PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2016

TRADE SHOW PREVIEW 31 PET planet insider Vol. 17 No. 07+08/16 www.petpla.net industry. In 1990, he supported the paint manufactur- ing project of a corporate group from Gujarat, which had locations in the East African cities of Nairobi, Dar- Es-Salaam and Kampala. The plan was to facilitate a changeover from packaging in metal cans to HDPE containers. “The group invested in the appropriate equip- ment and was looking for a specialist; it actually got in touch with me on the basis of a recommendation,” Mr Gandhi recalls. He decided to join the project on-site as a consultant and supported it for around one and a half years. “When I got there they were still using old Windsor machines, the oldest of which dated from 1963. Part of my work involved buying spare parts from India, because Windsor UK was long since defunct. The group subsequently bought around 45 machines for the indi- vidual locations, and the project gave me a good insight into the African market. On returning to India in 1992, I decided to use the experience that I had gathered to start up my own business.” Initially, Mr Gandhi continued to work as a consult- ant. Recognition of his work, a growing reputation and the increased demand eventually led to the founda- tion of Ahimsa Industries in January 1996. In addition to consulting work, the new company got involved with the production of injection moulds. It initially focused on exporting to Africa and on specialist projects in plas- tics processing there. From 1996 to 2010, it undertook projects in practically every country in Africa, usually in collaboration with a supplier from India. The projects included installation of moulds, machinery or auxiliary products for injection or extrusion moulding, as well as recycling projects for the sugar and sweets industries. Between 2004 and 2005 Ahimsa acquired a 49% stake in General Additives, the Mumbai-based flavourings manufacturer for the food & pharmaceuticals sector. The company moved into PET in 2010. “I was approached by a private label bottling com- pany from Zambia,” Mr Gandhi explains. “They had bought some equipment from China and weren’t happy with the performance of the compressor. Ingersoll Rand were already active in the Indian market so I recom- mended their compressors, and managed the installa- tion on-site. It then transpired that my customer wasn’t satisfied with the preforms that they were producing, 31 TRADE SHOW PREVIEW (f.l.t.r.:) Ashutosh Gandhi with Sanjay Agrawal SDWHQWV UHVHDUFKHUV DQG WHFKQLFLDQV LQVWDOOHG SODQWV EUDQFKHV ZRUOGZLGH ,I ZH KDGQêW JRQH VR IDU ZH ZRXOGQêW EH VR QHDU <RXU IXWXUH VHHQ IURP QHDU