UFlex Ltd, India’s largest multinational flexible packaging company and a global player in polymer sciences, today declared its financial results for the quarter ending December 2020. With packaging becoming a lifeline in the battle against COVID-19 pandemic, the company has successfully supported customers and consumers with packaging solutions in the past quarters. The company witnessed a surge in demand for multiple lines of businesses while also adding newer clients. The company posted strong growth numbers with Consolidated Net Profit surged by 89% YoY to INR 159.9 crore.
UFlex announced domestic and international expansion for its Packaging Films business in the results. Speaking of the capacity expansion, Rajesh Bhatia, Group CFO at UFlex Limited said, “The highlights of this quarter are commissioning of the brownfield BOPET film line in Poland with a capacity of 45,000 TPA. The trial run for our BOPP plant in Hungary and BOPET plant in Nigeria have already commenced and both the plants are expected to be commissioned soon. In India, we have not expanded the capacity of Packaging Films since the last 16 years and are now setting up greenfield BOPET and CPP lines in Karnataka to meet the growing demand. We are also expanding outside India with plans to set up brownfield CPP film line at our UAE plant that will add a production capacity of 18,000 TPA.”
Ashok Chaturvedi, Chairman & Managing Director, UFlex Limited said, “UFlex has played a pivotal role in providing packaged products to the end consumers during the pandemic. In line with our vision to go glocal and serve the last mile with our best-in-class innovative and sustainable solutions, we are scaling up our international as well as domestic operations. Driven by a robust order book and consistent market growth, we are doubling the manufacturing capacity of our Aseptic Liquid Packaging plant in Sanand.”
The earlier capacity of the group’s Packaging Films plant in Poland was 30,000 TPA and with an additional 10.4 meter wide BOPET line of 45,000 TPA getting commissioned, FlexFilms is the largest BOPET manufacturer in European Union. In India, the current capacity of Packaging films line with BOPET, BOPP, CPP put together is 92,000 TPA. The new lines to be added in South India will have a cumulative production capacity of 63,000 TPA. The UAE plant that currently houses a BOPET line with capacity of 22,000 TPA, will have an additional capacity of 18,000 TPA once the CPP line is commissioned.
In Q3 FY 2020-21, UFlex also introduced a range of new products and solutions across its business:
Flexible Packaging Business
Matt finish 3D Pouches Packed with Value-added Features : UFlex developed six variants of matt finish film based 3D pouches to pack coffee beans for Al-Fanoos Coffee in the Saudi Arabian and Gulf markets. The BOPP, PET, PE structure pouch holds myriad features such as 3D design for shelf impact, Hot Stamp to prevent from counterfeiting forces, Slider Zipper that promotes reusability at the point of consumption, a Breathing Valve that allows excess gas to exit from the pack such that packed contents remains fresh for a longer duration, a See-through Window on the side, and a Side Handle that allows easy carriage. With all these features packed in, this pouch is a perfect combination to add value and convenience to brands as well as consumers.
Easy Tear Laminate for Sanitizers: With the demand for sanitizers and disinfectants still booming due to Corona virus scare, the vertical developed two variants of easy tear laminate for I2Cure BioShield Lotion that allows easy dispensation of alcohol-free sanitizer. With the lotion being Halal certified, it has been receiving a lot of interest from Middle East, South Asian and Indian markets.
Jumbo Bags for Proamino-T Poultry Feed: The jumbo bags for packing poultry feed are one of the few bulk bags in non-woven format with high tensile strength and weather resistance. The bag that is developed for Indian market offers durability and convenience of carriage with safety, despite its capacity to carry mass quantity.
R&D Successfully Commercialised Many of its Solutions: The R&D team of Flexible Packaging business works closely with many brands to offer them bespoke solutions besides constantly creating new solutions based on market research. With its extensive findings, quite a few of the innovations were successfully commercialised:
• Easy to peel strength pouches for PS Kona WB Coffee in which the peel strength has been customized with regulated opening force.
• Paper foil based laminated film for packing seasoning mix for Kroger Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix.
• Replaced PET in EVoH based BOPP film structure to make it a recyclable Monopolymer laminate for Purina Dog Chow PET Food.
• Special PET + PET based retort pouches replaced previously used oriented nylon for packaging of pre-cooked rice for TJ Morris. The replacement in structure has led to cost saving for the brand.
