PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2019

EDITOUR PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 09/19 www.petpla.net 18 From magnetic tape manufacturer to PET all-rounder Machines, moulds, preforms and containers from Mumbai The Bahubali Group, which is based in Khar West, Mumbai, is a good example of the importance of diversity in India. Initially operating in a completely different business division, in the early 2000s, the company’s “Bahubali PET” division turned its focus onto PET pro- cessing, and the construction of machines and moulds. In addition to its own PET products, equipment manufacturing has contributed significantly to the company’s current success. It is planning to expand its machine segment in a progressive, incremental way. We talked to Director Sangeet Jain about current and future developments. We met: Mr Sangeet Jain, Director Since its foundation in 1990, the Bahubali Group has been active in a variety of segments, including agricul- ture; processing of marble; and hotel management. It has always focused on the manufacturing and processing of products, not least because of the technical background and expertise of the company’s management team, which consists of three members of the Jain family, who also own the company. “In the 1990s, we were one of the leading manufacturers of mag- netic tape in India. When the PET trend gradually reached the coun- try, in 2002, we decided to enter the production of PET preforms and PET moulds,” explained Sangeet Jain. “The logical next step was to add the production of PET bottles. In 2003, we started to develop and build automatic blow moulding machines on a large scale. We now have a good position in the market, particularly with these machines.” Bahubali’s business model employs its own distribution network; it does not use distributors. Country- wide, there are 200 employees in the Bahubali team and sales offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Ajmer. Amjer, situated in Rajasthan, is also home to its plastics processing operations; all products are manu- factured in-house. Some 12 produc- tion lines are installed here, ten for preforms, with neck sizes of 19mm to 120mm and grammage of 7g to 140g representing 40% of output (600 mil- lion units per year). Twenty per cent of total output is accounted for by the production of 40 million bottles, in sizes ranging from 10ml to 10 l. In terms of machine and equipment, accord- ing to the company’s figures, it has so far manufactured approximately 200 machines and 1,500 blow moulds, with 250 machines and 300 moulds now being added every year. The product range also includes 32-cavity injection moulds; so far, Bahubali has 120 units in the market, with 20 being built this year. In total, machinery and moulds account for 35% of the business. Turn- over in 2018 was estimated at USD14 million. “We are in direct competition with Sunpet and Pearl PET,” Mr Jain said. “As our auto blow moulding machines business thrives, in the future, we are planning to increase our investments in this area for new equipment and moulds.” www.bahubaligroup.com Tour Sponsors: Director Sangeet Jain at his desk Production hall with Ferromatik Milacron injection moulding equipment