Sai Packaging explores opportunities for future growth

Sai Packaging, headquartered in Faridabad near New Delhi, aims to touch a turnover of Rs 3 billion (approximately 47 million USD by 2017). ‘Our aim was to achieve the figure by this year but we have been delayed due to the economic recession,’ says Priyata Raghavan, director at Sai Packaging. ‘However, we have completed the expansion of our capacity and expect the demand to fuel us until full utilization.’

An ISO-certified company, Sai Packaging started 22 years ago as a conventional security printer in New Delhi, later shifting operations to Faridabad. It used to be one of the biggest lottery ticket printers in the world. After the market was regularized, the company decided to diversify into label printing in 1998 and the offset print packaging business in 2000. ‘Today, security printing forms only eight to nine percent of our turnover,’ says Raghavan. ‘Our focus is on the labels and cartons market.’

In September 2004 Sai Packaging consolidated its three units in Bengaluru into a new 260,300 sq ft facility. ‘It is one of the biggest plants in South India and we are confident that it will redefine industry standards,’ Raghavan says. The plant is organized on Kaizen principles and with good natural lighting to reduce the environmental footprint. ‘Pharmaceutical customers can take particular comfort in the controls that this space offers,’ adds Raghaven.

Doubling its capacity in the north, the company added one Gallus ECS 340 and a Heidelberg 102 6-colour plus coater full UV press at its 150,000 sq ft Faridabad unit in May 2013. It was during this expansion that a KBA Rapida 106 6-color plus coater press was added to the facility in Bengaluru.

The Aureos South Asia Fund (ASAF), a subsidiary of Aureos Capital Limited, invested 7 million USD in Sai Security Printers in 2012. ‘Our private equity partner helped us scale up and achieve the growth we have today with the expansion of capacity in Faridabad and a new plant in Bengaluru. It helped the company grow, from being a medium player to becoming one of the larger players in the industry. Consistently, growing in double digits, we are looking at good opportunities in the market for next partnership. We want it to focus on both technology and finance aspects,’ reveals Raghavan.
The company has sales and marketing offices in Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Kerala to cater to different regions.

Capacities at the two units

The parent facility in Faridabad serves north and east India markets while the Bengaluru unit serves the west and the south. In terms of capacity and technology, the company has ensured that both facilities are at par. Raghavan reasons: ‘We work with national brands that have their manufacturing in both north and south India. The only way to replicate the service experience efficiently is by replicating technology, ensuring consistency in raw material and training manpower.