The Indian market for polyester and BOPP films

Garware Polyester, one of the largest manufacturers of polyester films in India, expanded considerably in 2014 with the addition of a production line for BOPP films. Milind Tilak, general manager exports, Garware Polyester, says: ‘We are producing 1,300 tonnes of BOPP on the new line, including transparent wrap-around labels and coated labels. For the packaging segment, our product range includes plain, co-extruded, metalized and pearlized films. We have also started supplying wet and thermal lamination films in BOPP.’

The new line is running full capacity and BOPP film is being supplied to Europe and the domestic market. Tilak adds: ‘Of the 1,300 tons, we consume 100 to 150 tons as base films for thermal lamination films.’

Garware Polyester, a company that started production in 1976 in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, today has two factories in Aurangabad with a total of four fully integrated film production lines and dedicated production lines to produce sun control tinted films for window lamination. It has four marketing offices in India strategically located in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Overseas operations include an office in London and the US. The company also has a marketing team in China and authorized re-sellers around the globe.

Primarily a manufacturer of polyester films, it is the only company in the country that manufactures polyester chips and raw material for PET G in-house. ‘That’s our main edge over all our competition and will keep us ahead of them,’ says Tilak.

Being an ISO 9001:2008 company, it produces 3,500 tons of polyester films a month. Ranging from 10 microns to 350 microns, these films are used for applications including electrical insulation, high shrink (full body sleeves) and release liners for labels. They are also used for food packaging, printing, lamination and metalized packaging, thermal lamination, digitally printable films, specialty films such as peelable sealable films, low oligomer, heat sealable and matt films. In addition, it supplies films for laser drafting, tracing and drafting, holography and coated films. The company also produces 300 tonnes of extrusion coated thermal lamination films every month.