Manjushree Technopack is investing into growth areas for packaging. During a visit to the Manjushree factory in the outskirts of Bengaluru, Ramu Ramanathan looks at the manufacturing practice and class 1 laboratory, that have enabled the Rs 500-cr company develop quality products for the super brands.

Manjushree Technopack boasts a capacity of 85,000 metric tonne in manufacturing PET bottles and preform for its key customers, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestlé, Unilever, Cadbury and Tata Tea, all catering to carbonated drinks, packaged drinking water and juices segments. Today, the pinnacle of Manjushree’s operations is located at Bidadi industrial hub (near Bengaluru), which houses the manufacturing facilities of Coca-Cola, Toyota and Bosch. The plant can convert over 50,000 tonne of resin into preforms for the beverage industry. This is indeed a giant stride for a firm, which 20 years ago had an initial installed capacity of 600 metric tonne at its unit in the Bommasandra Industrial Area.
 
Vimal Kedia, director, Manjushree Technopack, is not the one to rest on his laurels. He is now waiting for the Cola majors to invest USD five billion in India. If this happens, a lot of the cash flow would funnel into bottling plants and back-end supply chain infrastructure by 2020. This, he feels, has growth potential. Of course, as Cola consumption rises, demand for PET bottles and preforms will also increase.
 
As we sit down for a chat over a relaxed lunch in the company mess, where healthy vegetarian food is served, Kedia, a commerce graduate, confides, “It is the experience that counts. I do not have any packaging degrees or polymer expertise.” He insists that he started from the scratch. “When you start small, you have enough time to learn.” He gives an example. “Unlike a business like car manufacturing or plastics, where you need to know the subject; in printing, if you start with a basic technology and migrate to improvements in technology, the learning is better than professional training.”
 
In today’s scenario, however, Kedia is quick to note, “if you jump in with a new technology, you should have a solid tech background. There is no other way.”