ml). This mechanism provides the unit with a high level of flexibility, a short changeover period, and a low total cost of ownership. This will be a significant benefit for our customers that want to offer a diverse portfolio of formats to their end consumers. The first of these filling machines is already built and being tested at our Noida engineering site. Following the debut of this machine, there will be many more new launches to meet the other demands of the market. On the manufacturing front, we're working on a number of initiatives that will shift the market's perception of Asepto. Aggressive work is underway to take Asepto global. The first step has be e n t a ke n t hrough our recent expansion announcement that marks a significant move to expand the brand's horizons to other continents. The initial phase of growth focuses on adding new machines to the existing

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line, which includes Germany's bestin-class next-generation printing line (DAVIS STANDARD). This cuttingedge equipment includes advanced features and is loaded with sophisticated advanced technologies that make it incredibly efficient and safe and sound in operation. The machine prints at a speed of 500 MPM (meters per minute). Another highperformance slitting line has been introduced, which is superfast and produces at a speed of 1200 MPM. In addition, we have included doctoring line and additional tools for designing new formats in order to match the

expectations and demands of our client's diverse portfolio. The expansion measures we've taken so far ref lect Asepto's strong market position and pragmatic outlook for the future. Needless to say, it's the result of ever-increasing aseptic packaging demand. With this forward-thinking attitude, we intend to establish more factories in India as well as outside the country to meet market demand in the future. Today, we are certainly wellpositioned and prepared to drive the aseptic packaging industry to new heights of supremacy. Our journey has just begun!!!

W•A•S•T•E T•O W•E•A•L•T•H

Waste Management and its Potential to Change the Economy

Mr. Ved Krishna, Vice-Chairman, Yash Pakka Ltd.

ave you been wondering how to become more eco-friendly of late? Well, out of the 2.01 billion tonnes of solid waste generated by us, at least one-third ends up in open dumps and 10 percent even in our oceans. Imagine the ecological impact that we can have by just switching to eco-friendly practices such as recycling our waste and using compostable products. But are such approaches effective? And, are they becoming pocket-friendly?

The price of anything is based on available alternatives. Hence, as oil reserves deplete, their price will rise and the economy will only be able to subsidize and increase deficit levels for a certain period. Oil is the perfect example of why we should tap ecofriendly and renewable resources (for energy and otherwise) more. We fail to use natural resources to their true potential, especially when we carelessly dispose of them instead of recycling them responsibly.

Although there are signs of it happening, there is no short answer to the question. Yes, cost and efficiency are making their way in but the real key lies in waste management. It depends on how well the materials in circulation are managed.

There is now a need to avoid such mistakes with waste and its management. To get a clear picture, we need to understand that life is based on the principles of circularity. And, as the saying goes, “one person's garbage is another one's treasure,” nature demonstrates this to us when we look closely. There is no such thing as 'waste'. All waste can be material for another cycle of life to begin. Thus, channeling this waste can lead to a positive impact on economies.

For instance, oil has been one of the key components of the industrial age. Not only does it fuel movement, but it's also a part of almost everything we can touch or see today, including gadgets & gizmos, toys, clothing material, building material, labeling and signage, food packaging, rockets, roads, and pretty much everything else. So, oil and its derivatives have become the axis on which products and even services revolve. However, this poses a serious challenge. Firstly, oil is a finite resource and experts predict that reserves will run dry in a few decades. Furthermore, it is also a major contributor to global carbon emissions. When we get down to brass tacks, it's a fact that the economy functions on a balance between supply and demand.

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In this regard, let's look at some ways in which we can turn waste into a boon for the country:

Sewage must be converted to energy All sewage contains a massive source of methane that could be used to generate energy. It can be turned into an alternative for fuel and also help eliminate reliance on coal. However, the entire mechanism would need to be privatized and follow a structure to ensure that it gives out maximum value. There even needs to be an

W•A•S•T•E T•O W•E•A•L•T•H economic incentive that ensures the sewage systems are efficiently running.

All agricultural residues must have a value addition It's highly unfortunate that so much valuable material goes to waste during activities such as crop production. Most of this material is cellulose that can be upcycled and turned into a wide range of products. It can be used to make packaging equipment, pharmaceutical additives, and function as the base input for other products. The energy stored in this material can also be utilized via gasification or combustion. Agri products are packed with composites and therefore should not be ignored for the sheer use cases.

Garbage needs segregation at the source It has been a common practice to randomly dispose of waste. Typically,

we throw away the waste, municipal personnel collect it, and it ends up in massive landfills that create irreversible damage. But do we know that most materials can be recycled and kitchen waste can be turned into compost? Yes, it's possible. Moreover, it is also important to segregate the waste at the source as it becomes virtually impossible to do it at a later stage, making the entire pile of waste unusable, making it an environmental nightmare. An example to follow would be Sweden. Due to their top-notch waste management system, the percentage of waste that ends up in landfills is so minimal that the country ran out of garbage to use at their thermal plants and ended up importing garbage for the same.

Transform industrial waste With waste offering so much value, we n e e d t o e xe r t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . Industries will have to ensure zero

waste from their sites. This can be done when we realize that, in many cases, waste offers more potential than the core business itself.

Eliminate volatile chemicals The sheer amount of volatile chemicals used in industries is unfathomable. Whether it's mining, agriculture, or anything else, chemical waste from these industries cannot be channeled. Therefore, the alternative is to adopt 'green chemistry'. This is the use of effective but environmentally friendly chemicals. For starters, they can use water as a solvent and enable a process that is gentle, leaving no harmful waste. In conclusion, we always have a choice. We can either be reactive or proactive. But it's crucial to note that proactivity leads to economic benefit while the latter will have us playing catch-up.

JK Paper to Commission INR 2000 Crore Capacity Expansion Project in Gujarat

N•E•W•S

The capacity augmentation is aimed at significantly expanding JK Paper's reach and to take advantage of the growth momentum witnessed in the country's paper sector. July 7, 2021

K Paper Limited is all set to commission its INR 2,000-crore integrated expansion of paper packaging project in Gujarat during the current quarter. The plant will increase the capacity of packaging board by 1,70,000 TPA and 1.6 lakh pulp unit and take its total production capacity to close to 7.8 lakh TPA. As reported in a leading daily — Mr. AS Mehta, President and Executive Director of JK Paper states, ''The new manufacturing plant located at Songadh near Surat was initially programmed to be commissioned by March-April 2021. It has been delayed by few months due to disruption caused during the Covid pandemic wave, where workers and some experts were away. We will begin trials of the plant in July-September quarter (second of this financial year).'' “This is a virgin paper packaging plant and will have the capability to add about INR 1,000 crore in revenues for the company in a full year of operation. The plant includes a 1.7 lakh TPA packaging material and 1.6 lakh TPA of pulp making capacity apart from boilers and related infrastructure,” he said. “While JK Paper now has a capacity of about 4.5 lakh TPA, this will

Mr. AS Mehta, President and Executive Director, JK Paper Limited

take the total installed capacity to about 7.8 lakh TPA. Through internal expansion, this capacity could go up to 8 lakh TPA, making us a leading paper company in the country,”he explained. “This capacity augmentation is aimed at significantly expanding paper production and to take advantage of the growth momentum the country's paper sector that is likely to come up over next few years. We will also significantly boost export business due to immense potential,” Mr. Mehta said. n

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Tensei:

Creating Best-in-Class Materials from Agrifiber We brought to market our first product – a food contact paper which is now one of the two solutions approved by one of the UK's largest supermarkets for use.

Annabelle Cox, CEO and Founder, Tensei Limited

he concept of producing paper from agricultural waste is not new. In the early 1980s, India got its first paper mill which utilised bagasse – the sugar cane residue – as t h e p re d o m i n a n t raw m a te r i a l . However, with the limited availability of wood resources and rising demand for fiber, the paper industry is now aggressively looking out for similar options including rice straws, cotton flax, hemp, and grasses. Paper Mart came across Tensei Limited, a biotech company that intends to normalise the use of agricultural residue for paper and packaging purposes, and interv i e we d i t s C EO a n d Fo u n d e r, Annabelle Cox, to know more about her concept and formulations.

Paper Mart: How did the idea to start Tensei come about? Annabelle Cox: Tensei Limited was born out of another company called SCIN, the UK's largest materials library and resource located in Central

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London. I founded SCIN with an objective of creating events to draw the specif iers – notably architects, designers, and procurement teams to find new materials. In 2013, we created an event called 'SCIN on the Farm'. This featured some materials that had evolved from farm materials including straw. One day, a researcher showed me a Margaret Atwood book printed on straw paper and this was the light bulb moment – the realisation that we could produce papers and other materials from straw. So I gave up SCIN and set up Tensei with some other interested parties. At that stage, SCIN worked for 179 architectural practices and was well known within the UK design industry so this was a tough choice. However, the vision of keeping trees in the ground and developing technical materials from what is predominantly agrifiber waste– crop waste, grasses, and unrealised processed biowaste was too strong.

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We are in development with a further two FCM products, one construction paper, and a number of other biowaste-based compounds for different processes and markets.

PM: What have the significant accomplishments been for the company so far? AC: In 2013, we started to evaluate the technical opportunity using these fibers by developing a specific paper and comparing it against its wood pulp nemesis. 2016: We commercialised and started developing new papers having spent three years developing our technical know-how along with our initial pulp and paper supply chain. 2019: We adopted and further developed a fiber calculator to enable us to rapidly formulate furnishes from nonwood pulps to better curves and performance specifications requested by the paper mills, and end-user clients and to develop our own papers. It helps to use local pulp fibers to create local solutions, remove the transportation issues and support the local economy. 2020: Following rigorous development involving all areas of a complex supply chain and highly technical compliance requirements, we brought to market our first product – a food contact paper which is now one of the two solutions approved by one of the UK's largest supermarkets for use in fresh produce. 2021: We are in development with a further two FCM products, one construction paper, and a number of other biowaste-based compounds for different processes and markets. We anticipate the first two of these entering the global marketplace in 2022.

We are also expanding the network of mills and pulp producers we are working with, to ensure we can accommodate the supply of locally sourced materials to local mills producing material for local and global markets. With locally available fiber sources that can be developed into furnishes that work with existing technologies to produce high-quality products, we see little reason to import pulps from distant forests.

PM: Kindly shed some light on the product portfolio and product development process of the company along with the USP. AC: We work with existing processes and processors which is particularly interesting as we work together with paper mills to adopt these alternative fibers. What we do is work with the mill to optimise the process to use the pulp(s) and provide a furnish formulation - this can be altered to accommodate different pulps according to what is ideally locally available. It could be 100 percent non-wood or part of a formulation that includes wood pulp. We need to accommodate what the mill can or is willing to process.

Current research focuses on additional processing and chemical extraction. Our work as a biotech company also extends into the development of some interesting materials from lignin and we are looking for paper mills and in particular non-wood pulp mills that want to explore revenue streams from the liquor.

PM: What are the different manufacturing challenges you face, and how do you overcome them? AC: The key issues for us lie in current processing availability and concerns introducing these non-wood fibers/pulps into existing operations. For the paper mill, these include the consistency and availability of the agrifiber pulp supply and the ways to mitigate this issue. We do this primarily through our fiber calculator as we can produce the same technical specification using different fibers and refining.

Our USP is our ability to use agrifiber and biowaste to create best-in-class materials. For example, the food contact paper that we have developed is a single paper sheet, uncoated and wood free that can replace HDPE. Various independent tests have shown that this simple paper material can extend the shelf life of the product it protects.

The limitations mills have with regards to the machinery or refining capabilities is another issue. We, therefore, work with the mill to ensure the furnish we develop works within their operational capabilities or make suggestions to optimise their operation to accommodate these agrifibers using small rectifications. Unless this is a new market product, we need to either demonstrate that the use of these fibers produces 'best-in-class' solutions or can save costs; for example, enabling a mill to produce more paper (not really manufacturing but an obstacle).

In addition to this, we have developed a technical paper for the construction industry and other lightweight food contact papers similar to glassine but not as heavily refined. These are recyclable and biodegradable.

PM: The black liquor generated by an agricultural residue-based plant is said to be more than that generated by a wood-based plant. What are the steps taken by you to treat the vast quantities of effluent?

Our portfolio also extends into biocomposite material compounds for injection moulding and thermoforming. This is still in its development but should be commercialised next year.

AC: In most instances, as we know liquor in wood-based paper is used in the recovery boiler to help generate steam. The issue with the plant is that some of the pulps produce high silicate content, and this needs to be extracted

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Our USP is our ability to use agrifiber and biowaste to create bestin-class materials

to be able to put into the recovery boiler. Our senior technical team has been involved in developing patents for successfully dealing with this specific issue so can advise on how to handle this using the specific processes they have been involved with. One of the byproducts is also used in the tyre industry and the extracted silicate in construction.

PM: The aim of producing paper with agro-waste materials is an ambitious one, however, is it economically viable? AC: We have done a lot of research into this and the challenges and opportunities that arise from issues surrounding carbon reduction – notably climate change, and identified managed forestry resource deficiencies, have reassured us that this is the zeitgeist moment for what we are doing and it is economically viable. As an example, in the past year, wood pulp price has increased in Europe by 60 percent whereas the wheat pulp has remained much more stable. Clearly, this is demand-led. However, the flexibility to be able to use non-wood pulps will help to mitigate the risk for some, though the pulp price is usually higher. There are also studies that conclude that less non-wood may be needed to produce the same tonnage of paper. Bagasse for example is one such pulp that has been identified. Equally, we are confident that we can deliver new papers and materials that can compete with plastics in certain markets over and above the capabilities of wood pulp. Hardwood and softwood pulps have fairly generic pulp specs and this makes their use less risky. We can not only use blended pulps to emulate

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them, but also offer furnishes that are technically more superior. This gives us a point of differentiation.

AC: Adoption of the following in the supply chain can make agro-based models to become more widespread.

Compliance and enforcement are also on our side as brands look to reduce their own carbon footprints or ensure they do not have to pay fees leveraged from plastic taxes or producer responsibility.

Customers:

Furthermore, the opportunity to help farmers generate revenue from their waste is part of our mission. One of the UN Sustainable Development Goals aims to alleviate poverty and the adoption of these agrifiber wastes is an important contribution to improving household income in agricultural areas.

PM: Do you face any logistic challenges while sourcing agrowaste? Tell us about your supply chain. AC: Unfortunately yes! The current non-wood pulps are predominantly in India and China so this immediately creates issues in transportation costs for markets in other territories. There are also resources in Europe we are using and are aware of. We support new 'players' in this rapidly growing industry. Also, there is not as yet a recognised and trusted international standard to ensure these agriwaste pulps are both environmentally and ethically sourced. One of our directors is a delegate member of Roundtable Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) that is growing in its sphere of inf luence and has developed a sustainable certification towards this required traceability. At present, the focus is towards biofuel but it is changing and this will help these pulps to be more rapidly adopted. To date, we have done our own due diligence and prior to COVID, visited many pulp and paper mills. We very much look forward to picking this up again.

PM: What should be done for agro-based models to become more widespread?

Industries and consumers must be prepared to not only adopt them but demand these above other raw materials (where relevant), and accept that there may be an initial possible cost. It keeps trees in the ground and reduces the energ y footprint of shipping pulps around the globe.

Producers: Paper mills and convertors need to actively develop new papers or moulded products using agrifibers to create market demand.

Raw material processing: There are simply not enough global agrifiber bio-refineries or pulp mills. Investment into the associated technology is needed to be able to commission the processing units to convert the field straw into an industrial feedstock. This technology or economic evaluation is territory and market dependant and we need to have units that produce a small amount of pulp at a micro-level and potentially portable to large permanently sited constructions. The investment will only happen when the key customers actively demand a shift change. This will occur when raw materials supply decreases through changing societal habits and the growing population. Climate change legislation forces them to innovate and consumer demand forces change as customers actively start purchasing more sustainable products. The brands already prioritising sustainability initiatives, will understand that agrif iber waste is an opportunity to use a feedstock that contributes towards reducing climate change especially as it will have a positive impact on their triple bottom line and therefore balance sheets.

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Haber:

Maximising Plant Efficiency and Output through AI-Driven Automation “Industry 4.0 is an enabling layer to what papermakers have already been doing where cost-effective cloud technology will enable early movers to warehouse immense data.”

Mr. Felix Sahayaraj, Vice President - Sales, Haber

aber provides automated, AIdriven solutions to generate accurate, real-time insights and help industries manage their process more efficiently. The company addresses paper manufacturers' co n ce r n s a r o u n d p a p e r m a k i n g processes through its real-time monitoring and AI. With eLIXA, the paper manufacturers are also able to control microbial growth in their paper machines, monitor and control brightness in the pulping process and reduce the cost of raw material while improving quality without any manual interventions. In an interview with Paper Mart, Mr. Felix Sahayaraj, Vice President - Sales, Haber talks about the company’s solutions that cater to the pulp and packaging industry and the impact Industry 4.0 can bring to the paper industry.

Paper Mart: Tell us about your company and its product portfolio. Felix Sahayaraj: Haber is an industrial IoT and AI company focused on specialty chemical and process applications in pulp, paper, and packaging and other industries like mining, mineral processing, metals, and food and beverage processing.

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Launched in 2017, our proprietary platform eLIXA can be applied not only to chemical control but also to mechanical and process control. The platform integrates data from disparate sources, homogenizes the data and learns patterns and trends, and uses this to intervene in real-time, thus delivering significant savings to paper mills in the form of reduced downtime, higher throughput and lower chemical, energy, and water consumption.

PM: What products and services provided by you, are tailored specifically to the needs of the paper industry? FS: Our proprietary platform eLIXA can be applied to many applications from pulp mill scale control, foam control, brightness control, etc. to paper machine applications like sizing, microbiological control, retention and drainage aids, and refiner control.

PM: What are the AI-driven solutions provided by you to promote asset integrity and improve plant efficiency? FS: One of the unique use cases include scale control in liquid ring vacuum pumps – predicting and controlling

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Our proprietary platform eLIXA can be applied to many applications from pulp mill scale control, foam control, brightness control, etc. to paper machine applications like sizing, microbiological control, retention and drainage aids, and refiner control.

scale in vacuum pump systems in the wire and press sections of paper machines to assist with drainage of water. Scaling in vacuum pumps can result in insufficient vacuum and thus hamper drainage. Papermakers have to compensate by decreasing the speed of the machine (lowering production) or increasing the energy consumption of the vacuum pumps to attain the desired drainage. Alternately, to achieve target solids – the drying load will transfer to the dryer section – which is the most expensive water removal section. Also, scaling requires frequent cleaning which is done using abrasive mechanical or chemical methods which reduces asset life. Our AI-based eLIXA platform learns and predicts scaling potential in vacuum pumps helping papermakers maintain drainage in wire and press sections and reducing or eliminating the need for cleaning thus increasing the life of the asset. Another use case of eLIXA for extending asset life is dryer cylinder condition monitoring and bearing failure prediction by analysing vibration, temperature, and load data in realtime. The mill can manage its bearing

inventory in a lean manner and extend the life of bearings and not face any catastrophic bearing failure and resulting unplanned downtime. eLIXA will also alert when lube oil has to be replaced resulting in significant savings in lube oil consumption. Analysing the data can also alert several root causes including condensate build-up in the dryer cylinder, alignment issues, dryer screed stretching, or clogging to name a few.

PM: How important is retention and drainage for paper machine operations? What are the solutions provided by Haber in this context? FS: Low retention contributes to inefficient use of expensive furnish components. When filler and other additives are not sufficiently retained, the expected sheet properties are not met and these un-retained components can create machine deposits problems. A good retention program can also ensure better formation - more uniform distribution of fillers in the s h e e t a n d r e d u c e d s h e e t t wo sidedness, improved opacity, reduced

machine deposits, reduced wet-end breaks, holes and spots in the sheet due to high levels of fillers, fines, and colloidal materials circulating in the wet-end of the paper machine. eLIXA models the complex relationship between multiple variables like pH, alkalinity, dissolved ions, suspended material, conductivity, colloidal charge, dissolved and entrained gases, hardness, furnish source, and quality, filler quantity and quality that impact retention and in real-time optimizes dosage levels of chemical retention and drainage aids. This helps in maintaining FPR (first pass retention) and FPAR (first pass ash retention) at consistent levels even during run-time GSM changes or other variations in furnish, filler, and water quality.

PM: What changes can industry 4.0 bring to the paper industry? FS: Data has always been hugely valuable to papermakers to find operational eff iciencies and for product and process innovation. Industry 4.0 is an enabling layer to what papermakers have already been doing where cost-effective cloud technology will enable early movers to warehouse immense data. Running machine learning algorithms on these continuously streaming data sets accelerates the discovery of efficiencies and product innovation. In short, cloud technologies and AI will be key competitive differentiators in the industry just like what we have already witnessed in retail and banking.

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MRL:

Rolling towards Success “MRL has a very strict internal quality control system that ensures that the rollers are as per specifications, with quality checks at each step.”

odinagar Rolls Pvt. Ltd. (MRL) is a pioneer in manufacturing rollers and delivering high-quality precision custom rolls along with a variety of repair and maintenance services to various industrial applications. Founded in 1995, MRL also does dynamic balancing for all types of rotating bodies. In an interview with Paper Mart, Mr. Bhupendra Agrawal, M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r, a n d M r. Shalabh Gupta, Technical Director of Modinagar Rolls Pvt. Ltd. talk about their company's history, product portfolio, and manufacturing capabilities.

Paper Mart: Could you please take us through the business journey of Modinagar Rolls Pvt. Ltd. and its product range for the paper and packaging industry? Bhupendra Agrawal: Modinagar Rolls Pvt. Ltd. (MRL) started operations in 1995 on a very modest scale. MRL started with a single grinder from the UK, and since then, it has been constantly expanding and has now become one of the largest industrial roller manufacturing plants in the country. Over the years, it has set up a separate small rollers plant, and a hard chrome plating plant. It has also expanded its rubber coating division by adding a new PU coating unit to provide all possible roll coverings under a single roof.

(L-R) Mr. Shalabh Gupta, Technical Director and Mr. Bhupendra Agrawal, Managing Director, Modinagar Rolls Pvt. Ltd.

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MRL manufactures rollers for paper and other industries and also performs all kinds of reconditioning and repairing work. It has an advanced rubber and PU coating plant, with specialised solutions for all applications of the paper industry. The motto of MRL is 'Any Roll, Any Size, Any Industry.'

I•N•T•E•R•V•I•E•W PM: Kindly shed some light on the unique features of the rollers manufactured by your company. Shalabh Gupta: MRL has a longstanding technical collaboration with Kraiburg Rubber Company, Korea. Our rubber compounds are formulated under the guidance of Kraiburg, ensuring better running life and performance. For highly critical applications, MRL uses fully imported Kraiburg rubber compound, providing unmatched runnability and top performance to customers. MRL has a very strict internal quality control system that ensures that the rollers are as per specifications, with quality checks at each step. We put extra emphasis on the raw material quality check, which provides repeatability and uniform results in our products. There is a thorough pre-inspection of every roll that enters our factory, which helps in detailing all the tasks required on the roll at the beginning itself, avoiding any lastminute surprises. The customers trust MRL to meet their emergenc y SOS requirements whenever there is a breakdown in their plant, as MRL provides the quickest turnaround time in the industry for grinding, rubber coating, etc.

PM: Could you please outline the kind of machinery installed in your company along with the manufacturing capabilities? SG: MRL has complete in-house infrastructure for manufacturing all kinds of rolls. We have the capacity to make rolls starting from very small to the largest possible size of 10m in length and 2m in diameter. We make new rolls as well as do reconditioning on old rolls. We have the facility for all kinds of rubber coverings for the paper industry, as well as PU coating for highspeed machines. We have our own hard chrome plating unit for dryer cylinders, paper rolls, and mirror-finished applicator rolls. MRL has more than 15 roll grinders, 4 dynamic balancing machines, multiple lathes, boring machines that are running round the clock to cater to the industry.

PM: Tell us the current market presence and expansion plans of Modinagar Rolls – both domestically and internationally? SG: MRL has put up a new plant in Hyderabad, whose operations will start in October 2021. This facility is being specifically established to fulfill the growing demand of our South Indian customers for rubberizing, grinding, dynamic balancing on their rolls, without having to pay high freight costs. The Hyderabad facility will feature state-of-the-art machines like Voith grinder, fully computerized dynamic balancing machine, CNC blind drilling machine, cold feed rubber extruder among others. Due to its central location in South India, it will provide cost and time benefits to the customers, matching the same high-quality standards as the Modinagar plant. On the international front, we are already exporting to neighbouring countries, and have now increased our footprint in the African and Southeast Asian regions.

PM: How do you view the Indian paper industry and the market potential of sophisticated precision rollers? SG: The paper industry has been going steadily in our country, and is expected to follow the same trend in the years to come. With new paper machines coming up in every corner

We are constantly investing in R&D for making our machines faster with high accuracy.

of the country, the demand for rollers is also increasing. The new machines are of wider deckle and high speed, and old machines are also upgrading themselves to increase production. All this is possible only when rollers are of high accuracy and precision. We have been consistently working on increasing the accuracy and speed of our operations for many years now. The grinding of calendar rolls is performed under 5 microns parallelity which is best in the industry. All the rolls shipped by us are dynamically balanced, which reduces vibration of the machine, and hence results in low wear and tear. The accuracy of bearing size is very important and is checked and conditioned for all new and old rolls. We are constantly investing in R&D for making our machines faster with high accuracy. Going forward, along with the quality and precision, there is also a requirement for timely delivery with the best quality, and MRL is fully geared to provide the same to the customers.

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P•R•O•D•U•C•T W•A•T•C•H

Roll Modernization – A Path towards the Better Runnability of Paper Machine unexpected roll failures thus providing the paper machine with the least mechanical downtime. The various parameters to be thoroughly checked during the roll change include: l

Inspection of rubber surface and the required geometry of roll surface and improving the same by proper grinding of the roll.

Inspection of journal bearing size tolerances to attain better bearing fitment and thus improving better dynamic stability of the roll.

Regular crack inspections of roll journals and shell minimize risks of unexpected failures.

A suction press, pickup, or couch roll is one of the most critical high-value rolls and the failures of such rolls should be checked periodically for optimum runnability of the paper machine. Amar Elastomers has designed a much superior Suction Roll Shell alloy for higher nip loaded rolls and faster speed machine rolls called AMAR NICHROSUC ANS-40, which satisfies our PREN≥40 theory (≈Cr% + 3.3Mo% + 16N%). Rajiv Kumar Agarwal, CEO, Amar Elastomers Pvt. Ltd.

oll modernization can improve roll performance to the next higher level by reducing maintenance expenditures and failures of rolls. It has to be understood that regular service and inspection of press rolls and suction rolls always reduce the

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The most neglected elements like nitrogen and copper had added the strength in our shell steel composition in the ultimate binding of the molecular granular structure and had resulted in the higher tensile strength of the produce. The fine selection of hardness and Young's modulus keeps the deflection of the material within the required limits.

P•R•O•D•U•C•T W•A•T•C•H Interestingly, AMAR NICHRO-SUC shell is drilled by a gun drilling process on high-speed CNC programmed multi-spindle drilling SPM. That's not to say the sophisticated SPM delivers a wide range of drilling patterns, satisfying the paper machine and mills requirements as far as the nip loads and drainage are concerned. Amar Elastomers also provides comprehensive services through its network of technicians by closely following the customers and rendering them the latest know-how and technolog y on suction roll advancements. Regular inspections a n d s c h e d u l e d m a i n te na n ce of manufactured and delivered complete suction rolls with internal vacuum units happen to be a key feature of the company's intensive drive for suction rolls. Talking of scheduled maintenance would mean e m p h a s i z i n g m o re o n p e r i o d i c inspections, grinding, and sealing strip changing of the rolls to improve the performance of the rolls.

A suction roll modernization and improvisation can improve roll performance to new heights and the parameters to be designed are: l

Selection of corrected suitable bearings

Designing the required airf low efficiency

Selection of sealing strips and holders

Designing the showering system inside for lubrication and flushing

Designing the open area as per the application requirement

At Amar Elastomers, we are dedicated and committed to the total engineering development in the rubber roll industry for paper-making machines. We have made it our mission to create technically viable solutions in the rubber-covered rolls sector and sustainable paper industry. This gives us a key role in the transformation of the rubber roll industry and working on different parameters such as selection of metallurgy of the shell to be used, the end plugs to be used

along the machining accuracies and tolerances to be maintained. Amar Elastomers has a state-of-the-art steel melting shop with a vacuum oxygen de-carbonizer to refine the melt to attain the highest level of undesired alloying elements. This gives us a flawless material and a better quality of the centrifugally casted shell, free from all surface and internal defects with good machining property. To be more precise, Amar Elastomers has been a one-stop destination for engineered rubber roll coverings and complete roll shells. We had, from the very beginning, continuously fought with all the odds of the industry for better sustainability of new and advanced roll coverings. Amar Elastomers is an integrated rubber covered roll manufacturing unit, engaged from shell manufacturing in its steel melting shop followed by shell machining and assembly in huge mechanical machine shops. This is followed by rubber coverings, grinding, and drilling on CNC multi-spindle drilling machines.

The Sirpur Paper Mills to Ramp Up Production Post INR 700 Crore Investment

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The company, which was taken over by JK Paper through a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process of National Company Law Tribunal Hyderabad, in a structured deal of INR 371 crore, is expected to turn corner by the fiscal end. July 14, 2021

he Sirpur Paper Mills Limited, which has seen an investment of about INR 700 crore since it was taken over by JK Paper Limited in August 2018, is on course to recovery as it steps up production by the year end. Located in Komaram Bheem Asifabad (erstwhile Adilabad) district at Kagaznagar, The Sirpur Paper Mills is now on revival mode with trial production stabilizing, further refurbishment and upgradation under the new management. As reported in a leading daily — Mr. AS Mehta, President and Executive Director of JK Paper states, “After we took over the paper company we had many surprises and we had to take up lot of refurbishment and upgradation by making new invest-

The Sirpur Paper Mills

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N•E•W•S ments in boilers and related infrastructure.” “However, even as the trial production was underway, we encountered more problems forcing us to shut down for further upgradation. Then as we resumed production, during the Covid first wave, we had to shut the plant from March to November. After forced shut down, we started production and it is now functioning at 70 percent capacity, which is good given the tough scenario”. “We are investing in a New Chipping Unit and further improvement and upgradation, all of them will be over by the end of

third quarter of this fiscal, enabling us to go for full production. The Paper Mill has capacity to produce 1.36 lakh tonnes of paper per annum,” Mr. Mehta added. The takeover of the company was facilitated by the active intervention of the Telangana government. The paper production from the mill was suspended in September 2014. The paper mill was set up on a 110 acre site by Nizam Mir Osman Khan in 1936. The JK Paper management sees this as a strategic acquisition to expand its existing line of paper business. n

Yash Pakka Introduces Yash Skills to Bridge Skill Gaps in Global Compostable Packaging Ecosystem Designed to ensure future-readiness among students by enhancing their knowledge base, Yash Skills will bridge the skill gap at Yash Pakka and across the global compostable packaging space. July 22, 2021

ash Pakka, India's leading sustainable packaging solutions provider, has launched Yash Skills, its dedicated training and development division. With its new wing, the Ayodhya-based company aims to build competence among the industry's future leaders through specific training programs compassing in-demand industry skills. The skilling programs will be affiliated with front-running institutes and industry bodies such as IMFA, NCVT, IIPM, and Koblenz Chamber of Crafts, Germany. Designed to ensure future-readiness among students by enhancing their knowledge base, Yash Skills will bridge the skill gap at Yash Pakka and across the global compostable packaging space. Launched on 10th June 2021, Yash Skills is the brainchild of Ved Krishna, Vice-Chairman, Yash Pakka Limited. Envisioning a highly capable and skilled talent base in his industry, he aims to train the local youth for world-class excellence through Yash Skills. Speaking on the initiative, Ved Krishna, Vice - Chairman, Yash Pakka Ltd., said, “It is an honor to hone the talent that will champion the next phase of growth of our fast-evolving industry. This is why we are very excited to launch Yash Skills, an innovation hub that will train future leaders, thinkers, and change makers. We have created courses approved by the most notable industry bodies and institutes, which will be taught by the most promising faculty from across the globe. We are confident that this endeavor will go a long way in skilling professionals and accelerating the growth of Yash Pakka and the industry at large.” Yash Skills has conducted a scientific diagnosis to identify skill

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Yash Skills

gaps within the company to design targeted, high impact courses. Some of the notable courses offered by Yash Skills will include Fiber Moulded Product Operations (IMFA), Maintenance Fitter (NCVT/NPTI), Design & Development - Tools and Dies (NCVT/Koblenz Chamber of Crafts, Germany), and Instrumentation Technician (NPTI/IIPM). Aiming to train students between the ages of 18 and 22, Yash Skills has already enrolled over 180 students across different courses spanning 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The courses are priced between INR 20,000 and INR 32,000. Yash Skills will be headed by Mr. Ramesh V Koti, Business Head Yash skills, and will comprise exceptional faculty members from the US, Canada, Germany, and India. Post the training program, a majority of the students will be absorbed by Yash Pakka in various roles, while others will be granted global placements. n

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Seshasayee Paper Plans Strategic Initiatives to Realign Business for FY22 The company is expecting to complete the INR 315 crore expansion of its Erode unit in FY22. August 3, 2021

uring its 61st AGM, Seshasayee Paper and Boards Limited has announced that the company has planned a threepronged strategy to realign SPB's focus to emerging global and regional trends amid its efforts to return to pre-Covid-19 levels of revenue and profit. Sri N Gopalaratnam, Chairman, Seshasayee Paper and Boards Limited said, ''The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the paper industry has been severe. The second wave and resultant lockdown affected and halted the demand up-tick that was witnessed in the last quarter of FY21. Order inflow has once again been impacted due to the consequences of the second wave, with schools and colleges continuing to remain closed and the work from home trend continuing. The company is yet to return to pre-Covid levels of revenue and profits,'' N Gopalratanam, Chairman of Seshasayee Paper and Boards.'' During Q1 of this fiscal — Seshasayee's revenue stood at 139 crore against INR 218 crore in the year-ago quarter, while profit after tax was INR 18 crore against INR 19 crore. For FY21, SPB's reported revenue of INR 782 crore against INR 1184 crore in FY20. Profit after tax was also lower at 100 compared to INR 173 crore in FY20. As reported in a leading daily — the company's presence in the number of export market and a diverse product portfolio helped to mitigate the impact of sluggish domestic demand and order intake. The company is anticipating a stronger Q3 and Q4 with a major population having been vaccinated by then and expects general economic mood turning positive to the industry.

Sri N Gopalaratnam, Chairman, Seshasayee Paper and Boards Limited

In this backdrop, the Seshasayee Paper has planned a few strategic initiatives to realign its focus. The company will increase the product range with capabilities to manufacturing single-layer and multi-layer boards. It will also introduce a new range of products in the non-printing and writing segment such as kraft paper for bags & food packaging, corrugated packaging boards. SPB has plans to upgrade key machines & equipment to improve the quality of paper and the efficiency of operations. Seshasayee Paper and Boards has prepaid all its term loans to banks and achieved zero debt status in December 2019. It continued to remain debt-free in FY2021. With its hope to end the year with 11-15 percent growth in FY22, helped by the reopening of schools, colleges and offices, there are concerns over increase in cost of import materials. n

JK Paper to Set up Corrugated Packaging Paper Plant in Punjab JK Paper plans to invest around INR 150 crore to set up a corrugated packaging paper manufacturing unit at the Cycle Valley in Ludhiana August 5, 2021

elcoming JK Group on its entry into the state with a planned investment of INR 150 crore, Punjab Chief Minister, Mr. Amarinder Singh handed over a letter allotting 17 acres of land at a cost of around INR 40 crore in the Hi-Tech Valley at Ludhiana. As reported in a leading daily — JK Paper is planning to set up a corrugated packaging paper manufacturing unit in the Cycle Valley.

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Chief Minister Mr. Amarinder Singh assured JK Group of his government's total support in the venture, and expressed hope for more investments in the future. JK Paper will initially procure raw material, which is waste paper, from different parts of the country and supply finished goods, which is corrugated packaging paper, to industries in Punjab and other neighboring states. It will also provide a fillip to the waste paper industry ecosystem in the state, helping Punjab achieve its sustainability goals.

N•E•W•S The presence of JK Paper's unit in the state will help the local industries in sourcing their packaging material from within the state, which will enhance their cost competitiveness. Further, the majority of the production will be consumed in the state, which will help boost the state's GST revenue. Expressing gratitude to the Chief Minister, Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, JK Paper Ltd. lauded Punjab''s industrial ecosystem, forward-looking industrial policies and conducive business environment, which motivated their decision to invest in the state. JK Paper is also looking forward to start construction of its proposed plant at the earliest and commence commercial production within one year — according to the reports. n

Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director and Mr. AS Mehta, President & Executive Director, JK Paper Ltd. with Punjab's Chief Minister Mr. Amarinder Singh

Lemit Papers to Set up 450 TPD Duplex Board Paper Mill in Morbi The Gujarat-based paper mill will be commencing commercial production by May 2022. Speaking to Paper Mart, Mr. Praful Patel, Managing Director, Lemit Papers LLP said, ''With its upcoming venture, the Company will create a new benchmark in paper quality.'' Lemit Papers LLP is a new venture of the ceramic giant — L Group of Companies, a pioneer in the ceramic industry located at Morbi, Gujarat. n

Mr. Praful Patel, Managing Director, Lemit Papers LLP

August 23, 2021

emit Papers LLP will be setting up a 450 TPD duplex board paper plant at Morbi in Gujarat. The company will manufacture duplex boards of different grades including LWC, HWC, grey back, and white back of various thicknesses. As informed to Paper Mart, Lemit Papers will install and commission state-of-the-art technologies and machines to manufacture high-quality duplex boards. The paper machine will be supplied by Qinyang Ping'an Light Industry Machinery Co. Ltd., China. It will have a finished deckle size of 3750 mm. The pulp mill and approach flow machine will be delivered by Kadant Lamort SAS, France. The hot dispersion will be supplied by Cellwood Machinery AB, Sweden, and IQ scanner will be sourced from Valmet. The raw material used for the production will be local and imported waste paper. The plant's installation is under full swing and Lemit Papers expects to go for commercial production by May 2022 and will be ready to ship the finished products in reel as well as in ream.

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Meghna Pulp & Paper Mills Orders New Tissue and MG Paper Production Plant From Recard The new turnkey plant includes three preparation lines for pulp where also waste paper can be used as raw material. July 30, 2021

eghna Pulp & Paper Mills Ltd. and Recard S.p.A. have signed a contract for the delivery of a brand new tissue and MG paper production plant. For the second time, the Bangladeshbased paper mill chose Recard for the delivery of a plant. According to the reports — the paper machine with fourdrinier formation section is designed to reach a max operating speed of 1000 MPM and a production rate of 70 TPD. The plant features all the auxiliary equipment, from the vacuum system and recovery boiler to the water distribution system and full DCS and electrical system installation. A special rewinder – suitable for both crepe papers and smooth papers like the MG – completes the plant. Installation and startup are scheduled for September 2022. Recard will be in charge of all plant engineering, project

Tissue Line: Meghna Pulp & Paper Mills

management, installation supervision, start-up support, training, and post-start-up babysitting. Meghna Pulp & Paper Mills Limited is a unit of Meghna Group of Industries, one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh, with over 35000 employees and a turnover of USD 2.5 billion. n

Zume Partners With Solenis to Open-Source Molded Fiber Packaging and Manufacturing Playbook In an unprecedented move, both the companies are open-sourcing the recipe and playbook to encourage all brands to leverage the breakthrough in their manufacturing processes. August 13, 2021

ume Inc., the sustainability solutions company creating economically viable substitutes for single-use plastics, has announced a partnership with Solenis, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals. Both the companies are opensourcing a PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) replacement for food packaging manufacturing to food manufacturers and CPG brands across the global market. In conjunction, Zume will no longer manufacture any products that contain PFAS from its California packaging facility, effective immediately, and the company is collaborating with its global partners to ensure that all production globally is PFAfree by the end of 2021. “Open-sourcing our PFA-free solution creates a path for brands across the world to remove plastics and harmful chemicals from their consumer packaging and single-use goods,” said Zume CEO and Chairman Alex Garden. “Brands have made pledges to remove PFAS and this new launch will enable them to deliver on their promises.” After nine months of deep collaboration and R&D to create a solution that reduces the need for single-use plastics, Zume and Solenis are open-sourcing the recipe and manufacturing

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Zume Partners With Solenis

process so that all packaging manufacturers can adopt the technique and speed up the removal of harmful chemicals. This marks an important milestone for the industry, as two major companies unveil the complex process of creating a molded fiber packaging solution that ensures food grease and water resistance without the need for PFAS or harmful chemicals. n

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SMI Coated Products Orders Quality Management Solution from Valmet SMI Coated Products Private Limited is one of India's largest label stock companies. The company puts strong emphasis on customization for label processor clients, in order to deliver best-fit solutions. August 16, 2021

almet will deliver Valmet IQ Moisturizer and Valmet IQ Converting Scanner with IQ Silicon measurement including IQ Moisture CD/MD Control to SMI Coated Products Pvt Ltd, which is located in Ambernath, Mumbai, India. The delivery is scheduled in the fourth quarter, 2021. “In our path of growth, SMI has always been looking to constantly improve its operation and products. Our challenge has always been within ourselves. Do better today that what we did yesterday is our motto. With this motto we are pleased to have Valmet on board for our upcoming machine's scanning and moisturizing, The understanding and implementation of moisturizing as well as scanning technology owned by Valmet is proven worldwide. We are looking forward to utilizing their expertise in this field soon and I'm sure with their dynamic approach, it will lead to a lasting relationship.” says Mr. Ajay Mehta, Managing Director, SMI Coated Products Pvt Ltd.

Valmet IQ Converting Scanner

Valmet's delivery includes Valmet IQ Moisturizer, Valmet IQ Converting Scanner with IQ Silicon measurement and IQ Moisture MD/CD Controls, to provide accurate measurement of silicon coat weight and moisture with uniform moisture levels across the sheet in all process situation and achieves better sheet flatness and lower operation costs. Start up and commissioning services also included to ensure the smooth start up and operation. n

JK Paper Eyes Growth as Demand for Packaging Boards and Specialty Papers Set to Increase The market for packaging boards is likely to grow 9-10 percent annually in India, compared with around 4 percent globally. August 11, 2021

ccelerated demand for packaging boards for online purchases and tissue papers on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with specialty papers, will drive growth going forward, said Mr. Bharat Hari Singhania, Chairman, JK Paper Ltd. Besides, Mr. Singhania, who is also the President of J.K. Organisation, said that though a gradual unlocking has commenced, disruptions are expected to sustain for some time — as reported in a leading daily. “India was projected to grow in double-digit percentage growth rates this year but the second pandemic wave has raised downside risks. Whether the recovery materializes soon will depend upon the government's policy support, faster vaccination and return to normalcy,” said Mr. Singhnia in his statement. According to Mr. Sighania, “Uncertainty” prevails following the second pandemic wave that proved more devastating than the first. While talking about the paper industry in FY21, Mr. Singhania said the economy improved “appreciably” in the second half of

Mr. Bharat Hari Singhania, Chairman, JK Paper Ltd.

the year, reflected in a pick-up in demand for packaging board as the pandemic accelerated online purchases due to social distancing restrictions. “The emphasis on hygiene increased the demand for tissue papers.”Going forward, we expect that growth will be driven by this and the speciality paper segment, induced by plastic

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N•E•W•S substitution, as the world replaces single-use plastic with ecofriendly paper-based alternatives,” he added. The market for packaging boards is likely to grow 9-10 percent annually in India, compared with around four percent globally. “This growth is catalyzed by personal consumption and the growing substitution of plastic products,”the annual report said.

“The company will seek to enhance people productivity, morale and output from the packaging board expansion through prudent people re-deployment,” it added. “From a long-term outlook, the company is optimistic of India's per-capita paper consumption potential, presently much lower than the global average consumption average.”Even a moderate improvement in consumption could translate into a substantial increase in national appetite,” it said.

“The outlook appears hazy, and disruptions in the coming months are not ruled out. However, superior export performance and certain end-use segments in the packaging board business augur well for the company and its prospects for the expansion,” the annual report said.

The intrinsic use of paper in education in India is expected to help the writing and printing papers segment grow around 4 percent a year, higher than the global average.

If education institutions restart, there could be a significant positive impact on the writing and printing segment, JK Paper added.

For the last financial year 2020-21, JK Paper's revenue stood at INR 2,969.15 crore. It was INR 3,254.20 crore during 201920. n

Keerthi Pumps advances with next-gen pumping technology The company has distinguished itself with the next-gen pumping technology, and has become the most trusted choice of a majority of the customers in the country. experts to design and develop customized pumps for different applications and industrial setups, the company covers commercial buildings, energy sectors, continuous process industries, and disaster management boards among others. Keerthi Pumps has distinguished itself with the next-gen pumping technology. Designed to offer premium hydraulic efficiency and high specific discharge, the technology leads to a significant reduction in energy consumption. The low maintenance pump results in lower operating costs. The dewatering pump comes with auto prime technology and is operational in airports, metros, mines, railway stations, and industries across India and comes with an easy plug and play system for quick start-up and requires no manual intervention during priming, which makes it very easy to operate. All that one needs to do is simply tow the portable trolley-mounted pump to the affected area and get the work done quickly, efficiently, and effectively. Mr. C. Kandasamy, Managing Director, Keerthi Pumps India Pvt. Ltd.

September 15, 2021

oimbatore-based Keerthi Pumps India Pvt. Ltd. started manufacturing industrial pumps in 1999. With around three decades of experience, it is one of the leading industrial pump manufacturers in India. Its manufacturing industrial pumps have a flow rate of up to 3000 m3/hr and a head range up to 200 meters. As an ISO 9001:2015 certified company, it is among the market leaders in pulp and paper stock pumps and chemical process pumps, dewatering and wastewater management products and solutions. Its in-house machinery and foundries help it to supply the pumps with shortened lead time, high-class quality, and competitive prices. With a team of

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It is the most trusted choice of a majority of the customers across the country. Keerthi Pumps is an expert in producing the end-suction pumps, paper stock pumps, process pumps, ANSI chemical series, split casing, horizontal multistage pumps, vertical sump pumps & dewatering pumps. Talking about its latest technology, Mr. C. Kandasamy, Managing Director, Keerthi Pumps India Pvt. Ltd. said, “We have pledged to commit to our duties of protecting lives from global environmental change. COVID19 has shown us there are still a lot of issues unresolved and we need to be socially, economically, environmentally prepared. With every new attention, there is potential, opportunity, and power. We are growing even stronger and getting immune to facing day-to-day

N•E•W•S challenges. And with the latest technology, we are a team of experts acting faster in providing a solution to liquid applications”. He added, "We are attentive towards reliable products in

industrial pumping solution and are adding more value-added products to expand our network. The quality and performance of Keerthi Pumps are well accepted in all platforms of the endusers experience in domestic as well as global markets. n

BILT Graphic Paper Products Completes Remote Commissioning of ABB's Induction xP Plus Successful upgrade to ABB's Induction xP Plus for BGPPL in India completes modernization and marks a first-of-its-kind project for ABB. July 12, 2021

BB has successfully completed the commissioning of the Induction xP Plus profiler system on PM3 at BILT Graphic Paper Products Limited (BGPPL), Ballarpur, India, with remote support from China. This is the first-ever instance when an ABB cross machine direction control engineer has given remote commissioning support for an upgrade of this scale. The modernization project was successfully and seamlessly executed. ABB's new Induction xP Plus is the best-in-class cross direction (CD) caliper profile control to achieve maximum induction heating in the shortest time possible, for reduced product variability and rapid corrections to sheet finishing profiles. The actuator heats the calender roll with an alternating magnetic field, creating heating eddy currents that cause the roll to expand. This narrows the nip between rolls and compresses the paper for reduced caliper and increased smoothness, offering papermakers advanced caliper profiling and sheet finishing capability. It is an integral part of the ABB Ability™ Quality Management System (QMS), which is based on the flagship

BILT Graphic Paper Products Limited

digital platform, ABB Ability™ System 800xA. “As part of our mill modernization, we decided to replace the existing ABB CD caliper control system (ThermoProfiler) with the latest Induction xP Plus profiler for PM3 at our Ballarpur plant, where we produce premium uncoated woodfree writing and printing paper, as well as high-quality office paper from 100 percent virgin wood fibers,” said Mr. Uday Kukde, General Manager and Unit Head, BGPPL, Ballarpur. n

India Exports 100,000 Tonnes Packaging Paper to China in 2020 In 2020, the amount of packaging paper, wrapping paper and paperboard shipped to China surged to 892K tonnes, jumping by +54 percent on the previous year. In value terms, wrapping papers imports skyrocketed by +17.1 percent YOY USD 627 million (IndexBox estimates) in 2020. August 24, 2021

ccording to a report published by IndexBox — China's imports of packaging paper, wrapping paper and paperboard has surged to its highest level ever, picking up by +54 percent to 892K tonnes in 2020. India, Vietnam and Russia are some of the largest suppliers to China. Moreover, last year, India and Russia had boosted their exports to China threefold, whereas Vietnam saw a 58 percent spike in terms of volume of exported products to China. In 2020, the average wrapping paper import price dropped by -24.1 percent YOY.

The overall imports of packaging paper, wrapping paper and paperboard to China jumped from 350K tonnes in 2010 to 892K tonnes in 2020. Over the last decade, India recorded the most prominent growth rate of exports to China. India broke into the Chinese market and became the second-largest supplier, ramping up the supplies to China from 16K tonnes in 2017 to 100K tonnes in 2020. According to the reports — Russia (125K tonnes), India (100K tonnes) and Vietnam (77K tonnes) were the main suppliers of wrapping papers imports to China, together accounting for 34

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N•E•W•S purchases from Brazil increased from 7K tonnes to 42K tonnes. Russia and India boosted their supplies to China threefold. Russia increased its exports to China from 41K tonnes in 2019 to 125K tonnes in 2020, while India ramped up its supplies to China from 34K tonnes to 100K tonnes over this period. Viet Nam increased its exports to China by half from 49K tonnes in 2019. In value terms, Russia (USD 75 million), Japan (USD 68 million) and the U.S. (USD 58 million) appeared to be the largest wrapping papers suppliers to China, together comprising 32 percent of total imports. Sweden, Taiwan (Chinese), Canada, South Korea, India, Viet Nam, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 47 percent. Packaging Papers

percent of total imports. Canada, Japan, the U.S., Sweden, South Korea, Taiwan (Chinese), Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand straggled somewhat behind, together comprising a further 52 percent. In 2020, Brazil featured the highest growth rate in terms of volume of supplies to China. Over the last year, Chinese

In 2020, the average wrapping papers import price amounted to USD 703 per tonne, dropping by -24.1 percent against the previous year. There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major supplying countries. In 2020, the country with the highest price was Japan ( USD 981 per tonne), while the price for India (USD 323 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Taiwan (Chinese), while the prices for the other major suppliers experienced a decline. n

Asia Symbol Orders 1 Million TPA Board Production Line from Voith As a full-line supplier, Voith is supplying the entire production line for the Rugao site in Shanghai, China. The high-performance BM 13 will have a production capacity of up to 1,000,000 TPA of folding boxboard. July 5, 2021

oith has received an order to build and supply a complete paper production line. The pulp and paper manufacturer Asia Symbol commissioned Voith to supply the BM 13 board machine for the Rugao site, located 180 km northwest of Shanghai, China. The efficient, state-of-the-art production line will achieve an annual production volume of up to 1,000,000 tons of highquality coated folding boxboard in the basis weight range 170 400 g/m2. The planned design speed is 1,400 m/min. The startup of the new high-speed line is scheduled for mid-2023. Designed as one of the most efficient board machines in the world, the order covers the entire paper production process from BlueLine stock preparation, the wet end process, including water-saving FlowJec chemical dosing technology, to the XcelLine paper machine and two VariFlex Performance winders with a fully automated Flying Splice reel change. The sustainability and efficiency of the production line are also ensured by a resource-saving TripleNipcoFlex press, EcoHood dryer section hood, ropeless threading system in the dryer section, and contactless qDry Pro coating colour drying

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Image Source: Voith Group

including HelioX high-performance infrared emitters. In addition, the scope of supply includes basic engineering as well as erection and commissioning supervision of the line. Furthermore, Voith will supply a comprehensive fabrics package and a wide range of automation solutions, including OnControl MCS, DCS, Drive Control, OnQuality MD/CD Control, and OnCare Health. In addition, Voith experts will conduct new virtual reality training with the customer. n

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Flipkart Achieves 100 Percent Single-Use Plastic Elimination Packaging Throughout its Supply Chain Earlier in 2020, in an exclusive interview with Paper Mart, Mr. Mahesh Pratap Singh, Head Sustainability and Social Responsibility-Flipkart, told that how the ecommerce marketplace has already reduced use of plastic packaging by 50 percent in our own supply chain and are working on fully eliminating it. July 7, 2021

lipkart, India's homegrown e-commerce marketplace, has eliminated all single-use plastic packaging used across its fulfillment centres in India, delivering on its public commitment to move to plastic-free packaging in its own supply chain by 2021. This has been achieved across more than 70 facilities of Flipkart spread all over India, where Flipkart has eliminated single-use plastic packaging by introducing the most scalable sustainable alternatives such as eco-friendly paper shreds, replacing poly pouches with recycled paper bags, replacing bubble wraps with carton waste shredded material and 2 Ply roll to name a few. Throughout this process, Flipkart has also ensured that it is fully compliant with all EPR regulations and through its network of recyclers, the equivalent quantity of single-use plastic going to consumers is fully recycled. Having achieved this milestone, Flipkart is now actively working with its seller partners who fulfill customer orders directly from their locations to educate them and enable them to move towards alternative materials. Furthermore, Flipkart is

Flipkart eliminates single-use plastic packaging throughout supply chain

actively working with the ecosystem to understand how it can best implement other initiatives to create a more circular economy for plastics so that the entire ecosystem can move towards a more sustainable future. Through proactive interventions and guidance, Flipkart has already achieved a 27 percent reduction in the use of single-use plastic packaging in its seller fulfillments. n

BillerudKorsnäs Launches Strong, Super-light Cartonboard Despite the low basis weights, the newly launched – CrownBoard Prestige is a strong board, made up of 100 percent primary wood fibres built up in a 3-ply structure. July 6, 2021

illerudKorsnäs is introducing two new low grammages of their flagship cartonboard product, CrownBoard Prestige®. Made at KM7, the world's most modern board machine, the two new low grammages are particularly interesting for the graphical industry. CrownBoard Prestige® 170 and 200 GSM combine an excellent printing surface with strength and shapeability. The technical properties of the board are due to the capabilities of KM7, including advanced coating technology and state-of-the-art online quality monitoring. Despite the low basis weights, it is a strong board, made of 100 percent primary wood fibers built up in a 3-ply structure.

Image Source: BillerudKorsnäs

Thanks to the strength, it is possible to choose a light grammage to reduce packaging weight. With CrownBoard Prestige®, this can be done without compromising packaging

performance. Light weighting saves cost and reduces environmental impact because the fewer raw materials is used, less energy is needed, less waste is generated, and www.papermart.in / June-July, 2021 | 97

N•E•W•S transport and warehousing requirements are reduced. CrownBoard Prestige® helps customers make sustainable choices.

Packaging for premium brands With the addition of 170 and 200 GSM, the CrownBoard

Prestige® range comprises ten grammages – from 170 to 400 GSM. It is developed to meet the needs of discerning brands for packaging premium consumer goods such as luxury drinks, confectionery, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and the graphical industry. It is chosen for its packaging performance, visual appeal and sustainability credentials. n

Fimakem India Expands FIMCARB® WGCC Carbonate Slurry Capacity Fimakem's FIMCARB® Nano-Coating Pigment WGCC Slurry has successfully replaced other expensive pigments in writing and printing paper mills. September 3, 2021

subsidiary of Wolkem India Ltd., Fimakem India Ltd., which caters to the maximum number of paper and board mills, expands capacity for the second time in less than 3 years at Dahej in Gujarat. The decision for capacity expansion was taken keeping in mind the growing demand for company's Wet Ground Calcium Carbonate Filler and Coating Fimcarb® Slurry by the paper mills in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Fimakem's fifth plant at Dahej was set up in 2019. Also, Fimakem India Ltd. has successfully replaced more expensive kaolin in writing and printing paper mills, and the inclusion of its nano & ultra-fine Fimcarb® Slurry offers improved faster drying and better Rheology of coating, thus enabling increase in the efficiency of the plant in addition to bringing cost savings. n

WGCC Carbonate

Smurfit Kappa to Acquire 600,000 Tonnes Recycled Containerboard Mill The acquisition will complement significant corrugated growth opportunities including sustainable packaging. July 28, 2021

murfit Kappa Group has agreed to acquire Verzuolo, a containerboard business in Northern Italy, for a cash consideration of EUR 360 million. The Verzuolo mill owned by the Burgo Group, is situated close to the port of Savona in the northwest of Italy. The PM9 machine was newly constructed in 2002 and converted into a 600,000 tonnes capacity recycled containerboard machine in 2019. Verzuolo is highly complementary to SKG's existing business and is strategically positioned to serve both the Southern European region and other markets ensuring we continue to provide the best service to our corrugated customers. The acquisition will deliver significant synergistic benefits including technical and production optimization, and increased containerboard integration within the Group. The cash consideration will be funded from the Group's

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Verzuolo, a containerboard business in Northern Italy

existing resources. It is expected that the acquisition will complete during the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval. n

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JK Paper Reports Multifold Jump in Net Profit to INR 104.22 Crore for Q1 FY2021-22 Revenue from operations stood at INR 660.75 crore as against INR 469.24 crore in the year-ago period. July 31, 2021

K Paper has reported a multifold jump in consolidated net profit at INR 104.22 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 on the back of higher sales and better realization. As per the media report — JK Paper, which had posted a net profit of INR 2.66 crore in the year-ago period, said its board has approved an investment of INR 150 crore for setting up a corrugated packaging plant. Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, JK Paper Ltd. said, "Higher volume with better realizations across all segments resulted in improved performance during the quarter despite the impact of the 2nd wave of the COVID19 pandemic.'' He further added, ''Reopening of educational institutions in a gradual manner will improve demand for writing and printing paper. The company continued its focus on reducing cost, enriching product mix and serving its customers better". "The plantation activities remain as a prime focus area to procure adequate raw material at economical cost," Mr. Singhania said.

Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania

JK Paper said its performance on consolidated basis was also better in the quarter due to steady operational performance of The Sirpur Paper Mills Ltd., a step-down subsidiary. The packaging board project at 'Unit-CPM' is progressing well despite some delay in supplies due to the impact of COVID-19 and trial production is expected to start in the current quarter, it added. n

World's Largest DP Pulp Mill Bracell Commissions ANDRITZ to Supply Major Pulp Production Technologies Bracell, one of the largest global producers of dissolving pulp and special pulp, is finalizing its Project Star work to expand the company's operations in Lençóis Paulista, in the interior of São Paulo state. July 7, 2021

NDRITZ is supplying major energy-efficient and environmentally friendly pulp production technologies and key process equipment for Bracell's Project “STAR” in the city of Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo state, Brazil. The mill features two flexible, environmentally friendly hardwood fiberlines for a capacity of 2.6 – 2.8 million tons/year of bleached kraft pulp or 1.5 million tons/year of dissolving pulp, which is used as raw material for the production of viscose. ANDRITZ was awarded this contract in July 2019, and start-up is scheduled for August 2021. The plant, which is one of the largest and most sustainable pulp mills in the world, will start operating in mid-August 2021, with a production capacity of up to three million tons per year.

Bracell's Project “STAR” in Lençóis Paulista

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N•E•W•S ANDRITZ is providing – on EPCC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Civil Construction) basis – four of the six most important process islands in the pulp mill:

energy-efficient pulp drying based on the high-capacity Twin Wire Former technology, with airborne dryers, cutterlayboy and baling lines.

Ÿ A complete Wood Processing Plant using ANDRITZ's proven

ANDRITZ is also supplying a Non-Condensable Gas (NCG) treatment system that enables safe and environmentally friendly treatment of all types of diluted or concentrated malodorous gases, thus meeting the strictest environmental and social requirements. The gases are collected and eliminated by waste gas incinerator with quenching as well as flue gas scrubbers. The NCG incineration system is based on the “ARecovery+” concept developed by ANDRITZ, focusing on the use of side streams in the recovery cycle. n

technologies and including four chipping lines, two stackerreclaimers, eight chip screening units, biomass handling with two ANDRITZ BioCrushers, and biomass storage. Ÿ An ANDRITZ HERB Recovery Boiler with high steam

parameters of 101 bar(a) and 515°C to maximize power generation. Ÿ Two environmentally friendly hardwood Fiberlines. Ÿ Two innovative EvoDry Pulp Drying Systems for the most

Metsä Board Invests EUR 210 Million for Capacity Expansion of Folding Boxboard by 200000 TPA Metsä Board has made an investment decision to increase the annual folding boxboard capacity by 200,000 tonnes per annum at its Husum integrated mill in Sweden. July 27, 2021

etsä Board, part of Metsä Group, has invested EUR 210 million in increasing folding boxboard capacity at its Husum mill in Sweden. The company is responding to growing demand for sustainably produced packaging materials that support the circular economy. The investment strengthens Metsä Board's position as the leading producer of folding boxboard in Europe. At present, the annual folding boxboard capacity of the paperboard machine BM1 is 400,000 tonnes, and after the investment it will rise to 600,000 tonnes. Additional capacity will enter the market during 2024–2025. The investment value is approximately EUR 210 million, divided in 2021–2024 and mainly in 2022–2023. The investment will be financed with current cash funds and future cash flows from operating activities. The Husum port concept will be examined separately, taking into account the growing logistics volumes of the entire integrated mill, and the necessary potential investments will be decided later. Preparatory work for construction will begin in October 2021 in

Folding Boxboard

connection with the planned annual maintenance shutdown of the Husum integrated mill. The ramp-up of additional capacity is expected to start in autumn 2023 and full production capacity is expected to be reached by the end of 2025. The investment will increase Metsä Board's annual sales by approximately EUR 200 million. In addition, the investment is estimated to have a positive impact of approximately EUR 50 million on the company's annual comparable EBITDA. n

Nine Dragons Orders Two Complete OCC Lines from ANDRITZ Start-up is scheduled for the second and fourth quarter of 2022, respectively. July 7, 2021

NDRITZ has received an order from Nine Dragons Paper Industries to supply two complete OCC lines with a capacity of 2000 bdmt/d each to their mills in China. The lines feature the following technological highlights:

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Ÿ FibreFlow Drum pulping systems, ensuring premium accept

quality thanks to gentle slushing and efficient removal of coarse contaminants with minimum fiber loss Ÿ PrimeScreen F fine screens and fractionators with newly

developed PrimeFoils for increased efficiency and lower power consumption

N•E•W•S Ÿ PrimeFilter D disc filters – the latest ANDRITZ innovation in

thickening and fiber recovery – enabling the system to handle higher feed consistencies and higher-freeness pulp, even in the most demanding applications, and in parallel offering significant improvements in terms of energy consumption and maintenance Ÿ Ultra-high dispersing, allowing dispersion at a consistency of

up to 40 percent to achieve substantial savings in steam consumption and superior fiber strength development. The stock preparation systems will use 100 percent LOCC (local old corrugated containers) as raw material to produce highquality packaging paper. Nine Dragons Paper is part of the Nine Dragons Paper Group, an important global player in the pulp and paper industry with mills in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the United States. The group primarily produces linerboard, high-performance

ANDRITZ FibreFlow Drum for OCC application

corrugating medium and coated duplex board as well as printing and writing paper. n

Lee & Man Paper Orders Semi-Chemical Pulp Line from Valmet The value of the order has not been disclosed. However, a project of this size and scope is typically valued at around EUR 10-20 million. July 15, 2021

almet will supply a semi-chemical pulp (SCP) line to Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd, Chongqing in China. The technology deliveries by Valmet will begin in 2022 and the start-up is planned for 2023. The order is included in Valmet's orders received of the second quarter 2021. The delivery includes the latest technology for semi-chemical pulp production and will provide excellent resource efficiency for Lee & Man. The technology provides possibilities to optimize pulp properties with low wood and energy consumption. The deliveries include Valmet Continuous Cooking, screening, refining and washing technologies. n

Representational image: Valmet

Holmen Orders Hardwood Line Rebuild From Valmet Iggesund Mill in Sweden The order is included in Valmet's orders received of the second quarter 2021. The value of the order has not been disclosed. July 20, 2021

almet will deliver equipment and services for a rebuild of the hardwood pulp line at Holmen's Iggesund mill in Sweden. The rebuild will cut variable costs and improve production stability. The work will be implemented during the second half of 2022. The scope of the Valmet delivery includes main machinery, basic engineering and erection. In the first stage, a vacuum filter will be replaced with a new TwinRoll press and in a second phase, remaining filters in the bleach plant will be replaced with TwinRoll presses. n

Holmen's Iggesund mill in Sweden

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N•E•W•S

BillerudKorsnäs Aims to Divest the Beetham Mill Beetham Mill is located at a few miles north of Lancaster in the South Lakeland district, Cumbria, UK. It has a capacity of around 45000 TPA. July 29, 2021

illerudKorsnäs is in a process with the aim of divesting the paper mill in Beetham, UK. The process is ongoing and no binding agreement to divest the mill has yet been entered into. Since BillerudKorsnäs' machine glazed (MG) paper business has primarily been focused in Skärblacka, the strategic importance of Beetham to the rest of the group has been reduced. Beetham produces kraft paper for packaging of medical applications such as dressings, syringe packs, bags and pouches, for food packaging such as fast food bags, butter, lard, food and bakery wraps, as well as industrial applications such as sack enclosure, decorative laminate and glass interleaving. It has a capacity of around 45000 TPA. In 2020, the facility had sales of around SEK 480 million. n

Beetham Mill

Solenis and BASF to Work on Paper Bottles With Pulpex Pulpex is developing a commonly recyclable, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) free paper bottle using sustainably sourced pulp. July 26, 2021

he specialty chemical firm Solenis has joined BASF as a partner with Pulpex, a company developing fully recyclable paper bottles. In a report, Pulpex has mentioned that BASF will contribute food-grade barrier chemistry. Solenis, which already serves the pulp and paper industry, will provide surface treatments and other chemical components. Pulpex's current bottles are suitable only for still, cold-fill beverages. With help from the two chemical companies, the firm hopes to compete with glass and polyester bottles. n

Pulpex

ABB and Voith Alliance Helps SCA to Drive Bold Investment Program Forward ABB's appointment by Voith to deliver end customer electrification package enables SCA to transform kraftliner production capabilities at Swedish pulp and paper mill. BB has been contracted by machine supplier Voith to deliver drives and electrification to support the build of SCA's new kraftliner machine PM2 at its Obbola mill in Umeå, Sweden.

control system (DCS), drives and instrumentation package that SCA awarded to ABB for the brownfield expansion, complementing ABB's existing installed base and long-standing service agreement.

The contract is in addition to an automation and control system upgrade based on the ABB Ability™ System 800xA distributed

The installation of a new machine, infrastructure and optimized capabilities means that SCA's annual production at

August 23, 2021

102 | www.papermart.in / June-July, 2021

N•E•W•S Obbola will increase from the current 450,000 tonnes of kraftliner to 725,000 tonnes. The feat of bringing a brand new, large and wide machine online will meet the growing demand for renewable packaging with higher production capacity and efficiency. Voith, as a full-line supplier, is taking responsibility for the entire papermaking process and project handling of the new Obbola mill. ABB's scope includes sectional drives suitable for high power and high power density machines as well as specialized motor requirements, ABB Ability ™ System 800xA drive control system with ABB Ability ™ Data Logger tool and Safety PLC solution for the drive system safety functions. n SCA's Obbola mill in Sweden

Ajit Industries Unveils Eco-friendly Green Tapes The company uses green and biodegradable materials to manufacture its exclusive product range of green tapes. September 1, 2021

jit Industries Private Limited (AIPL) — a pioneer in industrial tapes and die cuts, has launched a new range of tapes made from recyclable and biodegradable materials, which include, self-adhesive kraft paper tape, water activated kraft paper tape KP 90, eco-friendly honeycomb packaging paper and recyclable BOPP tape. Mr. Ajit Gupta, Founder & Managing Director, Ajit Industries Private Limited said, "As a Responsible Corporate, we have been introducing a complete eco-friendly solution for taping and packaging business. In line with our core values "Smart Strong Stable", we are bringing out "sustainable" products that set performance benchmarks in the industry and in a bigger purview of things, also work for the environment and hence the greater good of the Society. With a vast global experience of more than 25 years in the self-adhesive tapes industry, we are in the process of achieving deeper consolidation across the markets in India." AIPL has been actively engaged in running a mission green campaign to promote the use of environment-friendly green tapes. With legendary Cricketer Kapil Dev as its Brand

Green Tapes

Ambassador, the company has always been passionate about sustainable solutions for a safer and greener society. AIPL is equipped with a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility having two plants at the same location i.e. at Kharkhoda in District Sonepat, Haryana and the other locations include Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, Chennai and Tamil Nadu. n

Smurfit Kappa Opens E-Commerce Packaging Lab at the UK Facility The new ecommerce ISTA certification lab has been started at the new ecommerce packaging facility is an expansion of Smurfit Kappa's network of packaging testing labs and centres to develop, test and launch disruptive packaging solutions for ecommerce. July 1, 2021

its new ecommerce packaging facility in Northampton, UK.

This brings with it an expansion of Smurfit Kappa's network of packaging testing labs and centres that support retailers and

murfit Kappa has announced the start of a new International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) certified lab at

www.papermart.in / June-July, 2021 | 103

N•E•W•S producers to develop, test and launch disruptive packaging solutions for ecommerce at minimal risk and with reliable implementation. ISTA certification is often required by online selling platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba or eBay. From its ISTA lab in the Netherlands, Smurfit Kappa has over 14 years of experience and data from testing new and innovative packaging solutions to ensure they are fit for purpose and meet the challenges of the ecommerce supply chain. Most recently, Smurfit Kappa was the first to secure Amazon's 'FrustrationFree Packaging' pre-certification for a three litre Bag-in-Box solution. All this expertise is now also extended into the UK market.

Image source: Smurfit Kappa

The team of experts works with customers to develop new packaging solutions to minimize and prevent product damage occurring during distribution. The prototype designs are then

rigorously tested to ensure that the required performance standards concerning compression, drop and vibration are met to secure certification. n

Muda Paper Mills Orders Key Paper Machine Technology From Valmet The order is included in Valmet's orders received of the second and third quarters 2021. The value of the order will not be disclosed. The project of this size and scope is typically valued at around EUR 3 million. September 1, 2021

almet will supply key paper machine technology, which includes several upgrading works, to Muda Paper Mills Sdn. Bhd. for its PM 9 in Malaysia. The start-up is scheduled for the second quarter 2022. Valmet's delivery will include high technology equipment to improve paper machine performance. The scope also includes a new metalizing MG dryer cylinder, with a construction based on research and stress analysis, producing opportunities for operating efficiency, energy efficiency, and increased speeds. MG dryer will operate with hood and remote control system and a transfer box. The design of this transfer box procures a stable distribution of air and it will be installed before the MG Dryer to avoid any problems of wrinkles and bubbles. The 3,600-mm-wire width MG machine will produce food packaging grade, wax based and wet strength base with the

Image source: Valmet

basis weight range of 20-60 g/m2. The design speed will be 800 m/min and the daily production capacity will be 80 tonnes at basis weight of 35 g/m2. n

Mayr-Melnhof Group Completes Acquisition of Kotkamills The acquisition will strengthen the position of MM Kotkamills in the virgin fiber board segment. With this undertaking, the company has forayed into the growing cupstock market and saturating kraft paper in which Kotkamills is one of the global leaders. August 4, 2021

504.6 million (~EUR 425 million).

Through the takeover, MM strengthens its position in the virgin fiber cartonboard (FBB) market with an attractive range of barrier cartonboard solutions that can replace PE (polyethyl-

he Mayr-Melnhof Group (MM) has acquired Kotkamills Group Oyj, Finland, which was agreed in December 2020. The enterprise value of the acquisition has been around USD

104 | www.papermart.in / June-July, 2021

N•E•W•S ene) – coated cartonboard. The company has also expanded its standing in the food service board (FSB) segment and complements its established market position for the recycled board. The planned transaction will have an immediate impact on earnings. Besides, MM has forayed into the growing cupstock market and saturating kraft paper in which Kotkamills is one of the global leaders. MM Kotkamills operates an advanced virgin fiber board machine with a current sales volume of around 260,000 tonnes and one planned capacity of 400,000 tonnes as well as a machine for saturating kraft paper with a capacity of 170,000 tonnes. The mill employs approximately 500 people and has generated sales of around USD 451 million (~EUR 380 million) in 2020. n Kotkamills site

Pratt Industries Announces USD 400 Million Investment in a New Recycled Paper Mill The construction work on the 450,000 sq ft mill would begin in March in the next year and the startup of the mill is scheduled in 2023. August 5, 2021

ratt Industries announced it would invest USD 400 million in a new 100 percent recycled paper mill in Henderson, Kentucky. This represents the largest single investment by the company in its history and will create more than 320 full-time jobs plus an additional 700 in the construction phase. “It will be the world's most advanced, environmentally-friendly 100 percent recycled paper mill,” said company Owner and Executive Chairman Mr. Anthony Pratt. “And it means Pratt Industries will have built 6 of the last 8 paper mills in the United States.” The construction work on the 450,000 sq ft mill would begin in March in the next year and the startup of the mill is scheduled in 2023. In a separate project, the company has also announced it would build a 700,000 sq ft corrugated box factory adjacent to

Image source: Pratt Industries

the mill. The construction on that phase is slated to begin no later than 18 months after the mill is completed, and become operational in 2026. n

Nine Dragons Orders Key Pulp Technologies from Valmet Nine Dragons is developing its production portfolio and building pulp mills to support its new and existing paper machines with high quality raw material. August 23, 2021

almet has received several pulp technology orders from Nine Dragons for their pulp, paper and board greenfield project in Beihai city, Guangxi autonomous region, in China. The order consists of two complete fiberlines, two bleached chemi thermo mechanical pulp (BCTMP) lines, a recovery boiler

and DeNOx scrubbers. The deliveries will be done in phases and the start-ups are scheduled for 2023. The value of the order will not be disclosed. However, a project of this size and scope is typically valued at around EUR 140 million. The order was included in Valmet's orders received of the second quarter 2021.

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N•E•W•S Valmet's delivery includes two fiberlines, two BCTMP lines, a recovery boiler and DeNOx scrubbers for recovery boiler and lime kiln with the corresponding spare part packages. The fiberlines will provide Nine Dragons with flexibility to produce pulp grades of different types. The new fiberlines provide possibilities to optimize pulp properties with lower power and wood consumption. This allows Nine Dragons to achieve excellent resource efficiency. The deliveries include Valmet Continuous Cooking G3, Valmet Screening, Valmet Refiner and Valmet Washing, Oxygen and Bleaching technologies. The BCTMP lines include impregnation system, high consistency refining, bleaching system, low consistency refining, screening, dewatering and washing. It is designed to provide high yield, low energy consumption and excellent pulp quality for the new paper machines.

Valmet Continuous Cooking technology and high power recovery boiler (Illustrative image)

The recovery boiler has multiple high-power features, including multi-stage preheating of feedwater and heat recovery from flue and vent gases to combustion air. The boiler is designed for low emissions and high availability. The boiler also includes non-condensable gas (NCG) incineration. In

The DeNOx scrubbers for recovery boiler and lime kiln are equipped with chemical feeding in order to achieve very low NOx emissions. The process can reduce emissions under the required 50 mg/Nm3 level with high availability and low maintenance need. n

addition, the delivery includes safety related systems and Boiler Diagnostics System for the recovery boiler.

United Paper Orders Complete OCC Line from ANDRITZ ANDRITZ has received an order from United Paper Public Company Limited for its mill in Prachinburi, Thailand. The start-up is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022. July 1, 2021

NDRITZ will supply the main equipment – from pulping to the storage tower - a complete OCC Line United Paper Public Company Limited for its mill in Prachinburi, Thailand. This features the following technological highlights: Ÿ LC pulping system comprising a FibreSolve FSR pulper with

newly designed rotor and TrashWell standpipe for efficient reject removal as well as state-of-the-art detrashing machinery. The new pulping system not only enables excellent slushing of the raw material at minimum fiber loss but also focuses on efficient separation and removal of rejects with the highest availability. Ÿ Innovative PrimeScreens X for screening and fractionation

with new PrimeRotors for superior screening performance, savings in energy consumption by up to 25 percent as well as fast and easy maintenance. The new OCC line will have a design capacity of 550 bdmt/d and process a mixture of AOCC and LOCC to produce linerboard. The scope of supply also includes the detailed

106 | www.papermart.in / June-July, 2021

OCC line

engineering and supervision of installation, commissioning and start-up. n

N•E•W•S

Mondi & Unilever Develop Aluminum-Free Paper-Based Packaging for Colman's Meal Makers Mondi and Unilever have jointly developed a recyclable, paper-based packaging solution for Unilever's Colman's brand to reduce the amount of plastic and aluminum used. July 21, 2021

nilever, together with Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, have developed a new high barrier paperbased packaging material for Unilever's Colman's dry Meal Maker and Sauces range by reducing plastic, increasing paper content, and consequently ensuring recyclability in the existing UK paper waste stream. By replacing the previous unrecyclable multi-material laminate with recyclable paper packaging, Mondi supports Unilever in its sustainability targets. The aluminum, as well as all unnecessary plastic layers of the previous material were eliminated. This resulted in a new packaging solution with paper content of 85 percent and an ultra-thin functional plastic layer that seals the packaging, and provides barrier protection for the food. Mondi and Unilever's R&D teams identified this layer as the minimum acceptable protection needed to ensure a long shelf life while maintaining high quality and reducing food waste. Mondi and Unilever closely collaborated throughout the entire development process, including mastering the challenge of limited access to production facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Starting with a proof of concept, followed by extensive line trials at both Mondi and Unilever's R&D pilot plants provided the flexibility to quickly prototype and test the unique packaging material before scaling up. This collabora-

Colman's New Paper Packaging

tive method goes to the heart of Mondi's EcoSolutions customer-centric approach of working closely with its customers to ensure that the best possible and most sustainable product is created while meeting the customer's requirements, as well as that of its end user and the environment. Unilever focuses on the principle of a circular economy and the importance of creating value within it. Two of their key targets are to transform the entire packaging portfolio into technically recyclable, reusable or biodegradable solutions as well as to halve the amount of plastic used by 2025, which this new packaging solution addresses. n

Mayr-Melnhof to Divest its Eerbeek and Baiersbronn Virgin Fiber Cartonboard Mills The divestment is in tandem with and is a major part of the company's strategy to focus on new acquisitions and the growth CapEx. August 5, 2021

he Mayr-Melnhof Group and a subsidiary of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. have reached a firm intention on the sale of MM's virgin fiber cartonboard mills located in Eerbeek, Netherlands, and Baiersbronn, Germany, to Oaktree for an equity value of around USD 124 million (EUR 104.6 million) and net debt subject to final closing accounts. Eerbeek and Baiersbronn together have an annual capacity of about 245kt of virgin fiber cartonboard (FBB) produced on two board machines and employ approximately 400 people. Sales reached EUR 195 million in 2020. The divestment is in line with and is a key part of MM Group's strategy to focus on new acquisitions and the growth CapEx. MM will engage in a consultation process with the employee

Virgin Fiber Cartonboard

representatives and expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2021. n

www.papermart.in / June-July, 2021 | 107

N•E•W•S

DS Smith to Explore Use of Seaweed as Alternative Fiber Source for Paper and Packaging The rising demand for sustainable goods has led DS Smith to explore the opportunities for using seaweed fibers as an alternative fiber resource. August 17, 2021

s part of its EUR 117 million sustainability-focused R&D program, DS Smith is exploring how seaweed fibers can be used as a raw material in paper and packaging products. The company says that this move could see it use seaweed across its packaging network as an alternative fiber source to wood. Following initial testing, DS Smith is also exploring the potential of seaweed to act as a barrier coating to replace petroleum-based coatings. Thomas Ferge, paper and board development director at DS Smith, commented: “As a leader in sustainability, our research into alternative raw material and fiber sources has the potential to be a real game-changer for our customers and consumers who increasingly want products that are easy to recycle and have a minimal impact on the environment. “Seaweed is one of the many alternative natural materials we're closely looking at, and while most people probably associate it with the beach or as an ingredient in sushi, it could have some exciting applications for us to help create the next generation of sustainable paper and packaging solutions.” Given its wide range of apparent uses, seaweed in manufacturing is a burgeoning market. The European seaweed industry alone is predicted to be worth almost EUR 9.4 billion by 2030,

Seaweed

generating some 115,000 jobs. The seaweed project is part of DS Smith's EUR 117 million Circular Economy R&D programme, which was announced earlier this year. Its research into natural fibers also includes other natural materials such as straw, hemp, miscanthus, and cotton, as well as more unusual sources such as the daisyflowered cup plant and agricultural waste like cocoa shells or bagasse - the pulp fiber left over after sugarcane is processed. n

Essity Acquires Australian Hygiene Company Asaleo Care Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Essity AB is a global hygiene and health company and Asaleo Care manufactures and markets Personal Care and Professional Hygiene products in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. July 1, 2021

ygiene and health company Essity has today finalized its acquisition of the remaining 63.8 percent of the shares in the Australian hygiene company Asaleo Care. Essity AustralAsia, which is the name of the regional unit going forward, will be consolidated into Essity's accounts as of July 1st, 2021. In 2020, Asaleo Care reported sales of AUD 419m (approximately SEK 2.7 billion) and underlying EBITDA of AUD 89 million (approximately SEK 574 million). Based on this, Asaleo Care would have contributed to Essity's net sales and EBITDA by approximately 2 percent for 2020. Asaleo Care manufactures and markets Personal Care and Professional Hygiene products in Australia, New Zealand and

108 | www.papermart.in / June-July, 2021

Essity AustralAsia would be the name of the regional unit

Fiji and Consumer Tissue in New Zealand and Fiji. The company's portfolio of market-leading brands includes Libra, Handee Ultra, Purex, Sorbent, Deeko, Viti, and Orchid, and the global brands TENA and Tork through an exclusive license agreement with Essity. n

N•E•W•S

Kemira Invests in New Production Line of ASA Sizing Agents in Asia-Pacific ASA is one of the most effective and cost-efficient sizing agents for improving water-resistance in paper and packaging board. September 3, 2021

emira, a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water intensive industries, announces a significant investment in the production of alkenyl succinic anhydride sizing agent (ASA) in China. This investment into an additional, third production line at the company's state-of-the-art Nanjing site in the Jiangsu province, will expand Kemira's ASA production capacity substantially. Earlier this year, Kemira announced the start-up of a new dry polymer production plant in Ulsan, South Korea. These investments are part of Kemira's growth strategy implementation. “Kemira is the leading producer and supplier of ASA in the Asia Pacific region. We are committed to the industry and want to ensure security of supply and high quality products in the long term, supporting our customers' expansion plans. The capacity

Kemira to develop ASA sizing agents

ramp-up will take place during 2022-2023,” states Alexander Wahl, Director of the global sizing product line at Kemira. n

Valmet to Invest in New Service Center in Guangxi, China Valmet's new Guangxi Service Center will be in operation by the fourth quarter in 2023. August 25, 2021

almet will be building its fourth service center in China, in the city of Beihai, to further develop its local presence in the fast-growing pulp and paper industry in the Guangxi province. Valmet's new service center will serve pulp, board, paper and tissue customers close by with main focus on roll maintenance, fiber equipment services and field services including shutdown planning management. In addition to this new Guangxi Service Center, Valmet has three other service centers in China – in Wuxi, Guangzhou and Zibo. In total, Valmet has over 100 service centers around the world. n

Image source: Valmet

ANDRITZ Introduces CircleToZero® – Paving the Way Towards Pulp Production With Zero Emissions and Zero Waste CircleToZero® will enable the industry to either eliminate or make use of side streams in pulp production and convert by-products into new value-added products. July 26, 2021

NDRITZ has launched CircleToZero®, a holistic program for the pulp-producing industry with the goal of providing strong support to customers in their efforts to achieve maximum, sustainable production, aiming at zero emissions

and zero waste production. Pairing in-house innovations with ANDRITZ's proven and state-of-the-art technologies, CircleToZero® will enable the pulp-producing industry to either eliminate or make use of side streams in pulp production and convert by-products into new value-added products.

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N•E•W•S in the recovery island of chemical pulp mills. These include purifying raw methanol into commercial quality bio-methanol for instance, on-site production of sulfuric acid, and recovery of kraft lignin. With this newly developed technology, ANDRITZ is helping Södra Cell Mönsterås pulp mill to become the first-ever fossilfree biomethanol plant worldwide and also be climate-positive by the end of this decade.

Image source: ANDRITZ

The ANDRITZ A-Recovery+ program, already established, is a major part of CircleToZero®. It unleashes the economic potential of the many traditionally unused side streams found

CircleToZero® enables customers to achieve immediate bottom-line savings, take up new business and investment opportunities and increase their ability to comply with evertighter environmental regulations. “We look forward to a shared roadmap towards a more sustainable society together with our business partners. Our CircleToZero® team is happy to share the program and solutions in detail and define new ways to operate mills in more sustainable ways with enhanced bottom-line results,” Lauri Pehu-Lehtonen, Director ARecovery+, ANDRITZ explains. n

McDonald's Sources Majority of Paper Packaging from Recycled and Sustainable Fiber McDonald's has placed a larger goal for itself for the entire customer packaging created from renewable, recycled or certified sources by the year 2025. August 24, 2021

cDonald's Corporation is on its way to achieving its goal of sourcing all of its paper-based food packaging in its restaurants from the recycled or sustainable fiber. In its annual sustainability report, the US-based global food company has asserted that in 2020, 99.6 percent of the paper bags, food wrappers, napkins, cup carriers and other materials used to package meals came from recycled or certified sustainable fiber sources. This is a sharp growth in percentage from 2019 when it was 92 percent. According to an Adweek-Harris Poll survey conducted in April, it was concluded that around 62 percent of respondents would think more highly of a brand that used recyclable packaging, and 81 percent were concerned about litter and pollution from fast food restaurants. In view of its environmental practices, McDonald's has placed a larger goal for its entire customer packaging created from renewable, recycled or certified sources by the year 2025. At present, 80 percent of its packaging comes from such sources. Besides, the fast food chain is also using paper straws and wooden cutlery in multiple regions/countries, and is exploring

110 | www.papermart.in / February - March, 2017

McDonald's Paper Packaging

the use of fiber lids and reusable cups. In 2018, McDonalds had made the switch from plastic straws to paper ones in Ireland, United Kingdom and Australia in an effort to reduce plastic pollution. This was followed by the Netherlands in the year 2020 and Germany in 2021. n

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Event Calendar 21-23, September 2021

Tissue World Dusseldorf, Germany www.tissueworld.com

13-15, October 2021

MIAC Lucca, Italy www.miac.info/en

23-25, October 2021

India Corr Expo Greater Noida, India www.indiacorrexpo.com

9-11, December 2021

Pack Plus New Delhi, India www.packplus.in

9-12, January 2022

* Due to COVID-19 event status could change. Please check with the organizers before visiting.

Paperex Greater Noida, India www.paperex-expo.com

16-18, March 2022

Tissue World Miami Miami, USA www.tissueworld.com/miami

18-20, May 2022

Tissue & Paper Bangkok Bangkok, Thailand www.tissueworld.com/bangkok

23-25, November 2022

Paperex South Chennai, India www.southindia.paperex.in

June-July, 2021

Vol.: 22 / No.: 02

Editor & Publisher Parveen Kumar Jain – pkj@tulip3pmedia.in Associate Editor Geetika Jain – gjain@papermart.in Editorial Team Anurima Mondal – desk@tulip3pmedia.in Laique Khan – desk2@tulip3pmedia.in Soumya Ojha – desk3@tulip3pmedia.in Graphic Designer Ravi Thakur – ravithakur@tulip3pmedia.in Tajinder Singh – design2@tulip3pmedia.in Advertising & Marketing Puneet Dua – mktg@papermart.in Priya Thapar – mktg2@tulip3pmedia.in Support Team Kushagra Mehrotra Sandeep Kumar Rahul Kumar admin@tulip3pmedia.in Chief Executive Officer Priyank Jain pj@tulip3pmedia.in Editorial & Publisher's Office : Paper Mart, Tulip 3P Media Pvt. Ltd. 218, Sanjay Nagar, Gulabi Bagh, New Delhi-110007, INDIA

Correspondence Address: Tulip 3P Media Pvt. Ltd. 207-B, Second Floor, NDM-2, Plot No. D-1, 2 & 3, Netaji Subhash Place, Pitam Pura, New Delhi-110034, INDIA, Tel.:+91 11 45678 421 / 22 / 23 Mob.: +91 99999 350 11 / 22 / 44, E-mail : info@papermart.in / info@tulip3pmedia.in International Sales : RNP Nicolas Pelletier 16, rue Bannier 45000 Orleans, France Tel.: +33 682 25 12 06, Fax: +33 238 422910 Chinese Representative: China Pulp & Paper Industry Publishing House No. 101, Gongyenan Road, Jinan Shandong, China Tel.: +86 531 88522949 Owned, Published & Printed By : Parveen Kumar Jain, Published at 218, Sanjay Nagar, Gulabi Bagh, Delhi-110007, INDIA. Printed at: Pankaj Paper Mart, 218, Sanjay Nagar, Gulabi Bagh, Delhi-110007, INDIA. All disputes regarding this magazine will be settled in Delhi (India) Jurisdiction Only. The views expressed in the columns of Paper Mart are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher & they accept no responsibility for them. CAUTION: No part of this magazine including advertisements designs, prepared by us or through us should be copied, reproduced or transmitted by any one without prior written permission of the publisher.

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