Bobst confirms commitment to packaging market in Pakistan

The two-day Bobst and partners package printing and converting roadshow held in Karachi in May brought together more than 140 representatives of the Pakistani flexible and carton packaging industries. Delegates heard from equipment and consumables manufacturers about the latest technologies and processes for packaging printing and converting.

The focus of day one was on the latest innovations in flexible packaging production, from raw materials to finished products. These were presented by Bobst and its industry partners Atlas Converting, Coim, Kodak, Macchi and Schmid Rhyner. Carton packaging was covered on day two of the roadshow, with Bobst presenting its technologies designed to help carton makers work towards ‘zero-fault’ packaging, along with highlighting some specific process developments in hot foil stamping, the die-cutting of in-mold labels, rotary Braille embossing and litho-lamination. Industry partners Kodak, BW Papersystems and Schmid Rhyner also showcased their latest developments, aimed at driving innovation through the corrugated board and folding carton packaging supply chain.

Complementing the technical presentations were insights on trends in both the flexible and carton sectors of Pakistan’s packaging industry, given by Rizwan Ghani, general manager of Packages Limited in Lahore, and Ahmed Farooq, corporate packaging services manager at Nestlé Pakistan, who relayed the perspectives of a major converting company and a brand owner, respectively. Also of interest were the addresses given at the opening of each day of the roadshow. On the day dedicated to flexible packaging, Syed Aarij Iqbal, CEO of M/s Alpha Penta, spoke in his capacity as an executive member of the Italian Development Committee (IDC) about the promotion of bi-lateral trade between Pakistan and Italy, as well as about the role of the IDC. S.M. Naseeruddine, member of the board of the Pakistan Association of Printing and Graphic Arts Industry, addressed the audience on the day dedicated to carton packaging. He highlighted the history and the mission of the association, and shared information about the organization of the PrintPak exhibition, which will be held in Karachi in November.

‘We have important customers in Pakistan, with a number of Bobst gravure printing, laminating and metallizing equipment installations for converting flexible materials,’ said Eric Pavone, business director of Bobst’s web-fed business unit.’ In addition to illustrating the way our value-creating solutions can meet market needs, and supporting the drive among Pakistan’s converters towards higher performance and product quality, the roadshow provided us with the opportunity of personally giving them an in-depth look at the advantages of our very latest developments. Most notably among these was the brand new RS 5002 gravure printing press for flexible packaging.’

Samir Khoudja, head of zone at Bobst Africa & Middle East, said: ‘Pakistan in an important market for us. It already has a large number of Bobst folding carton installations and we expect further development in the corrugated board industry over the coming years. This seminar brought a unique opportunity for us and our industry partners to demonstrate to customers in Pakistan how we can help them improve the quality of their output while at the same time reducing their costs. Our presence in Pakistan shows our commitment to supporting the development of the packaging industry in this key market.’

The event was co-hosted by Sal-Im International, Bobst’s agent in Pakistan, and its director of operations, Salman Hanif, said: ‘We have been Bobst’s carton converting equipment representative in Pakistan for over 30 years and through very many successful installations in the country. From earlier this year we have also taken over the representation for Bobst flexible material printing and converting equipment. The roadshow has provided us with a tremendous opportunity to touch base and establish a personal contact with the management of a great number of Pakistani flexible packaging converting companies, which is invaluable for the development of our activities in this sector of the packaging industry.’

Bobst and its industry partners have also recently hosted their first roadshow in Vietnam, which has been hailed as a ‘great success’.