Challenge to meet diverse requirements

The pharma packaging machinery industry has to cater to two sets of requirements: while domestic pharma wants high output, simple machines, export oriented units require a higher level of sophistication. Rajendra Khimsaria, GM Sales, Pam-Pac Machines, ACG Worldwide Group, gives more details to Sachin Jagdale

ACG Worldwide is known as one of the largest manufacturers of hard gelatin capsules in Asia. What are its other innovative products?

Other innovative products of ACG Worldwide are Brandshield printing on capsules, Metalized blister packing film, Tropical blister packing machines, Technology to fill liquid in hard capsules, Micro tablets in capsules, Vision systems for pharma application, Tableting machines with high cGMP levels and automatic control of weight, hardness and thickness and also the latest models of Auto tablet coater's of Glatt, Germany, manufactured in India. Pam Pac fits into the ACG Value chain in providing innovative packaging solutions for pharma, cosmetics and FMCG companies.

What are the trends driving the pharma packaging machinery industry?

Globalization is one of the major trends driving the pharma packaging machinery industry. This is inevitable as more Indian companies target the generics segment in regulated markets. At the same time, multinationals are setting up their manufacturing bases in India with the objective of making it a production hub for the Asian market.

Besides this, manufacturers catering to the domestic and export pharma markets have very different requirements. These realities are consequently reflected in the kind of machineries they use.

Pharma packaging machineries for the domestic market need to be low cost, low maintainence, high output machines. Most importantly, they need to be easy-to-operate since domestic producers are moving to remote areas like Baddi, Jammu, Sikkim, Roorkee etc., to avail of tax benefits.

The flip side of these areas is that trained manpower is not available and therefore the machines need to be easy-to-operate. Another feature of these machines is that they offer low wastage of packaging material which reduces the cost of packaging.

On the other hand, manufacturers targeting the export markets, especially those exporting to the regulated markets, look for machines with a high level of automation, reliability and quick change over time. The machines should be suitable for both short and long runs, and should be able to handle different designs of packaging to meet requirements of specific countries. Validation documentation support is a must-have feature. The aesthetics factor also comes into play.

So you can see that it is a big challenge for pharma machinery manufacturers to meet these diverse requirements for domestic and export oriented manufacturers.

Is the domestic pharma packaging machinery well equipped to cope with these divergent requirements?

The domestic packaging machinery industry is finding it a challenge to meet the requirements of the export oriented segment since the industry, barring few companies, is still not 100% geared up. Therefore the pharma industry has to import packaging machines from Europe, USA and Korea.

What was the rationale behind Pam Pac's tie-up with IWKA Packaging, Germany?

Though the tie up with IWKA has now been dissolved, the decade long association with the German packaging masters has given Pam Pac a very good knowledge of the global customer needs and packaging trends.

Tell us about ACG Worldwide's SciTech centre?

It is one of the only pharma technology R&D centers in the country. Scitech is also the Headquarters (HQ) for some of the reputed global associations like AAPS (Association of American Pharmaceutical Scientists), ISPE (International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering), HADSA (Herbal and Dietary Supplements manufacturers Association) and many more.

What is Pam Pac's USP as compared to your competitors?

Pam Pac's USP is a high level of customization to meet very specific customer needs and automation levels, designed as per the requirement of the products to be packaged and after sales service. Other features of our machines are appropriate technology to handle various types of packaging materials, designed for lowest wastages, easy to operate and maintain, a wide range of models to meet output requirements which includes high speed machines and trouble free operations.

Are there any country specific rules of packaging? How you overcome these hurdles?

Yes, each destination country has its own packaging specifications but since Pam Pac's machines are flexible to meet different requirements, our machines have in-built solutions for these needs.

Who are the domestic and global clients of Pam Pac?

Pam Pac has an installation base of more than 2000 packaging machines in pharma companies, which are installed within India and have been exported to over 50 countries world wide. Pam Pac also has a large installation base in FMCG companies, cosmetics and other industries in India and abroad.

What is your market share, domestic as well as global?

The pharma engineering market is highly fragmented and it would be incorrect to estimate market share, but we are one of the largest suppliers of packaging machines in India.

What are the major quality certifications that your company has received?

Our company has received ISO-2000 certification from TUV Certified body.

What kind of after-sales service does your company provide?

We have offices located in the US, Europe, Indonesia, the Philippines and of course our HQ in India, where all major cities have local after-sales service facilities including new emerging regions like Baddi, Sikkim etc.

In addition to that, we have agents who have highly trained personnel in over 25 countries to ensure prompt after-sales service anywhere in the world.

Is Pam Pac also involved with training machine operators and maintenance personnel after installing the packaging machines?

Pam Pac considers it essential to train machine operators and maintenance personnel. This is provided in two phases. Initial training is provided on the machines at our own plant before dispatch and the second phase of training is provided on-site during installation and commissioning of the machines. We also have regular training programs throughout the year at our plant near Pune, in Maharashtra for our domestic and international customers.

In addition, we have trainees coming from various parts of the world to learn from us. Recently we had trainees from Germany who worked at Pam Pac and have gone back with some excellent technical knowledge and a lot of fond memories of India!

sachin.jagdale@expressindia.com