Offset Printing

Over 100 Rapida printing units in operation at Parksons Packaging

Friday 21. August 2020 - Parksons Packaging is one of the biggest packaging solutions providers in India. Alongside its headquarters in Mumbai, the company, which is overseen by chairman Ramesh Kejriwal, operates five ultramodern production plants at locations all over the subcontinent. Only recently, a newly installed Rapida 76 was commissioned. This means there are now exactly 101 printing and finishing units from Koenig & Bauer in production for the Indian packaging giant.

The first Rapida sheetfed offset presses started arriving at the company in 2005. At the time, Parksons Packaging was looking for presses to handle UV production. The Rapida 105 with its facility to switch dryer modules between multiple installation points was the industry yardstick in those days, not only at Parksons, but indeed for UV production throughout India. Later, Rapida 106 models joined the line-up – seven-colour and eight-colour presses and others in double-coating configurations. At the beginning of 2020, the company purchased its first Rapida 76 – in a six-colour version with coater and extended delivery.
Faced with changing market demands, Parksons Packaging decided that it needed to install a half-format press alongside its medium-format Rapidas. The combination of high production speeds and a small footprint tipped the scales in favour of the Rapida 76. No less important were the short job changeover times – especially when using DriveTronic SPC – and an enlarged sheet format.
Fast job changeovers and high production speed
The capacity to disengage individual inking units, a feature unique to Rapida presses, also caught Ramesh Kejriwal’s attention: “We can already prepare the unused printing units for the next job while the press is still running the current production job. And as an extra bonus, that also reduces wear on the rollers.”
Kejriwal is equally impressed by the high productivity of the other Rapida presses: “DriveTronic SPC allows job changeover times to be shortened by 30 to 40 per cent. And the number of jobs which we handle on the new presses has increased by 30 to 35 per cent.”
On average, it can be said that each new Rapida is able to replace two older models. In addition to the high speeds, waste is also reduced. Parksons is very satisfied with the presses, the print quality and the installation and commissioning process. This is reflective of the fast and comprehensive service provided by Koenig & Bauer sales partner Indo-Polygraph Machinery. And so, with each new press, the company is building up a full package geared to the most important criterion for any type of production technology: Performance.
Folding cartons in all dimensions
All Parksons Packaging plants place their focus on folding carton production. The corresponding jobs can be assigned to a total of 22 offset production lines, 13 of them from Koenig & Bauer, and one digital line. Nevertheless, there are differences between the individual plants and their specialisations. Digital and screen printing are based in Daman, together with the production of pharmaceuticals packaging. Pantnagar is specialised in packaging with high-quality cold foil finishing. And Chakan produces beverage cartons. Additional production plants are located in Sricity and Guwahati.
This nationwide base allows Parksons Packaging to supply a wide range of packaging products to customers in all corners of the country. Domestic production is complemented by a global export business. The product portfolio includes, among other things: Mono cartons, litho-laminated cartons, liner cartons, transport and retail packaging, shelf-ready displays, promotional and gift packaging, a broad spectrum of custom packaging, beverage cartons and blister packs. One of the company’s specialities is an ingenious slider pack design.
In 2019, Parksons Packaging recorded a turnover of around €150m ($167m). Almost 18,000 different articles are produced, and approx. 100,000 tonnes of paper and board are processed every year. More than 1,700 employees work in plants with a production floor space totalling almost 100,000m2 (1,075,000sq.ft).