PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2020

TOP TALK PET planet Insider Vol. 21 No. 03/20 www.petpla.net 10 Interview with plastic packaging converter Manjushree Technopack’s new CEO – Mr Sanjay Kapote Next level growth strategy by Kay Barton India’s largest plastics company, the Bangalore-based giant Manjushree Technopack Ltd. (MTL), has a new leader on board. After its acquisition in October 2018 by Advent, the US-based private equity fund, MTL announced that it was ready for the next level of strategic growth, dubbed MTL 2.0. The target is a trebling of revenue from current levels, a target to be achieved in the next four years. Mr Sanjay Kapote was recruited to the Board to guide the company down this transformational path. He has 22 years’ experience in diverse management roles of several businesses, both national and international, and has been working at MTL since the beginning of November 2019. We had the opportunity to discuss with him the changes he has in plan for MTL and the objectives that will drive this transformation. PETplanet Insider: After two dec- ades and several interviews with the Kedia family, who ran what was their family business passionately, we are now meeting a new face for the first time. Please tell us something about your background. Sanjay Kapote: Prior to join- ing MTL, I worked with Jindal Poly films, Birla Tyres and Essel Propack, amongst others. In all these compa- nies I spearheaded various business operations, including profit improve- ment, new acquisitions, business restructuring and strategic turnaround, product development and lean manu- facturing. With almost three decades of experience working in the automo- tive and packaging industry and with the best of companies, packaging is more than a passion for me. PETplanet Insider: Sounds like you indeed like new challenges and opportunities! So how about your very new role at MTL? Sanjay Kapote: Being a part of MTL is truly empowering. We have a clear vision and a powerful and dedicated team. As part of our stra- tegic roadmap, we have articulated our vision and values for what we call Manjushree 2.0. We are embarking on a mission to triple our sales and are driven towards this one goal. The absolutely unconstrained environment makes MTL very exciting for me. We want to be a professional organisation, with integrity, customer centricity, inno- vation and environment sustainability at the core of our value proposition. PETplanet Insider: MTL is going to set the bar really high in a compa- rably short timeframe. How are you or how is the company going to achieve that? And what will be your current and future role in terms of reshaping the company and its plastic conver- sion business? Sanjay Kapote: Since the acqui- sition of MTL by Advent, we have developed a strategic roadmap to further unlock MTL’s potential and lev- erage our market leader position for accelerated growth in India. And, yes, our goal of tripling our revenue in the next four years is ambitious. We plan to achieve this growth through both organic and inorganic routes. PETplanet Insider: We saw both these routes in the history of Man- jushree before its acquisition as well. Could you specify the company’s endeavors towards the growth strat- egy further? Sanjay Kapote: Our inorganic growth plans will be focused on consolidating in the rigid packaging market and entering new segments while also acquiring allied businesses, such as closures and dispenser manufacturing firms. The rigid plastic packaging industry in India is esti- mated to be two million tonnes per annum; MTL addresses only 60% of the market today and has about 10% market share. We have significant headroom available for both organic expansion and mergers and acquisi- tions. We are looking at three to four acquisitions over the next four years. PETplanet Insider: We will be fol- lowing these acquisitions and expan- sions closely, of course. If we look at other branches and especially when it comes to material and cost savings, you sometimes find significant reduc- tions in terms of quality. MTL’s char- acteristic feature throughout the years have been quality-driven products. Sanjay Kapote: True, and MTL is committed to developing innovation that is of high quality. We have always been at the forefront of adopting new technology to deliver best manufactur- ing practices to our customers. Our plant in Bidadi, for example, is highly automated. The Husky machines installed there are connected to a network that can be controlled remotely. The predictive algorithm of the software monitors the machines’ wear and tear and raises a red flag for maintenance issues well in advance, to avoid any breakdowns. PETplanet Insider: You deal with all the well-known local and inter- and multinational brands. Big investments have been made in corresponding machinery and equipment to achieve that. What is your strategy to maintain both quality and a competitive price at high level outputs? Manjushree’s new CEO Sanjay Kapote