Lead Feature

Rajoo gets the ball rolling with new machines

PRA spoke to Rajoo's President Sunil Jain to get an overview of the machines and new technology to be displayed at the Indian show as well as to find out how the company has fared in its business activities.

PRA: Please provide brief details about the new machine being shown at Plastindia 2012?

Sunil: We will be displaying our complete current range along with a glimpse of new additions to the portfolio like Fabrex - PP non-woven fabric making machine, Dripex - drip irrigation line for flat & round dripper and Labex - lab models. Non-woven extrusion machine is the most recent important addition to our portfolio and offers immense opportunities in India.

We will be demonstrating the following machines:
-Rajoo's first hybrid five layer blown film line - Multifoil REAL 2550-65/2400 IBC-A - with extruders and die from our collaborators - Hosokawa Alpine, Germany; gravimetric dosing and blending and automatic thickness control from Germany; Die 400 mm - Output 600 kg/hour, 2250 mm layflat width

-Two layer PP/PS Sheet Line - Lamina RS1X - 1410/800 - Max sheet width 700 mm- 320 kg/hour

-Thermoformer for PP/PS/PET - Dispocon WPTF 3565-N1- Electro-hydro-pneumatic with plug assist with in-mould cutting and stacking solution - maximum sheet width 690 mm and 45 cycles/minute

-Rajoo Bausano's first Twin screw RPVC Pipe plant -TwinEx - RBMD-1575-30/250 - Pipe OD range 63-250 mm and output 440 kg/hour

-World's smallest three-layer co-extruded blown film line Multifoil - Nano RECF 2320 /300-OH IBC - 250 mm layflat width and output of 30 kg/hour

PRA:  How different will it be from the launches at other Plastindia shows?

Sunil: At each such edition of Plastindia, Rajoo has displayed expcted future trends to the industry. Known for bringing world class technology at affordable prices to the doorsteps of the Indian plastics industry, Plastindia 2012 will not be any different.

You may have noticed our "Whats nEXt !" campaign. Plastindia 2012 will witness technologies immediately required by the industry instead of addressing the long term trends. The basic objective this time is to motivate processors to hasten up in adapting technologies required by the market. Thus, Rajoo will address the imminent needs of the industry.

PRA: Are the new machines being launched to meet the market trend in India? If yes, please explain briefly how it will boost processors profitability, reach, etc?

Sunil: Fully imported blown film lines are still preferred by some processors. It is to address this segment and also provide an opportunity to others to upgrade their technology levels at affordable price levels that we will be displaying a five-layer blown film line in technical collaboration with Hosokawa Alpine of Germany.

Five or seven-layer blown film plants are nothing new from Rajoo - we did display a five-layer blown film line way back in Plastindia 2000 followed by a seven-layer blown film line Plastindia 2003. However, this time India will see a hybrid product from Rajoo and Alpine. New machines being introduced will address the market trend on one hand but also lay down the path forward for the industry. Emphasis will be on energy efficiency, high automation and high productivity. Further, the processors will be able to address the stringent quality parameters now being demanded by their customers.

PRA: Apart from the blown film technology, what other machinery can visitors expect to see at the Rajoo booth?

Sunil: We are also displaying a sheet extrusion system and a plug assist thermoformer with stacker to produce PS trays. We will also be displaying a high output PVC and CPVC pipe extrusion system, a recent offspring of Rajoo Bausano Extrusions.

PRA: Please provide an update to the joint ventures/collaborations that Rajoo has partaken in over the past few years.

Sunil: Alpine - the technical collaboration was signed during previous K and since then, both Alpine and Rajoo have aggressively pitched for several projects in India and Africa. The Plastindia machine is the first display of the technical prowess of both Alpine and Rajoo. With hot parts coming from Alpine, complete automation from Germany and balance from Rajoo, this will provide a unique cost effective solution to processors who aspire for high technology levels at affordable price levels.

Bausano - this is a joint venture owned by Rajoo and Bausano. The first product from this jv company will be on display at our stand. Once again, world class technology, a leap from the current technology being used by processors - at affordable price levels.

Wonderpack - the merger process is complete in all respects and now Rajoo- Wonderpack offers a complete range of sheet extrusion and thermoforming solutions for the industry.

PRA:In general, what is the outlook of the plastics market in India and how does Rajoo anticipate partaking in this industry and what contributions can the company make to improve the market growth?

Sunil: While the overall business sentiment is low, the plastics industry is poised to grow with leaps and bounds. With the government allowing 100% FDI in single brand retail and majority stake in multi-brand retail not far away, plastics industry is looking forward to a bright future. Organised retail will bring in a great opportunity for plastic processors as most of the products need to be packed. The machines and technologies on display by Rajoo provide solutions for the plastic processors to address this demand. Infrastructure and agriculture are hot subjects in India, the PVC and CPVC pipe plant addresses this market segment.

PRA  How has Rajoo's business grown in the past year and what were the contributing factors to this growth?

Sunil: In spite of an overall slowdown, the past year for Rajoo has been witnessed growth. While the market for traditional products has remained stable, the introduction of machinery for producing non-woven fabric has provided a major boost to the top line and bottom line of Rajoo. There is no other Indian manufacturer in this domain and there was a vacuum. Machines coming from other Far Eastern sources are of low technology levels and low reliability factor. Thus the acceptability of Rajoo machines has been high and we look forward to non-woven being a major business opportunity for Rajoo.

PRA:  What about the export business, pleases provide a brief round up of the countries where Rajoo has witnessed growth and the types of machines that have been sold.

Sunil: Export business continues to play a significant role in Rajoo's growth. We have supplied several rPET sheet lines to Latin America , Asia's first seven-layer blown film line to Turkey and in this year we entered even the Russian market.

Africa continued to provide stable market for Rajoo's machines. We also entered Thailand with blown film lines. Our existing overseas customers continue to pose their confidence in Rajoo products through repeat orders.